Destination · DE
Germany
Entry summary
- Controlled (Rx)3
- Rx only49
- OTC / Rx3
- No Rx: Ask Pharmacist24
- Unavailable3
In Germany, medicines that need no prescription are still kept behind the pharmacy counter. Ask the pharmacist (Apotheke) for them; you will not find them on a shelf or in a supermarket.
Customs
Bringing your own medicine into Germany
Germany asks for paperwork only for narcotic medicines.
Narcotics
Oxycodone, methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and similar. Officially, you need a doctor’s certificate for each one. At the least, carry the medicine in its original labeled container with your prescription.
- Arriving from outside the Schengen area, such as from the US: Germany’s regulator recommends a multilingual certificate from your doctor giving the single and daily dose, the international name of the active substance and the length of your trip.
- The certificate should be endorsed by the health authority where you live.
- Arriving from another Schengen country: carry the Schengen certificate (Article 75), endorsed by your health authority.
- Either way it covers trips of up to 30 days, with a separate certificate for each medicine.
Other medicines
The regulator’s guidance covers narcotics only. For other medicines, carrying your prescription is sensible in case you are asked.
German medicines regulator: travelling with narcoticsTablets up to 400 mg are sold without a prescription. 600 mg and 800 mg tablets, and some larger packs, need one.
Pharmacy-only (apothekenpflichtig); no prescription needed. Generics are sold as "Loratadin STADA" or "Loratadin AL".
Sold as a sleep aid in Germany, not for allergies.
Sold OTC (pharmacy-only) at 20mg for a maximum 14-day course, with at least a 4-month gap before repeating; 40mg and longer-term use require a prescription.
Not sold on its own. It comes only in combination cold remedies with a painkiller (aspirin or ibuprofen) or an antihistamine, so check the other ingredient. Aerinaze, the higher-dose version, needs a prescription.
The injection forms need a prescription.
Gladem (Boehringer Ingelheim) is sold in Germany and Austria.
Less commonly prescribed here: German doctors favor ramipril.
20 mg heartburn packs (Pantozol Control and generics labelled "bei Sodbrennen") are sold in pharmacies without a prescription. 40 mg and longer courses need one.
Attentin (dextroamphetamine, MEDICE) has been sold in Germany since 2011; tightly controlled under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (German narcotics law).
The Thombran brand appears to have been discontinued. The Gelbe Liste, a German drug directory, now lists only generic trazodone.
Falls under the BtMG (German Narcotics Act, Annex III) as a controlled narcotic; expect substitution with dihydrocodeine or another opioid instead.
Fluticasone nasal spray was switched to prescription-free, pharmacy-only (apothekenpflichtig) status in Germany in 2016; inhalers for asthma remain prescription-only.
Still sold by Boehringer Ingelheim in Germany. In the UK the equivalent Mobic brand appears to be discontinued.
Still sold in Germany. Canada discontinued Lasix in the 1990s.
The maker is withdrawing Levemir worldwide, so stock may be limited. Other long-acting insulins sold here: glargine (Lantus) and degludec (Tresiba).
Still listed in Germany. Canada and the UK have discontinued Cymbalta.
Dilatrend brand was discontinued in Germany.
Prescription-only. Not classed as a controlled narcotic in Germany, so it goes on an ordinary prescription.
Prescription-only. Tablets up to 1 mg are exempt from the narcotics rules, so it is not treated as a controlled narcotic and goes on an ordinary prescription.
The Decortin brand of prednisone is no longer sold. "Decortin H" is prednisolone, a different medicine.
The brand originated here (Bayer).
Controlled (Betäubungsmittelgesetz).
Low-dose packs are sold in pharmacies without a prescription; higher strengths need one.
Silomat Hustenstiller also comes with a different ingredient (pentoxyverine), so check the pack says Dextromethorphan.
Bring what you need from home.
Rennie also contains magnesium carbonate.
Called "Macrogol" outside the US. Movicol Junior (for children) needs a prescription.
Vomex A (dimenhydrinate) covers this use.
Tyrosur is a different antibiotic (tyrothricin) sold without a prescription for small wounds.
Sold in pharmacies without a prescription.
Called "Adrenalin" in Germany.