Can I take Adderall to China?
Official guidance indicates China restricts how much Adderall you can bring and the paperwork required. Check the limits before you travel.
Last checked 2 Aug 2026High confidenceHow we rate a record
A limit of our data: Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts) and Dexamphetamine are different medicines. Adderall is a mix of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine; dexamfetamine is dextroamphetamine on its own, and international drug schedules list them as separate substances. We hold one combined amphetamine rule per country, so this page cannot tell you whether China treats them differently. Give the authority the exact product and generic name on your prescription when you check. The answer here is the same as for Dexamphetamine in China.
The rules for Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts)
Amfetamine and dexamfetamine are Category I psychotropics in the Catalogue of Psychotropic Drugs for Medical Use (2025 edition), items 2 and 5, and the catalogue covers their salts, so Adderall falls inside it too. China publishes no quantity a traveller may import. Article 44 of the Regulations on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances says Customs releases narcotic drugs and Category I psychotropics on the principle of personal use and reasonable quantity, so the officer at the counter decides. Shanghai Customs explains that test using the caps a doctor in China may prescribe at once under article 23 of the Measures for Prescription Administration: one dose for injections, 3 days for ordinary forms, 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms, and 15 days where methylphenidate is prescribed for ADHD in children. Those are limits on a prescriber, not an amount you are entitled to carry in. The 15-day figure is written for methylphenidate in childhood ADHD and does not extend to these medicines, so the caps to plan around are 3 days for ordinary forms and 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms. Neither medicine is marketed in China, so expect the officer to work from your paperwork rather than from a familiar product.
What to do
- valid prescription
- medical diagnosis certificate from a medical institution
- valid identity document (passport)
- doctor's letter (recommended, with Chinese translation)
Travelling to more than one country?
Check your whole itinerary at once: every stop, every layover, and what to do by when. We'll carry Adderall and China over, so you only add the rest.
Add my other stopsThe check is free. The trip pack that turns it into paperwork is A$19, once. It does not renew.
Other medications in China
Adderall in other countries
This page summarises publicly available government information (restricted: limits on quantity and paperwork) and is not legal or medical advice. Rules change and enforcement varies, so confirm with the official links on the China page or the embassy before you travel.