ChinaTravelling with ADHD medication: rules, permits and documents
AsiaLast checked 2 Aug 2026High confidenceHow we rate a record
China treats these medications differently. Of the 7 we track, 4 come in on paperwork with a supply cap and 3 need only your prescription.
Serious penalties: Amfetamine, dexamfetamine and methylphenidate are Category I psychotropics in China, its strictest medicinal class. Carrying them without a medical diagnosis certificate, or beyond what the officer accepts as a personal-use quantity, is handled as a drug or smuggling matter rather than a paperwork problem.
By medication
Brand names first, generic in brackets. Each line resolves the drug class rule below, plus anything China records specifically for that medication.
- Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine)Restricted
The 2025 catalogue does not name lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse, Elvanse) in either category, and it is not approved for sale in China, so no Chinese rule states what you may carry. That is not a licence to carry it freely: it breaks down in the body into dexamfetamine, which is Category I, and an officer who reads it that way will apply the Category I treatment, where the quoted caps are 3 days for ordinary forms and 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms. We could not find any official Chinese source that settles it either way, so treat it as the least predictable of the three and carry the prescription, a medical diagnosis certificate naming the medicine and its generic name, and declare at the red channel.
- Ritalin, Concerta (methylphenidate)Restricted
Category I psychotropic (Catalogue of Psychotropic Drugs for Medical Use 2025, item 11, which also covers dexmethylphenidate and serdexmethylphenidate combinations). This is the one ADHD medicine with a stated exception: a Chinese prescription for methylphenidate in childhood ADHD may run to 15 days, against 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms such as Concerta and 3 days for ordinary forms. Shanghai Customs quotes those figures as its guide to a reasonable personal quantity, so a longer supply rests on the officer accepting it. Bring the prescription and a medical diagnosis certificate and declare at the red channel.
- Dexamphetamine (dexamfetamine)Restricted
Category I psychotropic (Catalogue of Psychotropic Drugs for Medical Use 2025, item 5). The 15-day figure written for methylphenidate in childhood ADHD does not extend to it: the caps Shanghai Customs quotes are 3 days for ordinary forms and 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms. Dexamfetamine is not marketed in China, so expect the officer to work from the prescription and the diagnosis certificate rather than from a familiar product.
- Strattera (atomoxetine)Prescription
Atomoxetine (Strattera), guanfacine ER (Intuniv) and viloxazine (Qelbree) appear in neither the Catalogue of Narcotic Drugs for Medical Use nor the Catalogue of Psychotropic Drugs for Medical Use (2025 editions), and are not internationally scheduled. They are ordinary prescription medicines here: carry them in their original packaging with your prescription. Atomoxetine is available in China. The declaration and diagnosis-certificate requirements above do not apply to them.
- Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts)Restricted
Amfetamine is a Category I psychotropic (Catalogue of Psychotropic Drugs for Medical Use 2025, item 2) and the catalogue covers its salts, so Adderall falls inside it. The 15-day figure written for methylphenidate in childhood ADHD does not extend to it: the caps Shanghai Customs quotes are 3 days for ordinary forms and 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms. Adderall is not marketed in China.
- Intuniv (guanfacine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
- Qelbree (viloxazine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
Rules by drug class
Narcotic (opioids)
Restricted- Quantity
- No published traveller limit. Shanghai Customs explains the personal-use test in article 44 using the caps a doctor in China may prescribe at once: one dose for injections, 3 days for ordinary forms, 7 days for controlled and sustained-release forms.
- Permit
- Not required. No permit and no traveller portal. Carry the prescription and diagnosis certificate and declare through the red channel.
- Documents
- prescription, medical certificate, customs declaration
Psychotropic (ADHD stimulants, benzodiazepines, sleep)
Restricted- Quantity
- No published traveller limit. Shanghai Customs explains the personal-use test in article 44 using the caps a doctor in China may prescribe at once: 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 limit a prescriber rather than a traveller, so the officer at the counter decides what is reasonable for your trip. Bring the shortest supply that covers it and be ready to explain the rest.
- Permit
- Not required. No permit and no traveller portal. Carry the prescription and diagnosis certificate and declare through the red channel.
- Documents
- prescription, medical certificate, customs declaration
Connecting through China
No official Chinese government source confirms whether travellers in China's visa-free airport transit programs (24, 72 or 144 hours, at eligible airports) or in pure airside transit are exempt from the declaration and permit requirements that apply to amphetamine-type stimulants and methylphenidate on entry. China's visa-free transit programs usually involve an immigration transit stamp or permit and passage through a border-control point, not always a fully sterile international lounge, so some level of inspection may apply even to 'transit' travellers. This is not confirmed by an official source.
If you clear immigration: This is not confirmed by an official source. If a traveller formally clears Chinese immigration and customs for a landside connection or overnight stay (that is, enters China rather than using an airport transit facility), the general entry rules (prescription required, 'reasonable personal-use quantity', red-channel declaration) would be expected to apply in full. This has not been explicitly confirmed for transit travellers who end up entering the country.
Responsible authority
National Medical Products Administration (NMPA); border: GACC Customs
yaojianguansichu@nmpa.gov.cn
Sources
The source behind everything above, so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it. Always confirm the current rule with the source before you travel.
Your trip pack
A doctor's letter for China, filled in with your medications and your stops, ready to sign.
The rules above are free and stay free. The pack is the paperwork that goes with them: a checklist for each stop in travel order, a printable PDF, and the letter to take to your GP.
Build your trip packCommon questions
This page organises publicly available government information and links. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules change and enforcement varies, so always confirm with the official sources above or the China embassy or consulate before travelling.