Prohibited goods

Medicines must not be ordered from outside the EEA

Remember that you are not allowed to order any medicines from outside the EEA. These kinds of medicines also include erectile dysfunction drugs. Please check from what country you are ordering the drugs. Countries belonging to the EEA, i.e., the European Economic Area, are the EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

You can order drugs from the EEA but there are restrictions that apply to ordering. Read about the restrictions on Fimea’s website. Note that you can order prescription drugs only by using a prescription. Make sure that the online pharmacy from which you order is legal. Read on Fimea’s website, how you can identify a legal online pharmacy.

Check the import prohibitions in the Customs restrictions manual (only available in Finnish) before placing an order – as the ordering party, you are responsible for making sure that regulations are followed.

Examples of prohibited goods

  • You are not, as a private person, allowed to obtain or receive goods containing biocides from abroad, unless there is an authorisation number granted by the Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) on the packaging of the goods. Goods like these include tick collars for dogs, rodenticides and mosquito repellent mats intended for mosquito repellent devices. More information can be found on the Safety and Chemicals Agency website: Biocides
  • It is prohibited to obtain or receive snus from countries outside Finland. It is illegal to order snus over the internet.
  • The import of foodstuffs may be prohibited. For example, the import of meat and milk products from outside the EU is prohibited. More information: Finnish Food Authority.
  • Medicines must not be ordered from outside the EEA. Please check from what country you are ordering the drugs. These kinds of medicines include erectile dysfunction drugs and medical products for preventing hair loss that contain minoxidil. Countries belonging to the EEA, i.e., the European Economic Area, are the EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
  • It is prohibited to obtain or receive medicinal products that contain narcotic substances from countries outside Finland. More information: Fimea
  • It is prohibited to obtain or receive veterinary medicinal products from countries outside Finland. More information: Fimea
  • It is prohibited to import brass knuckles, stilettos, throwing stars, electric stunners, electric batons as well as precision slingshots and slings. Read more in the Customs restrictions manual (only available in Finnish).
  • It is prohibited to import copyright-infringing and counterfeit products.
  • Private persons cannot order or bring fireworks to Finland from outside the European Economic Area. It is possible to order and bring fireworks to Finland from the European Economic Area. Note that, in Finland, fireworks are under the supervision of the Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes). Countries belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) are the EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

    Fireworks can be sent and exported from Finland to the EEA territory, and also outside the EEA territory. However, fireworks can be under restrictions or prohibitions in the country to which you are taking or sending them. You can get more information about the restrictions and prohibitions e.g. from the authorities or the embassy of the country of destination.

  • Certain plants, trees, fruit, plant products and other goods are subject to import prohibitions. Check the valid import prohibitions on Finnish Food Authority’s (in Finnish) website. If needed, contact Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish).

Violation of provisions on dangerous objects
Cases involving “violation of provisions on dangerous objects” are detected on a regular basis in connection with the control of consignments that have arrived via Posti for private persons. Customs often takes possession of dangerous objects, such as tasers, spring batons, stilettos, shurikens and knuckledusters.

Points to consider

You are not allowed to acquire or receive medicinal products by post from a country outside the EEA

You are only allowed to acquire medicinal products from within the EEA

A private person may receive, for his or her personal use, prescription and non-prescription medicinal products from another EEA country in a quantity corresponding to no more than three months’ use, provided that:

  • the medicinal product has a marketing authorisation in the state from where it was acquired, or, if the medicinal product does not have a marketing authorisation, it was purchased with a prescription appropriately issued by a person authorised to do so;
  • the medicinal product has been acquired from a supplier authorised to carry out retail supply of medicines in the country of purchase; and
  • the person is able to prove that the medicinal product is intended for his or her personal treatment. For prescription medicines, this can be done by presenting the prescription or medical certificate appropriately issued by a person authorised to do so, or in the case of an electronic prescription, by presenting a summary print-out that can be obtained from the pharmacy.
  • If you have ordered medicinal products by post from the EEA, you must have the required documents before receiving the products.
  • Self-medication products, i.e. over-the-counter medicines:  For every medicinal product, a prescription status is defined, indicating whether the medicine in question may be supplied without a prescription and the maximum package size in which the medication can be purchased without a prescription. When you order medicines online, make sure you know the package sizes and the prescription status of the medicinal product.  More information from Fimea: fimea.fi – Self-medication products

When ordering medicines online or from an online pharmacy, make sure that the pharmacy is a legalised distance seller of medicines. Online services that operate in the European Union can be identified by a pan-European logo. Read more: fimea.fi – Common European logo for online services (in Finnish and Swedish).

  • You are not allowed to acquire or receive medicinal products containing a narcotic substance by post from outside Finland.
  • You are not allowed to acquire or receive veterinary medicinal products by post from outside Finland.

If you buy preparations containing melatonin online, find out the dosage and the purpose of use of the product. In this way, you can make sure that you are not unknowingly committing a medicine offence. A melatonin preparation can be classified as a medicine or as a food supplement. Remember that you cannot order medicines online from outside the EEA.

Rule of thumb: if a preparation contains no more than 1.9 mg of melatonin per daily dose and its purpose is e.g. to reduce the time for sleep onset or to ease jet lag, it is usually classified as a food supplement. The purpose of use of the preparation is indicated in the label and in advertising. The Finnish Medicines Agency, Fimea, does not take any measures concerning such food supplements.

Please remember the following:

  • Preparations containing melatonin and indicated to be used for treating insomnia are always classified as prescription medicines, regardless of the daily dosage.
  • Preparations with the daily dosage of 2 mg or more of melatonin are always classified as prescription medicines.
  • If you order a preparation that is too strong or that is intended for treating insomnia, you will be guilty of ordering a prescription medicine without a prescription.

Customs supervises import goods that are subject to restrictions by means of risk analysis and X-ray, with the help of detector dogs, and by performing goods inspections when needed.


See the relevant section in the Customs restrictions manual (in Finnish)


Read more

Any questions?

Contact Customs Information Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm

Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.

If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.

Customs Information Service