Pharmacy in Vietnam: What You Can Buy Without a Prescription
A pharmacy in Vietnam may sell non-prescription medicine without a prescription, but the Law on Pharmacy bans selling prescription medicine without a prescription. The ban is often broken. WHO Viet Nam says evidence suggests 88 to 97 percent of drug stores dispense antibiotics without a prescription, even though the law prohibits it. So the honest answer is: not legally, but it happens. Vietnam has no single printed list of over the counter medicines that we could quote. Each medicine is classed when it is registered, and you can look it up.
Short answer
- Can a pharmacy sell you prescription medicine without a prescription?
- Not legally. Retail sale of prescription medicine without a prescription is a prohibited act under the Law on Pharmacy. WHO Viet Nam reports that 88 to 97 percent of drug stores still dispense antibiotics without one.
- What can you buy without a prescription?
- Non-prescription medicine: products on the Ministry of Health's non-prescription list. Each product is classed when it is registered. Vaccines may not be sold at retail at all.
- Can you bring your own medicine?
- Within limits. Decree 163/2025 allows up to 7 days of narcotic medicine, 10 days of psychotropic medicine and precursors, or 30 days of other medicine, at the dose on your prescription, without an import licence.
- How do you check a medicine?
- The label must show a registration or import licence number, a batch number, and the manufacture and expiry dates. You can search the registration in the Drug Administration of Vietnam's online lookup.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); WHO Viet Nam, Antimicrobial resistance in Viet Nam; Ministry of Health Circular 12/2025/TT-BYT; Decree 163/2025/ND-CP; Drug Administration of Vietnam, registered medicines search
What are pharmacies called in Vietnam?
A pharmacy is a nhà thuốc in Vietnamese. The Law on Pharmacy names four kinds of retail drug outlet.
- Nhà thuốc: a pharmacy.
- Quầy thuốc: a drug counter.
- Tủ thuốc trạm y tế xã: the drug cabinet at a commune health station.
- Herbal and traditional medicine shops: outlets that sell only medicinal herbs, herbal medicines and traditional medicines.
Selling medicine needs a licence. The law bans a drug business that has no licence for it. In the law's words, this is a certificate of eligibility for pharmacy business. It also bans trading while that licence is on hold or taken away.
Each licence record names a pharmacist. Decree 163/2025 says that once a certificate is granted, the issuing office publishes four details on its website. They are the outlet's name and address, the name of the pharmacist in charge, and that pharmacist's practising certificate number.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); Decree 163/2025/ND-CP
Can you get prescription medicine without a prescription in Vietnam?
Not legally, but it happens. The law is clear, and a WHO office says many shops break it.
The Law on Pharmacy defines a prescription medicine as one that must have a prescription to be dispensed, sold at retail and used. The reason is in the same line. If it is not used as the prescriber directed, it can endanger life or health. Article 6 of the law lists retail sale of prescription medicine without a prescription as a prohibited act.
Practice is another matter. WHO Viet Nam writes about antibiotic resistance in the country. It says evidence suggests that 88 to 97 percent of drug stores dispense antibiotics without a prescription. It adds that this happens despite the fact that Vietnamese law prohibits it. That figure is about antibiotics only.
A shop that sells without a prescription is breaking the law. It does not mean the law has changed. Questions about whether a medicine suits you belong with a licensed doctor or pharmacist.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); WHO Viet Nam, Antimicrobial resistance in Viet Nam
What can you buy at a pharmacy in Vietnam without a prescription?
You can buy non-prescription medicine. Vietnam decides which medicines those are one product at a time, so there is no short list that answers it for every pack.
The Law on Pharmacy defines a non-prescription medicine as one that needs no prescription to be dispensed, sold or used. It must meet criteria set by the Minister of Health. It must also be on the non-prescription list that the Ministry of Health publishes.
Circular 12/2025 sets the tests used when a medicine is registered. One test is that the medicine is for short-term treatment of conditions that people can treat themselves, without a prescription or a health worker watching over them. The circular has other tests too. This page quotes only that one.
Many travel pages print a shopping list of medicines you can buy over the counter. We do not. We could not find a list we could quote in full from an official source. The Drug Administration of Vietnam's online services site links to a non-prescription list, but it runs as a web app and we could not read it as text. The way to check a product is to search its registration, as set out below.
Some medicines need more than a normal prescription. Vietnam keeps lists of narcotic and psychotropic medicines and precursors, and these need special prescription forms. The table below sets out the classes.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); Ministry of Health Circular 12/2025/TT-BYT; Drug Administration of Vietnam, registered medicines search
Prescription or not: how Vietnamese rules sort medicines
Vietnamese law sorts medicines into classes, and each class has its own rule at the counter. This table puts the rules side by side, from the legal texts.
| Class | What the rule says | Can a shop sell it without a prescription? | Legal text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prescription medicine | Must have a prescription to be dispensed, sold at retail and used. Used other than as the prescriber directed, it can endanger life or health. | No. Retail sale without a prescription is a prohibited act. Online retail sale is also banned, with one infectious disease exception. | Law on Pharmacy, definitions and Article 6 |
| Non-prescription medicine | Needs no prescription to be dispensed, sold or used. It must be on the non-prescription list the Ministry of Health publishes. One test is short-term use for conditions people can treat themselves. | Yes. Whether a product is in this class is decided product by product when it is registered. | Law on Pharmacy, definitions; Circular 12/2025, Article 15(2)(b) |
| Narcotic medicine | A Vietnamese prescription for it uses its own form, form N. | Prescription only, on form N. | Circular 26/2025 |
| Psychotropic medicine and precursors | A Vietnamese prescription for it uses its own form, form H. Methylphenidate is on the psychotropic list. | Prescription only, on form H. | Circular 26/2025; Circular 18/2026, Appendix II |
| Vaccines | Retail sale of vaccines is a prohibited act. | No, not at retail. | Law on Pharmacy, Article 6 |
| Traditional medicine | Made from one or more medicinal herbs by traditional methods. Products on the market go through the same registration, circulation and recall rules as other medicines. | The law names shops that sell only herbal and traditional medicine as one kind of retail outlet. Products must be registered like other medicines. | Law on Pharmacy, definitions and the traditional medicine article |
Forms N and H are set by Circular 26/2025. They are for scripts written by doctors in Vietnam. We found no official word on whether a shop in Vietnam will fill a script from abroad.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); Ministry of Health Circular 12/2025/TT-BYT; Ministry of Health Circular 26/2025/TT-BYT; Ministry of Health Circular 18/2026/TT-BYT
Can you buy medicine online from a Vietnamese pharmacy?
Not prescription medicine. The Law on Pharmacy bans the retail sale of prescription medicine by e-commerce.
The law gives one exception. It covers medical isolation during an outbreak of a group A infectious disease. If you are looking at weight loss injections sold online, our guides on GLP-1 sourcing in Vietnam and counterfeit Ozempic in Vietnam cover that topic.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH)
Can you bring your own medicine into Vietnam?
Yes, within limits set by Decree 163/2025. Official advisories describe those limits in different ways, so each is shown on its own below. The decree is the law. The advisories are summaries.
Decree 163/2025 replaced the older Decree 54/2017 from 1 July 2025. Article 60(2) of the new decree says medicine can be imported without an import licence in one of these cases. The first is no more than 7 days of use for narcotic medicine, or 10 days for psychotropic medicine and precursors, at the dose on the attached prescription. Another is no more than 30 days of use, at the prescribed dose, for medicine that is not narcotic, psychotropic or a precursor.
| Source | What it says | What kind of source it is |
|---|---|---|
| Decree 163/2025, Article 60(2) | Medicine can be imported without an import licence in one of these cases: no more than 7 days of use for narcotic medicine, or 10 days for psychotropic medicine and precursors, at the dose on the attached prescription; or, for other medicine, no more than 30 days of use at the dose on the prescription. | The law. A government decree. |
| Embassy of Viet Nam in Australia (1 November 2025) | Personal medicine that is not addictive, psychotropic or a precursor can be received no more than 3 times a year, with a total customs value of no more than US$200 each time. | An official summary. It lists the 7 and 10 day limits and this value limit, and leaves out the 30 day limit. |
| UK FCDO travel advice | It is illegal to have more than 7 days of prescribed addictive and psychotropic medicine. Carry the prescription and a letter from your doctor stating how much you need for the trip. | Advice for UK travellers. It uses one 7 day figure for both kinds. |
| US Department of State | Vietnam prohibits or strictly restricts medicines with narcotics, psychotropic substances and drug precursors, such as high-dose codeine, pseudoephedrine and strong sedatives, even with a prescription. Some ADHD medicine ingredients may be illegal. | Advice for US travellers. It gives no day or value limits. |
The gaps are real. The FCDO uses 7 days for both addictive and psychotropic medicine, where the decree says 10 days for psychotropic medicine. The embassy page leaves out the decree's 30 day limit. The State Department warns that some medicines are restricted even with a prescription.
The FCDO also tells travellers to carry the prescription with the medicine, plus a letter from their doctor stating how much they need for the trip. We did not find what happens at the border to medicine over these limits.
Sources: Decree 163/2025/ND-CP; Embassy of Viet Nam in Australia, Bring medication into Viet Nam; GOV.UK (FCDO), Vietnam travel advice, Health; US Department of State, Vietnam travel advisory and guidance
Can you get ADHD medicine or strong painkillers in Vietnam?
Vietnam controls these medicines tightly, and US advice says some may be illegal.
The US State Department says some ingredients in common drugs for ADHD may be illegal in Vietnam. It says Vietnam bans or strictly limits some medicines. These are ones with narcotics, mind-altering (psychotropic) drugs or drug precursors in them. Its examples are high-dose codeine, pseudoephedrine and strong sedatives. It says this holds even with a prescription.
Vietnamese rules show how tight the control is. Circular 18/2026 lists methylphenidate in its list of psychotropic substances. In Vietnam, a prescription for a psychotropic medicine is written on its own form, form H. A narcotic medicine uses form N. We did not find the strength limits for codeine in combination medicines, so this page gives none.
Sources: US Department of State, Vietnam travel advisory and guidance; Ministry of Health Circular 18/2026/TT-BYT; Ministry of Health Circular 26/2025/TT-BYT
Are there fake medicines in Vietnam?
Yes, say two Western governments. The UK FCDO says some medicines can be hard to find in Vietnam and many are fake.
The US State Department says counterfeit medicine is common. It may not work, may have the wrong strength, or may have dangerous ingredients. It advises buying medicine with the help of a medical professional, from trusted places like hospital-based pharmacies.
The World Health Organization says at least 1 in 10 medicines in low and middle income countries are substandard or falsified. That is a global figure. WHO gives no figure for Viet Nam in that fact sheet.
Vietnamese law bans the sale of fake medicine. The same list bans four more kinds. They are medicine that fails quality standards, medicine the state has recalled, medicine of unknown origin, and medicine past its expiry date. The Drug Administration of Vietnam posts notices on fake medicine. One is Letter 1444/QLD-CL of 29 May 2025. It is a notice on fake medicine and medicine of unknown origin.
Sources: GOV.UK (FCDO), Vietnam travel advice, Health; US Department of State, Vietnam travel advisory and guidance; WHO fact sheet, Substandard and falsified medical products; Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); Drug Administration of Vietnam, Letter 1444/QLD-CL
How do you check a medicine and a pharmacy in Vietnam?
Start with the label, then the official lookups. Each step below comes from a law or a public body.
- Read the label. The Law on Pharmacy says a medicine label must show the registration number or import licence number, the batch number, the manufacture date and the expiry date.
- Search the registration. The Drug Administration of Vietnam runs an online search of registered medicines. The page states a limit. Its data is the original registration and does not include later corrections, changes or withdrawals. The same page has a filter for a recalled medicines list.
- Check the notices. The Drug Administration publishes notices about fake and unknown-origin medicines on its website, such as Letter 1444/QLD-CL.
- Check the shop in Hanoi. Hanoi's health data lookup, suckhoethudo.vn, offers search of data groups that include retail drug outlets. It also has a list of GPP pharmacies, pharmacies certified to the Good Pharmacy Practice standard.
- Buy from a licensed pharmacy and keep the receipt. The US CDC tells travellers to buy medicine only from licensed pharmacies, ask for a receipt, and not buy from open markets.
By law the issuing office must publish a shop's licence details in any city, but we confirmed a working public search in Hanoi only. Decree 163/2025 says the office that grants a licence posts it on its website. The post gives the shop's name and address. It also names the pharmacist in charge and gives that person's licence number.
We did not find a working public lookup of pharmacies for Ho Chi Minh City. We did not search Da Nang. We name no pharmacy chain on this page. The US State Department points to hospital-based pharmacies as one trusted place to buy. For hospitals foreigners use, see our guide to healthcare in Vietnam for foreigners.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); Drug Administration of Vietnam, registered medicines search; Drug Administration of Vietnam, Letter 1444/QLD-CL; Hanoi health data lookup (suckhoethudo.vn); CDC Travelers Health, Counterfeit Medicines; Decree 163/2025/ND-CP; US Department of State, Vietnam travel advisory and guidance
Traditional medicine shops
In Vietnam, the law treats traditional medicine as medicine. Shops that sell only herbs and traditional medicine are one kind of drug shop in the Law on Pharmacy.
The law says traditional medicine is made from one or more herbs. The herbs are mixed by the theory of traditional medicine or by folk know-how. They are made up by old methods, in old or modern forms. Products sold on the market must follow the same rules as other medicines. They must be registered, and they can be recalled. The law makes one exception, for mixes made up inside a clinic or hospital. This page makes no claim on whether any of them work.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH)
What we could and could not confirm
This page was built from written records, not from a visit to a pharmacy. We read every record in October 2026. The first list is what we could confirm.
- The current Law on Pharmacy, in its official consolidated text, which includes the 2024 amendment in force from 1 July 2025.
- Decree 163/2025, and Circulars 12/2025, 18/2026 and 26/2025 of the Ministry of Health.
- The WHO Viet Nam page on antibiotic resistance and the WHO fact sheet on substandard and falsified medicines.
- The travel advice of the UK FCDO, the US State Department and the US CDC, and the Vietnamese embassy in Australia page. The State Department page was read in a browser.
- The Drug Administration of Vietnam registered medicines search and one of its fake medicine notices, and the Hanoi health data lookup, read in a browser.
The second list is what we could not confirm.
- A full official list of over the counter medicines. Each product is classed when it is registered, and the online list runs as a web app we could not quote.
- Prices. No official figure for what a particular pharmacy charges was found. The Drug Administration has a declared-price search for registered medicines, but that covers declared wholesale and retail prices, not what a given shop charges, so this page gives no prices.
- Whether a Vietnamese pharmacy will fill a prescription written abroad.
- Whether pharmacy staff speak English, or how good Vietnamese pharmacies are. No official source rates them.
- A working pharmacy lookup for Ho Chi Minh City, and anything for Da Nang.
- What happens at the border to medicine over the limits, and the codeine strength limits in combination medicines.
We did not visit a pharmacy, buy medicine or speak to a pharmacist for this page.
Pharmacy in Vietnam questions
Can you get prescription medication over-the-counter in Vietnam?+
Not legally. The Law on Pharmacy says a shop may not sell prescription medicine without a prescription. It happens anyway. WHO Viet Nam says 88 to 97 percent of drug stores sell antibiotics without one, even though the law bans it. The law also bans selling prescription medicine online.
What are pharmacies called in Vietnam?+
A pharmacy is a nhà thuốc. The Law on Pharmacy names the kinds of retail drug outlet: a pharmacy (nhà thuốc), a drug counter (quầy thuốc), a drug cabinet at a commune health station (tủ thuốc trạm y tế xã), and shops that sell only medicinal herbs and traditional medicine.
Are Vietnamese pharmacies good?+
No official source read for this page rates Vietnamese pharmacies. Official bodies give cautions instead. The UK FCDO says some medicines can be hard to find in Vietnam and many are fake. The US State Department says counterfeit medicine is common. It advises buying with the help of a medical professional and from trusted places like hospital-based pharmacies.
What can you buy in Vietnam pharmacy?+
By law, a pharmacy may sell non-prescription medicine without a prescription. Prescription medicine needs a prescription. Vaccines may not be sold at retail at all. There is no single list on this page, because Vietnam classes each medicine when it is registered. You can look a product up in the Drug Administration of Vietnam registered medicines search.
What drugs are OTC in Vietnam?+
Non-prescription (OTC) medicines are the ones on the non-prescription list the Ministry of Health publishes. Under Circular 12/2025, one test is that the medicine is for short-term treatment of conditions people can treat themselves. Each product is classed when it is registered. We could not quote a full list, so this page does not give one.
Can I buy medicine online from a Vietnamese pharmacy?+
Not prescription medicine. The Law on Pharmacy bans selling it online. There is one exception. It covers people kept in medical isolation during an outbreak of a group A infectious disease.
Can I bring my own medicine into Vietnam?+
Yes, within limits. Decree 163/2025 says medicine can be imported without a licence in one of these cases: up to 7 days of use for narcotic medicine or 10 days for psychotropic medicine and precursors, or up to 30 days for other medicine, at the dose on the prescription. Advisories differ. The UK FCDO says 7 days for addictive and psychotropic medicine. The Vietnamese embassy in Australia gives a US$200 value limit, up to 3 times a year, for other medicine. The decree is the law.
Is ADHD medication legal in Vietnam?+
Some of it may not be. The US State Department says some ingredients in common drugs for ADHD may be illegal in Vietnam. Circular 18/2026 lists methylphenidate as a psychotropic drug. In Vietnam, a script for a psychotropic drug uses its own form, form H. Decree 163/2025 sets a limit for bringing one in without a licence: 10 days of use at the dose on the script.
Sources: Law on Pharmacy 105/2016/QH13 as amended (consolidated text 76/VBHN-VPQH); WHO Viet Nam, Antimicrobial resistance in Viet Nam; Ministry of Health Circular 12/2025/TT-BYT; Decree 163/2025/ND-CP; Embassy of Viet Nam in Australia, Bring medication into Viet Nam; GOV.UK (FCDO), Vietnam travel advice, Health; US Department of State, Vietnam travel advisory and guidance; Ministry of Health Circular 18/2026/TT-BYT; Ministry of Health Circular 26/2025/TT-BYT; Drug Administration of Vietnam, registered medicines search
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This guide is for general information only and is not medical, pharmacy or legal advice. It describes what Vietnamese laws and official bodies say. Questions about a medicine for you belong with a licensed doctor or pharmacist. See our editorial policy.