Is Alcohol legal in Egypt?
Also known as: booze
- Legal status
- Legal / licensed, alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage (minimum age 21), not a controlled drug; domestically produced and sold in licensed outlets and tourist venues.
- Consequences if caught
- No penalty for licensed adult consumption; public intoxication is an offence, and sale is curtailed during Ramadan and for locals in some areas.
- If prescribed or medical
- n/a, a beverage, not a medicine.
- Documentation
- Bought at licensed liquor shops, hotels and bars on proof of age; duty-free purchase on arrival is common. No permit required for tourists.
- travel.state.gov
- The power that moves this list is article 32 of Law No. 182 of 1960, which delegates amendment of the tables to the Minister. As those tables stand after Ministerial Decision 242 of 2026, which amends the tables supplied by Ministerial Decision 44 of 2026, made after the Supreme Constitutional Court's judgment of 16 February 2026 in case 33 of judicial year 47, read on the court's own server on 3 October 2026, which held «بعدم دستورية قرار رئيس هيئة الدواء المصرية رقم 600 لسنة 2023 باستبدال الجداول الملحقة بقرار رئيس الجمهورية بالقانون رقم 182 لسنة 1960 في شأن مكافحة المخدرات وتنظيم استعمالها والاتجار فيها», striking Egyptian Drug Authority chairman's Decision 600 of 2023, and «بسقوط قرارات رئيس هيئة الدواء المصرية السابقة واللاحقة على القرار المقضي بعدم دستوريته، الصادرة في شأن تعديل الجداول الملحقة بقرار رئيس الجمهورية بالقانون المشار إليه», so that every earlier and later decision of the Authority's chairman amending the tables fell with it. Decision 44 and Decision 242 are decisions of the Minister of Health and Population, as their own first pages state, not of the Authority's chairman, so the judgment does not reach them, no later decision was located. That does not rule out a later amendment made or commenced since.
- the Supreme Constitutional Court judgment, case 33 of judicial year 47, 16 February 2026, at https://www.sccourt.gov.eg/DjangoPortalResources/Rules_Html/17885_47_33_1_2.html
Want to know if Egypt changes its law on Alcohol?
Drug-law changes, court decisions and research, once a month.
Free. We email you once to confirm. Unsubscribe with one click.
Court records
We have not yet assessed whether court records are publicly available for this jurisdiction.
Other substances confirmed in Egypt
Same substance, other countries
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Egypt’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately, not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →