Can I send medicine to Italy?

More rules for Italy

Allowed with conditions

Medicines

The official route for having medicines sent from abroad covers medicines authorized in another country but not in Italy. The patient's doctor requests the import and sends the details to the Ministry of Health's border health office (USMAF) and to customs, for no more than 90 days of treatment. Other medicines in a box may be held, so leave them out or check with USMAF before you ship.

Quantity limits

Medicines

Shipped medicines need the doctor-request route: medicines authorized abroad but not in Italy, up to 90 days of treatment, cleared by USMAF. Travelers may carry medicines that match the length of their stay, with a prescription in at least English where one is required.

Before you ship to Italy

Tax-free limit

If you're sending from inside the EU, there is no customs clearance and nothing to pay. From outside the EU (including the UK), IVA is due from the first euro: Italy's old €22 IVA exemption for small parcels ended in 2021. The EU's €150 duty relief ended on July 1, 2026, so duty can now apply at any value. An occasional gift from one private person to another worth up to €45 (about $53) in total is still free of both duty and IVA. Online purchases up to €150 pay a flat €3 (about $3.50) duty for each type of item until July 1, 2028. From December 1, 2026, Italy is also set to charge a €2 (about $2.30) administrative fee on every box from outside the EU worth up to €150, gifts included.

Receiver ID

No official page says a private receiver must have one for an ordinary box. The courier may still ask for the receiver's codice fiscale (Italy's 16-character tax code) to file the customs declaration, and ADM's moving-relief form F-01 asks for it, so have it ready. Foreign nationals can get one from the Agenzia delle Entrate, or through an Italian consulate abroad.

Transit

2-4 business days within the EU; 3-6 from the UK or North America; 4-8 from Asia

Read the full Italy guide

Questions

Ask about a specific item

Official sources

1. 1.

   Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)

   FAQ - Le risposte alle domande più frequenti sulla materia doganale (opens in a new tab)
2. 2.

   Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato)

   Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 26 ottobre 1972, n. 633: Istituzione e disciplina dell'imposta sul valore aggiunto (opens in a new tab)
3. 3.

   Ministero della Sanità (text published by the Ministero dell'Interno, Direzione Centrale per i Servizi Antidroga)

   D.M. 11 febbraio 1997: Modalità di importazione di specialità medicinali registrate all'estero (opens in a new tab)
4. 4.

   Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)

   Carta doganale del viaggiatore (luglio 2025) (opens in a new tab)
5. 5.

   Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato)

   Decreto legislativo 22 gennaio 2004, n. 42: Codice dei beni culturali e del paesaggio (art. 65, Uscita definitiva, and Allegato A) (opens in a new tab)
6. 6.

   Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)

   Mod. F-01 A: Importazione in franchigia doganale. Beni personali appartenenti a persone fisiche che trasferiscono la loro residenza normale da un Paese terzo nell'Unione Europea (opens in a new tab)

General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in Italy makes the final decision on every box.