As most of you know, laws differ from country to country and importing nootropics can vary in ease. We carry many products and some may be not fit for import into some countries. Also, several countries have several of our products listed as a prescription only import. We constantly review this list to add any updates available.  Major customer locations are listed below; nations with poor credit card fraud protection or randomized Customs enforcement are not on our list of allowed countries for shipping.

While some products may not be illegal in certain countries, sometimes customs will decide they may not be suitable for import. Other times, small amounts may be imported as long as it is for personal use. Most of the time customs will send our products back and give a reason for being denied. We ship a lot of international orders and it has been very rare to have a seizure or package sent back, with previous rates at only about 1-2% of international orders – the rate is now exceeding 5%.

Please remember that customs clearance is an issue for the recipient not the sender.  Peak Nootropics does not guarantee items will clear and is not responsible for any additional duties.

Importing nootropics into Canada

Where previously the shipment of personal use quantities of nootropics to Canada was not a problem, there has recently been a significant increase in issues with Customs clearance.  While a very small portion of orders have been seized, others have simply been returned without comment by Customs.  Larger order sizes, and orders with piracetam, adrafinil, phenylpiracetam, and phenibut have been notable for problems.  Nootropic orders under USD 200 being sent to Canada have fared better in recent months, but the threshold value appears to be continuing its downward trend.

According to the legal status in Canada, most of our nootropic products do not have a DIN which means they are not registered under the FDA. This means you cannot import for resale or distribution. None of our products are scheduled or controlled in Canada and importation of personal use quantities should be allowable.  Where recipients have contacted customs, generally good results have been obtained; please note that as sender we cannot request clearance, just information on status.

Piracetam and phenylpiracetam risk of seizure has increased and we will only sell those items via bitcoin.  Customers assume risk of customs seizure.

Importing nootropics into Australia

We ship many orders to Australia, and the vast majority of our orders arrive without any problem. However Australia has some opaque laws for importing nootropics and supplements, and occasionally there are problems.

There is a lot of misinformation floating around on forums and threads that say nootropics are illegal in Australia because they are listed as a poison. Only two nootropics sold by PeakNootropics are listed as scheduled.

Australia has several categories to classify drugs and substances. None of our products are listed as a schedule 8 (illegal). However, some nootropics are listed as schedule 4 which means they require a prescription to obtain. You can see the full list here.

Here are nootropics sold by Peak Nootropics currently listed on schedule 4 in Australia.

• Adrafinil
• Piracetam

In addition, on June 7, 2017 the Australian government proposed adding Phenibut to schedule 4, and the Australia Border Police started treating it as such.

Other Products for Australia

Our other products are not scheduled under Australian law. Both piracetam and adrafinil were being shipped to Australia in personal use quantities with few problems. However, there have been recent problems with the Australia Border Police seizing several shipments of various sizes, containing piracetam, adrafinil, and phenibut.  Per Australian regulations these items do require a prescription (or likely will in the case of phenibut).

Many countries allow you to import prescription use medication as long as it is for personal use only.  Though this is technically the same case with Australia, schedule 4 items are less likely to get through customs unless a prescription from an Australian physician is on record or provided to authorities on their request.

Due to an increased in aggressive enforcement, and the failure of many customers to properly obtain a prescription, the two schedule 4 products plus phenibut will not be shipped on a credit card order.  Customers assume risk of cusoms seizure and may still purchase via bitcoin; as noted if a prescription is on record, there should be no issue with personal use levels of importation.

Importing nootropics into New Zealand

We ship many orders to New Zealand, and the vast majority of our orders arrive without any problem.  Medsafe has scheduled most racetams (which includes noopept) and Customs does occasionally stop shipments and request a signature from a GP for the product.  What we have found is that most customers have no issue with this as the process is far simpler than what is required in Australia with Customs providing the paperwork and only a signature being generally required.

 

Countries with Few Issues to Date

This list includes Switzerland, France, and Singapore.  Of those, France is the one to keep an eye on as the importation ease appears to be associated with softer customs enforcement relative to the rest of the EU than a more favorable legal framework (as appears to be the case with Switzerland and Singapore).  France generally has few issues with products entering the country, but Customs does impose duties on higher value orders; we have not yet seen a consistent cutoff point, but most shipments above USD200 in value are getting assessed – as a result we have had to cap order values for credit card orders.

There are other locations with few problems to date, but also very limited order history.

Problem Countries

If your country is on this list, we either do not ship there or there is a high likelihood you may encounter customs problems/delays. It is your due diligence to check this list before ordering.

Argentina

We have had problems shipping to Argentina and no longer ship here.

Austria

Many Austrian orders get seized or returned. Avoid ordering if you are from this country.

Belgium

We have had problems shipping to Belgium, with similar treatment to Germany, and no longer ship here.

Brazil

We have had orders with long delays to customers in Brazil. These problems were caused by customs delays and seizures with related credit card problems.  We have stopped accepting credit cards for Brazil shipments; bitcoin orders will be accepted, but beware the ongoing issues.

Chile

A recent surge in seizures by Customs and credit card chargebacks has forced us to stop accepting credit cards for Chile shipments,

Germany

We have had several orders seized or returned from Germany.  It appears that if products are not specifically allowed by regulators, that customs has a high likelihood of seizure. We no longer ship here.

Ireland

Export of our products to Ireland continues, though guidance from the Irish Medicines Board results in increased risk of seizure at the border.

Italy

Italy has had consistent problems. Their customs is very strict and they do not allow the importation of nootropics.  We no longer ship here.

Japan

Japan has generally been good with importing amounts with value less than USD 200, and delays for customs clearance are usually short.  However, we have seen some recent activity targeting herbal supplements (no consistent data on product or value triggers as yet) that have resulted in longer delays and in two cases product seizures.  We still ship here, but beware the current importation landscape.

Mexico

Due to a strong spike in fraudulent orders and some inconsistency with Customs enforcement, we no longer accept credit cards for shipments to Mexico.

Morocco

We have had problems shipping to Morocco and no longer ship here.

Netherlands

Though ironic, several recent seizures at Amsterdam Customs because the products are considered Prohibited Articles due to nature of content.  We no longer ship here.

Norway

Norway has strict rules regarding the importation of certain nootropics. We no longer ship there.

Spain

Spain has strict customes enforcement, with large value orders and expedited orders being a particular problem.  It is strongly advised to keep order values under USD 100 in order to reduce the risk of delays and seizure.  Due to recent surges in returns for Spain orders and resulting credit card processing problems, we can no longer accept credit cards for shipments to Spain.

Sweden

Sweden does not allow the import of our products.

United Kingdom

The UK has seized several shipments of our products, in addition to inconsistently applying import VAT requirements, often resulting in COD requirements for duty.  We have chosen to stop shipping to the UK.