Is Modafinil legal in Egypt?

Also known as: provigil

Legal status

Not listed in any table of Egypt's Anti-Narcotics Law, Law 182/1960, as at 3 October 2026, under Ministry of Health and Population Decision 44 of 2026, which replaced every table annexed to Law 182/1960, published in Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya issue 39 (continued, c) on 17 February 2026, as amended by Decision 242 of 2026, issue 179 of 17 August 2026. Modafinil was searched on the page images of all six tables and in two English OCR passes and one Arabic OCR pass over every page of both decisions, under modafinil, its Arabic spelling, adrafinil and armodafinil, with no hit. Decision 44's preamble cites 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. The earlier cell's statement that it is a prescription only registered pharmaceutical, sold as Modasomil, is carried and was not re-read; registration sits under Pharmacy Law 127/1955, which was not read for this cell. The Egyptian Drug Authority laws index read on 3 October 2026 lists no amendment to the tables later than Decision 242, which does not rule out one made since.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Law 182/1960's penalty articles, from Article 33 and Article 34, which carry death, to Article 45, attach to the substances in Tables 1 and 3 and the plants in Table 5, and modafinil is in none of them. The earlier cell's statement that unlicensed possession or sale is a pharmacy or health law offence is carried, not re-read; those laws were not read for this cell. The UNODC reproduction of Law 122/1989 the earlier cell cited is superseded as a table source, because Decision 44 replaced every table.

If prescribed or medical

Carry the prescription. Modafinil is not in the narcotic tables, so the prescription maxima of Table 4 do not apply to it; Egypt's rules for importing a registered medicine were not read.

Documentation

Carry the prescription and the medicine in its original packaging, and confirm the position with the Egyptian Drug Authority or an Egyptian consulate before travel. The earlier text of this field described a scheme of Schedule 1 and Schedule 3(a,b,d) medicines that Decision 44 replaced; its statements are carried as the earlier cell's and were not re-read: that amphetamine and dexamphetamine (Adderall), methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) and methadone cannot be imported even with a foreign prescription; that tramadol is tightly controlled; that codeine, diazepam and some sleep aids may be carried with a doctor's letter, original packaging, a 2 to 3 month maximum supply and a customs declaration; and that a traveller received a 3 year sentence in 2017 for carrying 290 tramadol tablets.

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.