Guide · Canada and United States

Travelling with prescription medication across the Canada-US border

General information, not official or legal advice. Customs, immigration and border rules change and every situation is different. Check the linked official sources and the agency’s current page before you travel. This site is not affiliated with CBP, the CBSA, DHS or any government.

Steps

1. Health Canada suggests asking your pharmacist or doctor, or checking the Drug Product Database, to find out whether a medication contains a controlled substance.^[3]
2. Health Canada says it considers a personal quantity to be no more than a 90-day supply or a single course of treatment, whichever is less, among other factors; CBP gives no more than a 90-day supply as a rule of thumb for non-US citizens.^[1][2]
3. CBP says non-US visitors should keep medication in its original container with the doctor's instructions (or carry a copy of the prescription or a doctor's letter); for controlled substances Health Canada says the container must carry a label showing the patient, practitioner, drug, daily dose, form, quantity, strength and any DIN.^[2][3]
4. Health Canada says controlled-substance medication must be declared to customs on arrival; CBP's Ready Lanes page lists medications (up to a 90-day supply) among items to declare.^[3][4]
5. For stays over 90 days, Health Canada points visitors to mailing or courier of further supplies and, for controlled substances, to its Exemptions Section; CBP describes mail or courier with documentation.^[1][3][2]

Canada: the general rule for visitors

Health Canada's GUI-0116 guidance is for residents, returning Canadians and visitors. It says prescription drugs have specific import requirements and may be imported by a practitioner, drug manufacturer, wholesale druggist, registered pharmacist, or a resident of a foreign country while a visitor in Canada. Visitors entering Canada may bring a personal quantity for their own use or for a person or animal under their care and travelling with them, and must be ready to provide evidence of visitor status.^[1] Health Canada says it takes factors into consideration in deciding whether an import is for personal use (its list is not exhaustive), including no more than a 90-day supply or a single course of treatment, whichever is less, and that exceeding the 90-day personal importation limit may be considered a commercial import.^[1] It adds that a medication that does not need a prescription elsewhere could need one in Canada, and points to the Prescription Drug List.^[1]

Canada: residents returning

Generally, residents of Canada are not allowed to bring prescription drugs into Canada, whether carried across the border or mailed. Health Canada may permit a personal quantity for Canadian residents returning with drugs that were prescribed and filled in Canada for their use, or who are continuing a treatment that had to be started while abroad.^[1]

Canada: controlled substances

If a medication contains a controlled substance, Health Canada's page lists these requirements: up to a 90-day supply based on the usual daily dose; prescribed by a practitioner; in a container obtained from a health care provider with a label showing the patient, practitioner, drug name, daily dose, form, quantity, strength and any DIN; for you or someone you are responsible for who is travelling with you; not sent by mail; and declared to customs on arrival. A doctor's note is optional.^[3] The requirements are the same entering or leaving Canada. For stays over 90 days, contact the Exemptions Section.^[3] The page lists commonly prescribed examples such as methylphenidate, oxycodone, clonazepam and testosterone, and precursor products containing pseudoephedrine, with maximum amounts of 20 g ephedra, 0.4 g ephedrine and 3 g pseudoephedrine.^[3]

United States: visitors

CBP says anyone travelling with prescription or over-the-counter medication must comply with FDA rules, and with DEA rules if it is a controlled substance. For non-US citizens temporarily visiting, you may be allowed to travel with your own medications; in general have a valid prescription or doctor's note written in English, keep it in the original container with the doctor's instructions, or bring a copy of the prescription or a doctor's letter, and travel with no more than you need, as a rule of thumb no more than a 90-day supply. For a stay over 90 days, additional medication may be sent by mail or courier with documentation such as a copy of your visa and passport, a letter from your doctor and an English prescription.^[2] CBP warns that fraudulent or counterfeit drugs and unproven "cures" are prohibited.^[2]

United States: citizens returning

CBP says US citizens should travel only with medication prescribed by a licensed physician and/or legally obtained in the US, since in most cases it is illegal for a US citizen to obtain drugs from outside the US for personal use, because foreign drugs are generally unapproved by the FDA.^[2] Its Know Before You Go tip says "bring only the medication you will need" in the original container.^[5] The shopping-abroad page states that virtually all foreign made medications are prohibited from being brought into the US and links to the FDA.^[6]

Declaring

CBP's Ready Lanes page lists medications (up to a 90-day supply) as something to declare, in the original package with a prescription in the traveler's name.^[4] Drug paraphernalia is illegal to bring into the US unless prescribed for an authentic medical condition such as diabetes.^[2]

What we could not source

We did not locate the FDA's own personal importation page or its "5 tips" page in this pass; the CBP statements above are CBP's summary. Check the FDA and DEA directly for a controlled substance. Rules differ by drug and by individual circumstances.

About this guide

Officers decide at the border; this is general information, not official guidance. travel.tnaado.ca is not affiliated with CBP, CBSA, DHS or the Government of Canada.