Writing a travel letter for a patient's ADHD or controlled medication

What do destinations ask the document to state?

10 country records list what a doctor's letter, medical certificate or prescription must state. Some apply to one medicine only, which is shown where the record says so.

• Georgia
  • Prescription: The patient's name; the patient's age; the diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the form of each medicine (tablet, capsule); the total quantity carried; how long the treatment lasts.
• Hong Kong SAR
  • Doctor's letter: The patient's name; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the form of each medicine (tablet, capsule); the strength of each medicine; the total quantity carried; the travel dates; that the medicine is for the patient's own use; the prescriber's licence or registration number.
• Indonesia
  • Prescription (for methylphenidate only): The daily dose; the total quantity carried; how long the treatment lasts.
• Japan
  • Medical certificate (for lisdexamfetamine only): The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine.
  • Doctor's letter (for methylphenidate only): The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; the total quantity carried.
• Qatar
  • Medical certificate: The patient's name; the patient's age; the diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the form of each medicine (tablet, capsule); the strength of each medicine; the total quantity carried; how long the treatment lasts; that the medicine is for the patient's own use; the prescriber's recommendations.
• Saudi Arabia
  • Medical certificate: The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; how long the treatment lasts.
  • Prescription: The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; how long the treatment lasts.
• Singapore
  • Prescription: The generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; the daily dose; the total quantity carried.
• Thailand
  • Medical certificate (for methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine only): The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; the total quantity carried; the prescriber's licence or registration number.
• United Arab Emirates
  • Prescription: The generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; how long the treatment lasts.
  • Medical certificate: The diagnosis or condition; the generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; how long the treatment lasts.
• Vietnam
  • Prescription (for methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine only): The generic (INN) name of each medicine; the strength of each medicine; the total quantity carried; how long the treatment lasts.

How recently must the letter be issued?

Only the windows stated in the records are listed here. A record that states none has not been confirmed to have none.

• Japan, medical certificate: issued within the last three months.
• Qatar, medical certificate: issued within the last 6 months.
• Saudi Arabia, medical certificate: issued within the last six months.
• Saudi Arabia, prescription: issued within the last six months.
• United Arab Emirates, prescription: issued within the last three months.
• United Arab Emirates, medical certificate: issued within the last year.

What do the records say about letterhead, stamps and signatures?

These notes are quoted from the country records as they stand.

• Hong Kong SAR, doctor's letter: Submitted to the Drug Office to obtain the written approval, then carried with it. The FAQ lists six things the letter must show: the doctor's full name and medical registration number; the clinic's name and address; the date of issue; the patient's full name and residential address; each controlled medication's name, dosage form, strength and total quantity; and the doctor's original physical signature. The Drug Office's own template also asks for the destination and travel dates.
• Qatar, medical certificate: Issued within the last 6 months, in English or Arabic, signed and stamped by your doctor, stamped or recognised by the clinic or hospital, and showing the doctor's or clinic's phone number. Qatar's guideline also says the medical report should have a Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation. It does not say which country's ministry. Qatar also asks for a signed undertaking that the medicine is for your own use, and a copy of your passport.
• Saudi Arabia, medical certificate: A detailed report from the clinic or hospital treating you, issued within the last six months and carrying their approval. No notarisation, embassy legalisation or apostille is required: the treating institution's own approval and seal is what Saudi Arabia asks for.
• Saudi Arabia, prescription: In your name, issued within the last six months, carrying the seal of the treating institution, and naming the generic drug rather than only the brand.
• Thailand, medical certificate: Signed by your treating doctor, and it must carry the doctor's licence number as well as your diagnosis, each medicine with its strength, the instructions and the total amount prescribed. Keep the original with you.
• United Arab Emirates, prescription: Issued within the last three months and stamped by the clinic or hospital treating you.
• United Arab Emirates, medical certificate: Issued within the last year and stamped by the clinic or hospital treating you. The UAE regulator answers the attestation question directly: your own treating health authority stamps it, and no UAE embassy attestation is needed.
• Vietnam, prescription: For the licence application Vietnam wants a certified copy of your prescription, or a copy you have signed with the original produced alongside it. It must name you and your age, the medicine and its strength, the quantity or number of days, the dose, and your doctor's name, signature and clinic address.

Can the letter be signed electronically?

Japan's Narcotics Control Department addresses it directly on its application page:

When the doctors signed with their electronic signature on a medical certificate, please make sure to indicate to that effect in themedical certificate or your e-mail.

Source: Narcotics Control Department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), Application Guidance. Read 21 Oct 2026.

That is the only statement on electronic signatures this page relies on. Where a record above asks for an original or physical signature, that is what its source says. For any other destination, ask the authority before relying on an electronic signature.

How can an official check a letter is genuine?

A medical certificate or pharmacy letter issued through a practice that uses this site prints a 12-character reference near the signature. Anyone holding the document can enter it at /verify to confirm it was issued, by which practice and prescriber, and that it has not been withdrawn. The check shows nothing about the patient, the medication or the trip.

What is the pharmacy early-supply letter?

A separate letter from the prescriber to the patient's regular pharmacy, stating the travel dates and the prescriber's support for early supply of the prescribed medicines before departure. It does not direct the pharmacist to dispense: whether to supply early is the pharmacist's decision. What Services Australia says about PBS medicine overseas is on PBS supply and early supply before travel.

Issuing letters through your practice

How a practice can use this site with its patients is set out on the for clinics page. To see the documents themselves, open the sample doctor's letter and trip pack.