Mailing Medicine to Taiwan: Getting the Quantity Limits, Prescription Rules, and Penalties Right
- Mailing or couriering non-prescription (over-the-counter) medicine for personal use: you must always apply to the Taiwan FDA (TFDA) for an import approval letter before import, non-prescription medicine included; each shipment is limited to 12 bottles, 12 tubes for tube-type products, or 1,200 tablets in total, and you cannot file a repeat request within 6 months (Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts, Article 6, Paragraph 2).
- Prescription drugs are not “banned from mailing”: they can be mailed for personal use, but you must apply for an import approval letter in advance, with quantity limited to a reasonable amount under the prescription, plus a diagnosis certificate and prescription issued by a medical institution in Taiwan or by the foreign medical institution where the patient was originally treated, as recognized by the central health authority.
- Melatonin is regulated as a drug in Taiwan (Department of Health announcement of October 15, ROC year 85), not a dietary supplement; the exception is dried pineal gland powder from cattle, sheep, or pigs with a melatonin content of 20 ppm or less, which may be used as a food ingredient.
- The penalty clause is the part most often misquoted: the “up to NT$2 million fine” circulating online is often misapplied. The NT$30,000 to NT$2 million fine in Article 92, Paragraph 1 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act applies to anyone who violates the provisions listed there (including Article 39, Paragraph 1 -- importing medicine without registration), not only to businesses; it is Article 96-1 (NT$100,000 to NT$2 million) that applies only to drug dealers. Separately, medicine an individual imports without approval is a “banned drug” under Article 22, Paragraph 1, Item 2, which brings the criminal liability in Article 82. The two must not be mixed up.
- Nitrous oxide is a concerned chemical substance under the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act, requiring approval, labeling, and reporting, and it is prohibited from being sold by mail order, e-commerce, or similar means.
📅 Last updated: 2026-10-17 · ✍️ HowBridge Consolidation Editorial Team · 🛡️ Compiled from Customs announcements and current regulations
Quantity Limits for Non-Prescription Drugs and Their Legal Basis
When you mail or courier non-prescription medicine to Taiwan for personal use, you must always apply to the Taiwan FDA (TFDA) for an import approval letter before shipping; each shipment is capped at 12 bottles, 12 tubes for tube-type products, or 1,200 tablets in total, and you may not file a repeat request within 6 months. This is based on Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts, announced by Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare on June 5, ROC year 103, and effective from July 1, ROC year 104.
Many roundup articles blur two separate things together: mailing or courier shipments back to Taiwan fall under the Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts—an import approval letter is always required in advance, and non-prescription medicine is capped at 12 bottles, 12 tubes, or 1,200 tablets per shipment—while medicine a traveler carries in on their person falls under the quota table annexed to Article 4 of Taiwan’s regulations on the inspection, taxation and release of inbound travelers’ baggage (current version in force since 2026-02-01), which allows non-prescription Western medicine of up to 12 bottles (boxes, jars, strips, or tubes) per item and no more than 36 in total, with no 1,200-tablet rule. The legal basis, the numbers, and the procedure all differ—when you cite the rule, state which scenario you mean, and do not apply the traveler rule directly to mailed or couriered shipments.
| Category | Quantity Cap | Scenario and Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Non-prescription drugs (OTC medicine) | 12 bottles, 12 tubes for tube-type products, or 1,200 tablets total per shipment; no repeat request within 6 months | Mailed or couriered for personal use: import approval letter always required in advance; Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts, Article 6, Paragraph 2 |
| Prescription drugs | Limited to a reasonable amount under the prescription | Mailed for personal use: an import approval letter must be applied for in advance, with a diagnosis certificate and prescription attached |
| Chinese herbal medicine materials | Up to 1 kg per type, no more than 12 types in total | Quota Table for Self-Use Medicine Carried by Inbound Travelers (confirm applicability to mailed shipments first -- see note below) |
| Chinese herbal medicine preparations | Up to 12 bottles (boxes) per type, no more than 36 bottles (boxes) in total | Same as above |
⚠️ The quota for Chinese herbal medicine materials and preparations comes from an official document called the “Quota Table for Self-Use Medicine Carried by Inbound Travelers,” which on its face governs medicine travelers carry in on their person. Whether the same quota table applies to mailed shipments has no clear official statement that we could find -- before mailing Chinese herbal medicine, confirm with TFDA or the Customs Administration rather than assuming it applies.
Prescription Drugs Can Actually Be Mailed, But You Must Apply First
People often say that “prescription drugs are banned from mail order,” but that is an oversimplification. Under Ministry of Health and Welfare announcements, prescription drugs can be mailed for personal use, but you must apply for an import approval letter in advance, with quantity limited to a reasonable amount under the prescription.
- The key is the order: apply first, and mail it only after approval—not mail it first and submit paperwork later. If you then import it through consolidated shipping (express), medicine is a good subject to import regulations and must be cleared with a regular import declaration, not the EZ WAY simplified declaration: select “Formal declaration” when creating your consolidated shipment and provide the import approval letter.
- The application must include a diagnosis certificate and prescription issued by a medical institution in Taiwan or by the foreign medical institution where the patient was originally treated, as recognized by the central health authority (Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts, Article 14, Paragraph 2).
- This route covers situations such as long-term medication for chronic conditions or cases where no domestically available product has the same ingredients; approval is determined by the central health authority.
TFDA’s official website has a section on importing self-use medicine for personal use where you can check the application procedure; this site does not handle drug import applications on your behalf, nor does it offer a medicine purchasing-agent service.
Why Melatonin Is Not a Supplement
The Department of Health (now the Ministry of Health and Welfare) announced on October 15, ROC year 85 that products labeled as containing melatonin must be regulated as drugs; anyone who imports, manufactures, or sells such products without approval is handled under the relevant provisions of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
- In places such as the United States and Japan, melatonin is often sold as a dietary supplement, but the regulatory category depends on Taiwan’s own laws, not on where it was purchased.
- No melatonin product currently holds a drug license in Taiwan, which effectively means there is no lawfully sold melatonin product on the market.
- The exception: dried pineal gland powder from cattle, sheep, or pigs with a melatonin content of 20 ppm or less may be used as a food ingredient.
The same logic applies to other ingredients: something sold as a dietary supplement in its country of origin may be classified as a drug in Taiwan. Confirm the ingredient’s regulatory category in Taiwan before ordering -- do not infer it from how it is classified where you bought it.
How to Apply for an Import Approval Letter
To mail self-use medicine, you must apply to the central health authority for an import approval letter; Article 14 of the Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts lists the required documents.
- An international parcel collection notice or customs bill of lading addressed to the patient’s own name as the recipient.
- The medicine’s outer packaging and package insert.
- A signed statement declaring that the approved drug sample will never be sold, transferred, or used to treat any other patient.
- For prescription drugs, a diagnosis certificate and prescription issued by a medical institution in Taiwan or by the foreign medical institution where the patient was originally treated, as recognized by the central health authority, must also be attached.
Applications are limited to “patients who obtain a certificate from a medical institution and apply for self-use.” The Taiwan FDA requires you to apply before the medicine is sent to Taiwan, whereas the parcel collection notice or customs bill of lading listed in Article 14 only exists after the parcel arrives; we could not find an official text explaining how the two fit together, so follow the instructions on the TFDA online application platform. The application method and forms follow what TFDA publishes.
Nitrous Oxide and Products That Claim Medical Effects
Nitrous oxide has been listed as a concerned chemical substance under the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act, with controls centered on “four musts and two prohibitions”; gray-area products that claim therapeutic effects may also be classified as drugs.
- Approval required: operating with a concerned chemical substance requires an approval document from the competent authority (Article 25).
- Labeling required: containers and packaging must carry the warning “For industrial use only, inhalation prohibited” and a safety data sheet (Article 27).
- Reporting required: every transaction must be logged and reported monthly (Article 26).
- Online sales prohibited: it may not be sold by mail order, e-commerce, or any other method that cannot identify the parties to the transaction (Article 28).
- Unlicensed operation prohibited: manufacturing, importing, selling, using, or storing it without an approval document is not allowed.
Penalties: failing to obtain approval, failing to report, or failing to label carries a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 (Article 61); mail-order or e-commerce sellers that violate the rule face a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, and penalties may be imposed per occurrence (Article 60). The competent authority is the Chemical Substances Bureau of the Ministry of Environment.
Products That Claim Medical Effects
Products marketed with claims of rapid weight loss, enhanced virility, fast-acting sleep aid, or similar “effects” may be classified in Taiwan as drugs rather than food -- and once that happens, they must follow the import rules for drugs; importing without approval makes them a banned drug. The rule of thumb is simple: the more a product emphasizes speed and therapeutic effect, the higher the risk -- check the full ingredient label before you buy.
Penalties: The Part Most Often Misquoted
A claim circulating online says that importing excess medicine for personal use carries a fine of up to NT$2 million -- this mixes up two entirely different kinds of penalties.
- The NT$2 million fine (administrative penalty): Article 92, Paragraph 1 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act imposes a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$2 million on anyone who violates the provisions it lists, including Article 39, Paragraph 1 (importing medicine without registration and a drug permit). The article is not limited to businesses; the provision aimed specifically at drug dealers is Article 96-1 (NT$100,000 to NT$2 million).
- Criminal liability: Article 22, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act defines “medicine imported without approval” as a banned drug (with an exception for travelers or transport crew who bring in self-use medicine within the announced quota). Article 82 then provides that anyone who manufactures or imports a counterfeit or banned drug faces up to 10 years of imprisonment and may additionally be fined up to NT$100 million.
In other words, medicine an individual imports without approval is a banned drug under Article 22, which brings criminal liability under Article 82 -- far more serious than the idea of “a fine of up to NT$2 million.” Remembering only the fine cap is not just citing the wrong article -- it also leads readers to underestimate the actual risk.
In practice, customs commonly handles excess personal-use imports by requiring the goods to be shipped back or by seizing them; however, we found no explicit provision specifically addressing confiscation or destruction for excess personal-use imports, and actual handling is determined case by case by the competent authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article is compiled based on the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, the Regulations for Management of Drug Samples and Gifts, the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act, and announcements from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Chemical Substances Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, verified as of 2026-09-01. Laws and announcements may change; consult the competent authority for individual cases. This article does not constitute legal advice and cannot substitute for a case-by-case determination by the competent authority.
Lawful Consolidated Shipping, Checked in Advance
HowBridge provides consolidated shipping from mainland China (via its Shenzhen consolidation warehouse) to Taiwan, with photos taken at intake so you can confirm the contents, and prohibited and restricted items flagged in advance. Medicine is a good subject to import regulations and cannot use the EZ WAY simplified declaration: obtain an import approval letter from the Taiwan FDA (TFDA) yourself first, then select “Formal declaration” when creating your consolidated shipment (customs declaration fee NT$800 per batch under current settings; taxes extra). HowBridge does not apply for permits on your behalf; without the documents, please do not send the item to the consolidation warehouse.
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