Protect access to affordable imported prescription medicines.

In June 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a rule that suspends, indefinitely, the de minimis exemption for international mail shipments and creates new postal informal entry procedures. Starting October 22, 2026, packages arriving by international mail—including prescription medicines—are expected to go through these new customs procedures.

International prescription drug orders, such as shipments from Canadian pharmacies, will need electronic filing through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment, giving agencies more information about incoming packages. The added steps and complexity could make it impractical or impossible for some Canadian and other international pharmacies to keep serving U.S. patients. Even prescription orders that move through the system could be routinely presented to FDA and refused under its existing policy.

These changes are not a new law banning personal importation. Existing laws already restrict most personal drug importation. Federal agencies, including FDA, have long described a Personal Importation Policy under which they may use enforcement discretion—choosing how strictly to apply the rules—for certain medicines imported for personal use. FDA says that policy generally does not apply when people import simply because medicines cost less abroad. Even a medicine packaged for Canada may not comply with U.S. labeling requirements.

Enforcement discretion is a policy choice, not a legal right or a guarantee. It does not make personally imported medicines automatically legal or approved, and how it is applied could change over time. Federal law also addresses enforcement discretion and personal importation: it states that FDA “should” permit personal importation when it does not appear to present an “unreasonable risk” to the individual.

Personal importation—individuals ordering medicines for their own use from pharmacies in Canada and other countries—is separate from state or wholesale importation programs, in which governments or wholesalers import medicines on a larger scale. This campaign is about the personal kind many patients rely on today.

Pharmacies based in Canada and other countries may dispense medicines manufactured in a variety of places—not necessarily only medicines made in that country.

This site does not recommend or endorse any pharmacy, and it cannot verify the safety, licensing, or approval status of medicines from any particular source. If you have questions about your own prescriptions, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.