Is Methylphenidate legal in Indonesia?

Also known as: ritalin

Legal status

Psikotropika Golongan II under Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika: Psikotropika Golongan II of the Lampiran to Permenkes No. 14 Tahun 2025, item 2 「METILFENIDAT: Metil-alfa-fenil-2-piperidina asetat」. Methylphenidate has a gap in its history and it is worth knowing about. It was item 12 of Psikotropika Golongan II in the 1997 Act. UU 35/2009 s.153(b) repealed the whole Golongan I and II annex on the stated basis that those substances 「telah dipindahkan menjadi Narkotika Golongan I」, had been moved into Narkotika Golongan I. Methylphenidate is not in Narkotika Golongan I, or II, or III; it appears in none of the 325 entries of the current narcotics list. It exists today because Permenkes No. 14 Tahun 2025 re-established Psikotropika Golongan II and put it at item 2, alongside SEKOBARBITAL at item 3, which has the identical history. The model: each Act carries its own list for the first time only, and every change since is a Ministerial regulation. Pasal 6(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika divides narcotics into Golongan I, II and III. Pasal 6(2) then provides that 「Penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) untuk pertama kali ditetapkan sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran I dan merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari Undang-Undang ini」, so the Act's own annex governs only the first classification. The empowering article is Pasal 6(3): 「Ketentuan mengenai perubahan penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri」. The psychotropics Act is built the same way: Pasal 2(3) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika sets the four golongan 「untuk pertamakali」 in its annex and Pasal 2(4) provides that 「Ketentuan lebih lanjut untuk penetapan dan perubahan jenis-jenis psikotropika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) diatur oleh Menteri」. So neither Act's annex is the operative list today. The narcotics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 15 Tahun 2025 tentang Perubahan Penggolongan Narkotika, ditetapkan 21 November 2025, diundangkan 28 November 2025, Berita Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2025 Nomor 989, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 7 Tahun 2025. The psychotropics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 14 Tahun 2025 tentang Penetapan dan Perubahan Penggolongan Psikotropika, Berita Negara Tahun 2025 Nomor 988, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 6 Tahun 2025. The Act itself was last amended by Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2023. One part of the scheme is still in the Act and not in any regulation: the Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II, Tabel I and Tabel II, which neither Permenkes restates.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: this substance is placed in Psikotropika Golongan II. The entry read is «2. METILFENIDAT: Metil-alfa-fenil-2-piperidina asetat». The KUHP Pasal 610 ayat (2) huruf a capital limb reaches a Golongan I narcotic only, and this row is not one. Capital exposure: none. The psychotropics offences sit in a different Act with a different shape. Pasal 59(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 covers using, producing, distributing, importing and unlawfully possessing, storing or carrying a Golongan I psychotropic, at 4 to 15 years. Pasal 60 and the articles after it cover production, distribution and supply of psychotropics generally, in terms of years. There is no quantity ladder anywhere in this Act, so weight does not change the band, and there is no purity rule either. Golongan II psychotropics carry no death penalty. Pasal 59 and its capital sub-article reach only Golongan I, and the offences for the other golongan are in Pasal 60 and following with terms of years. Neither reaches this substance. The only death penalty in the psychotropics Act is in Pasal 59(2), and Pasal 59 applies by its own terms to psikotropika golongan I alone; each of its five limbs names Golongan I expressly. Golongan II offences fall under Pasal 60 and the articles after it, which carry terms of years and fines and neither death nor life imprisonment. The narcotics ladder in Pasal 111 to 127 of the other Act does not reach this substance either, because it is not in any Golongan of the narcotics list.

If prescribed or medical

Methylphenidate is registered in Indonesia and is prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder under psychotropics prescription controls. It is a controlled medicine, not a freely dispensed one.

Documentation

Carry a prescribed methylphenidate supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription and a doctor's letter, and declare it. It is a Golongan II psychotropic here and not an ordinary medicine, but unlike amphetamine it does have a lawful route.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Indonesia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.