The 90-day rule, explained properly
Almost every service that ships medicine out of India cites a "90-day rule" as though it were a statutory entitlement. It is not. Understanding what it actually is changes what you should expect at the border.
What the policy actually says
United States law generally does not permit individuals to import unapproved prescription drugs. What exists instead is enforcement discretion: the FDA may decline to act against a personal importation where the drug is for a serious condition, effective treatment is not available domestically, the product presents no unreasonable risk, and it is not being commercialised to US residents.
The 90-day supply figure comes from that guidance. It is a ceiling on what discretion might tolerate, not a permission slip.
Price is explicitly not a qualifying reason. The policy was never intended as a route to cheaper medicine.
Different countries, genuinely different rules
Australia runs a formal Personal Importation Scheme: a three-month supply per order, no more than fifteen months in any twelve, with an Australian prescription enclosed in the parcel. That is a real framework with real limits.
The United Kingdom’s three-month allowance is written for medicines carried on your person when entering the country. Posting prescription medicines is a materially different case and is scrutinised far more heavily.
Germany, Ireland and most of the European Union simply prohibit personal importation of prescription medicines from outside the EEA without an import permit. There is no discretion to rely on.
Controlled substances are a separate universe
Opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants and anabolic steroids are governed by narcotics law, not medicines law. The US DEA caps personal importation at 50 dosage units at a land border and effectively prohibits it by post.
We refuse controlled substances on every lane to every destination, with or without a valid prescription. This is not a policy we make exceptions to, and asking does not change it.
What good practice looks like
Keep the prescription with the medicine, in the original labelled manufacturer packaging, with the pharmacy dispensing note. Declare the contents accurately and at real value.
Order well before you run out. A parcel held for inspection for three weeks is an inconvenience if you have a buffer and a medical problem if you do not.
Tell your own prescriber what you are doing. A clinician who knows you are sourcing a repeat supply abroad can write for it properly.
In short
- The 90-day figure is enforcement discretion, not a legal entitlement.
- Australia and the UAE have workable frameworks; Germany and Ireland prohibit it outright.
- Cost savings do not qualify you under the US policy.
- Controlled substances are refused everywhere, prescription or not.
Put this to use
A free Indian address takes under a minute and costs nothing until something ships.