NepalTravelling with ADHD medication: rules, permits and documents
AsiaLast checked 20 Jul 2026Low confidence: check with the embassyHow we rate a record
Nepal treats these medications differently. Of the 7 we track, 2 are not allowed in at all, 2 have no published rule we could find and 3 need only your prescription.
Serious penalties: Nepal publishes no traveller-specific permit process, quantity allowance or document requirement for opioid or ADHD-stimulant medication, and several in-scope substances (oxycodone, hydromorphone, tapentadol, and all four ADHD stimulants) do not appear on Nepal's own recognised-substances list, carrying them without contacting the DDA in advance risks treatment as an unrecognised or banned controlled substance at customs.
We could not find strong recent official guidance for this country. Contact the embassy or consulate directly before you travel.
By medication
Brand names first, generic in brackets. Each line resolves the drug class rule below, plus anything Nepal records specifically for that medication.
- Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine)Not named: Unclear
Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) is not named in Nepal's law (Ministry of Home Affairs list under section 3(a)(7) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 2033, Nepal Gazette Part 3, Volume 44, Number 5 (May 1994), pages 1 to 4). Item 1 of that list's psychotropic substances reads "Amphetamine, its salts and derivatives" (page 3). No rule is published for lisdexamfetamine itself. Ask the authority listed here before you travel.
- Ritalin, Concerta (methylphenidate)Unclear
No ADHD stimulant appears on the Department of Drug Administration's list of narcotics and psychotropics approved for import and use. Amphetamine is on DDA's banned medicines list ('Amphetamine and Its Combinations'), and methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine are not named on either list. Contact DDA before travel.
- Dexedrine (dexamfetamine)Banned
Nepal's Department of Drug Administration banned medicines list names 'Amphetamine and Its Combinations' among medicines banned for production, sale-distribution, storage, transportation and import/export (notice of 2047/8/3 BS, page 3). Dexamfetamine is an amphetamine. Do not bring it into Nepal.
- Strattera (atomoxetine)Prescription
Atomoxetine, guanfacine and viloxazine are not internationally controlled; carry a prescription for personal-use import as with any prescription medicine.
- Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts)Banned
Nepal's Department of Drug Administration banned medicines list names 'Amphetamine and Its Combinations' among medicines banned for production, sale-distribution, storage, transportation and import/export (notice of 2047/8/3 BS, page 3). Mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall) are amphetamine combinations. Do not bring them into Nepal.
- Intuniv (guanfacine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
- Qelbree (viloxazine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
Rules by drug class
Narcotic (opioids)
Unclear- Quantity
- No narcotic-specific traveller quantity published. A general (non-narcotic-specific) NPR 1,000 medicine value duty-free allowance (raised to NPR 10,000 by the Department of Customs' 2026 gazette notice) exists for foreign passengers under the Customs Baggage Rules.
- Permit
- Not published. Nepal publishes no traveller process. The Department of Drug Administration maintains a list of narcotics identified for import and use, which covers codeine, fentanyl, methadone, morphine and pethidine and does not name oxycodone, hydromorphone or tapentadol, but that list governs what may be brought into the country as supply, not what a traveller may carry, and absence from it is not a stated prohibition. The Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 2033 does not mention travellers. Ask the DDA and a Nepalese mission before travelling.
Psychotropic (ADHD stimulants, benzodiazepines, sleep)
Unclear- Quantity
- None of methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, mixed-amphetamine-salts or lisdexamfetamine appear on DDA's official Schedule III/IV psychotropic substances list.
- Permit
- Not published.
Not internationally controlled
PrescriptionAtomoxetine, guanfacine and viloxazine are not internationally controlled; carry a prescription for personal-use import as with any prescription medicine.
Responsible authority
Department of Drug Administration (DDA), Ministry of Health and Population
No new official DDA traveller-medicines contact was located this session; the DDA site provides only general departmental contact channels, not a traveller/psychotropic-import desk.
Sources
The sources 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.
- Customs notice on travellers' personal goods (Nepal Gazette, 2083/02/15 BS): foreign travellers may bring medicines worth up to NPR 10,000 unless their import is banned, para 6(3)(ga), page 11Government, 2026-05-29
- Customs Act, Regulation and Baggage RulesGovernment, 2016-07-16
- Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 2033 (1976, amended to 2055): Gazette-listed substances, s 3(a)(7), page 2; import and possession banned, s 4, page 4; medicines under the Medicine Act, s 23A, page 20; no traveller ruleGovernment, 1976-09-22
- DDA list of narcotic and psychotropic medicines approved for import and use: page 1; methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and lisdexamfetamine not listedGovernment
- DDA banned medicines list: amphetamine and its combinations banned for import and sale since 2047/8/3 BS, page 3; methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine not namedGovernment
- Department of Drug Administration Kathmandu (homepage)Government
- INCB Country Regulations for Travellers (index; Nepal listed as "Information not yet provided by country")Treaty body
Your trip pack
A doctor's letter for Nepal, 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 Nepal embassy or consulate before travelling.