Is Corvalol Legal in the USA? Phenobarbital, Phenazepam and What US Customs Takes Off You

You are standing over an open suitcase in Yerevan, Istanbul or Belgrade with a 25 ml bottle in your hand, and someone in the family chat has just written that they take it away at the airport. Or a parcel from Moscow is already sitting at a CBP facility with a notice attached to it. This page covers only the legal and customs side of Corvalol, Valocordin and phenazepam as the rules stand in August 2026: what each substance is under US law, what the officer is allowed to do, and what the paperwork has to look like.

This is not medical advice and not a personal consultation. No American substitute is named here and no dosage is discussed. Changing or replacing a medication is a conversation with a licensed US physician, not with a customs guide.

Corvalol, Valocordin and Phenazepam Under US Law: The August 2026 Table

Two agencies, two separate objections

The short answer is that Corvalol is not contraband, and it is also not free to walk through. It is a Schedule IV controlled substance in the eyes of the Drug Enforcement Administration because of one ingredient, and it is an unapproved drug in the eyes of the Food and Drug Administration because the finished product has no US approval. Two different agencies, two different objections, one bottle.

Product	Ingredient that decides the outcome	US federal status	What it means at the border
Corvalol (Farmak), oral drops	Phenobarbital 18.26 mg per 1 ml	Phenobarbital is Schedule IV, 21 CFR 1308.14(c)(48), DEA code 2285	Personal medical use exemption of 21 CFR 1301.26 applies, including the 50 dosage unit cap for US residents
Valocordin, oral drops	Phenobarbital 18.4 mg per 1 ml	Same Schedule IV listing	Same exemption, same cap, same declaration duty
Corvalol or Valocordin in tablet form	Phenobarbital	Same Schedule IV listing	Tablets are countable, so the 50 dosage unit cap bites cleanly
Phenazepam (bromdihydrochlorphenylbenzodiazepine)	The molecule itself	Not listed by name in the federal DEA schedules; not FDA approved	Not a federal controlled substance, but an unapproved new drug refusable under 21 U.S.C. 381(a), and Schedule I in several states
Any of the above, no prescription, no label in English	Documentation	Unchanged	The label conditions of 21 CFR 1301.26(a) and (b) are the part travellers fail

Why Corvalol Counts as a Controlled Substance: Phenobarbital Is Schedule IV

Phenobarbital appears by name in the federal schedule of depressants at 21 CFR 1308.14, entry (c)(48), with DEA Controlled Substances Code Number 2285. That is the whole reason a heart drop bottle from a Kyiv or Moscow pharmacy becomes a customs event.

Schedule IV does not mean banned

Schedule IV is the tier that holds diazepam, alprazolam and zolpidem, and phenobarbital is prescribed in the United States. The question is therefore never whether the molecule may exist here, but whether your bottle satisfies the import exemption written for travellers.

Corvalol vs Valocordin: Phenobarbital per Millilitre and per Bottle

The difference sits in the package and in the dropper, not only in the formula. The Farmak instruction sheet for Corvalol drops states that 1 ml equals 26 drops. Valocordin leaflets do not agree with each other on the dropper: the Ukrainian and Kazakh texts give 1 ml as 20 drops, the Belarusian text gives 30, and the recommended dose moves with it. Read the leaflet inside your own box rather than a number copied from a forum. What does not move is the milligram figure per millilitre, and that is the number the border cares about.

Parameter	Corvalol (Farmak)	Valocordin (Krewel Meuselbach)
Drops in 1 ml	26	20 or 30, depending on the leaflet market
Phenobarbital per 1 ml	18.26 mg	18.4 mg
Second active substance	Ethyl ester of alpha-bromoisovaleric acid, 20 mg per ml	Ethylbromisovalerianate, 18.4 mg per ml
Aromatic component	Peppermint oil 1.42 mg per ml	Peppermint oil and hop oil
Retail bottle sizes	25 ml and 50 ml	20 ml and 50 ml
Phenobarbital in the smallest retail bottle	25 ml: about 457 mg	20 ml: about 368 mg
Phenobarbital in a 50 ml bottle	About 913 mg	About 920 mg
FDA approval status	None	None

A single 25 ml Corvalol bottle therefore carries roughly 457 mg of a Schedule IV barbiturate across the border, spread over about 650 drops. A 50 ml bottle of either product is close to 920 mg. Those numbers, not the price on the pharmacy receipt, are what the conversation at the booth is actually about.

The 50 Dosage Unit Cap in 21 CFR 1301.26 and Who It Binds

21 CFR 1301.26 is the rule that lets an individual carry a Schedule II through V substance into the country at all. Subsection (c) adds the ceiling: a United States resident may import no more than 50 dosage units combined of all such controlled substances obtained abroad for personal medical use.

Who is a United States resident for this rule

The regulation defines a resident by place of general abode, meaning the principal actual dwelling place in fact, without regard to intent. Citizens and green card holders living here are residents. A visitor arriving on a B-2 visa is not, and CBP guidance applies the 50 unit ceiling to US residents specifically.

The one way past the 50 unit cap

The cap does not apply to controlled substances obtained in the United States under a prescription issued by a DEA registrant. A prescription written by a doctor in Moscow, Almaty or Tbilisi is not a DEA registrant prescription and does not lift the ceiling. Only a US prescriber registered with the DEA does.

Why drops make this messy

There is no published conversion of millilitres of oral solution into dosage units. Tablets count themselves, drops do not, and in practice the officer treats the bottle as the object in question. One small bottle is a different conversation from eight.

The FDA 90-Day Supply Is a Foreign National Rule, Not a Green Card Rule

The 90 day figure that circulates in Russian-language forums is real, but it belongs to a different category of traveller. The FDA Personal Importation page states that foreign nationals may bring or ship a 90-day supply of drug products, and that those staying longer than 90 days may have additional medication sent. For medication sent by mail or courier the same section suggests including documentation showing the medicine is for the recipient's own use while visiting the US: a copy of the visa or passport, a letter from the doctor, and a copy of the prescription in English.

What the same page says about citizens and residents

For US citizens the FDA position is that importing drugs for personal use is in most circumstances illegal, because the products often have no US approval. The page then describes two situations in which FDA personnel may consider a more permissive decision, and it is an either/or, not one long checklist:

• Branch one. The product is not for treatment of a serious condition and there is no known significant health risk.
• Branch two, for a serious condition and prescription drug products. Effective treatment may not be available domestically through commercial or clinical means; there is no known commercialization or promotion of the product to persons residing in the US; the product does not represent an unreasonable risk; the consumer affirms in writing that the product is for personal use; the quantity is generally not more than a three month supply; and either the name and address of the US licensed doctor responsible for the treatment is given, or evidence that the treatment was begun in a foreign country.

FDA 90 days against DEA 50 units

The two rules do not cancel each other. The FDA decides admissibility of the drug product, the DEA decides admissibility of the controlled substance inside it, and the FDA page says explicitly that the DEA generally makes that call, with the two agencies coordinating where both have jurisdiction. For Corvalol both filters are live at once: unapproved product plus Schedule IV content.

What the Bottle and the Booth Must Show Under 21 CFR 1301.26

The exemption has conditions, and this is where suitcases fail.

• Original container. The substance must be in the original container in which it was dispensed. Drops decanted into a water bottle or a contact lens case are outside the exemption before anyone opens the bag.
• A declaration to the officer. You must state that the substance is for your personal use.
• Identification of the substance. You must give the trade or chemical name and the schedule symbol if they appear on the container label, or, if they do not, the name and address of the pharmacy or practitioner who dispensed it and the prescription number.

Read that third condition against a Corvalol box bought over the counter. There is no US schedule symbol on it and no prescription number, because nobody wrote a prescription. The practical answer is to travel with the pharmacy receipt and an English letter from the treating physician naming the product and the condition. That is the same kind of paperwork the FDA suggests for medication sent by mail, and it is what turns an unreadable box into something an officer can act on. The same folder solves a second problem: see our note on converting Russian medical records for US doctors.

Is Phenazepam Illegal in the USA? Not Scheduled Federally, Not Approved Either

Phenazepam is absent from the DEA alphabetical list of controlled substances, and it is not among the depressants listed in 21 CFR 1308.11 through 1308.15. It is also not approved by the FDA for any use in the United States.

What that combination produces

A drug with no US approval is an unapproved new drug under 21 U.S.C. 355, and under 21 U.S.C. 381(a) an article that is adulterated, misbranded or in violation of section 355 shall be refused admission. The same subsection says the refused article is destroyed unless it is exported within 90 days of the date of notice of refusal. Read the rest of that sentence before relying on the window: the statute also lets the Secretary of Health and Human Services destroy a refused drug without any opportunity for export when it is valued at $2,500 or less and was not brought into compliance under subsection (b), subject to notice and an opportunity to appear. A pharmacy-priced bottle sits far below that line, so for an ordinary personal parcel the realistic outcome is destruction rather than a 90 day countdown. In plain terms: not a federal drug charge, but not a package that gets delivered either.

The state layer is where phenazepam gets serious

Federal silence is not national silence. Several states list phenazepam by its chemical name in their own schedules, and possession is prosecuted under state law regardless of the federal gap.

Phenazepam by State: Louisiana Schedule I vs Oklahoma Schedule IV vs New York

The same blister pack changes legal character when the plane lands in a different city. This is the single most overlooked point in every forum thread on the subject.

State	Citation	Phenazepam
Louisiana	R.S. 40:964, Schedule I(D)(10)	Schedule I
Virginia	Va. Code 54.1-3446	Schedule I
Alabama	Ala. Code 20-2-23	Schedule I
Mississippi	Miss. Code 41-29-113	Schedule I
North Carolina	N.C.G.S. 90-89	Schedule I
Oklahoma	63 O.S. 2-210	Schedule IV
Georgia	Ga. Code 16-13-28	Schedule IV
New York	Pub. Health Law 3306	Not listed by name
Kentucky	902 KAR 55:015, Section 1	Not listed by name; Schedule I tracks 21 CFR 1308.11 plus three named state additions

Phenobarbital by State: Kentucky Schedule III vs the Federal Schedule IV

Phenobarbital is the mirror image of phenazepam. It is not a gap in the schedules, it is a listed depressant, and the only argument is about the tier. Most states track the federal Schedule IV placement. Kentucky does not, and its own regulation says so in writing.

Jurisdiction	Citation	Phenobarbital tier	Wording that matters
Federal (DEA)	21 CFR 1308.14(c)(48)	Schedule IV	Listed by name, DEA code 2285
Kentucky	902 KAR 55:015, Section 3(2)(d)	Schedule III	The regulation states on its face that it differs from 21 CFR 1308.14 because it places pentazocine, barbital, methylphenobarbital and phenobarbital in Schedule III
New York	Pub. Health Law 3306, Schedule IV(c)(40)	Schedule IV	Reaches any material, compound, mixture or preparation containing any quantity of it
Virginia	Va. Code 54.1-3452(1)	Schedule IV	Same mixture-or-preparation language
Louisiana	R.S. 40:964, Schedule IV(B)(47)	Schedule IV	Listed by name

Why the tier matters and why it still does not make Corvalol herbal

The tier is a state law question and it drives state penalties, so check your own state instead of assuming Schedule IV everywhere. Two things follow for a bottle of drops. First, the mixture language used by New York and Virginia means the finished product, not only the pure molecule, is the controlled substance. Second, nowhere in the United States is Corvalol simply a herbal calming drop: the phenobarbital inside it is federally controlled, and federal law is what applies at the port of entry no matter which state the flight lands in.

Declaring Medication to CBP and the Penalty Under 19 U.S.C. 1497

The written customs declaration, CBP Form 6059B, is where arriving passengers list what they are bringing; the controlled substance statement required by 21 CFR 1301.26(b) is made to the CBP officer. Skipping both is the expensive choice.

What the statute actually charges

19 U.S.C. 1497(a) makes any article that is not in the declaration and not mentioned before examination of the baggage begins subject to forfeiture, plus a personal penalty. Subsection (a)(2) sets the amount: for a controlled substance, either $500 or 1,000 percent of the value of the article, whichever is greater; for anything else, the value of the article.

The trap in the word value

Subsection (b) says the value of a controlled substance for this purpose is the price at which it is likely to be sold illegally, as determined by the government, not the six dollars printed on your pharmacy receipt. A cheap bottle therefore does not buy a cheap penalty. The floor alone is $500, and declaring costs nothing.

Mailing it instead: the parcel has nobody to declare it

The difference between a suitcase and a parcel is structural, not statistical. The exemption in 21 CFR 1301.26 is built around a person who is present and makes a declaration; a suitcase has that person standing next to it, a parcel has a customs form filled in by a relative abroad and nobody at the port of arrival to answer questions. That is also why FDA suggests that mailed medication travel with documentation showing it is for the recipient's own use, which is exactly what a parcel otherwise lacks.

Six Ways This Goes Wrong at the Border

1. Drops repacked into an unmarked bottle. Cause: the exemption in 21 CFR 1301.26(a) requires the original dispensing container. Action: never decant, and keep the outer carton with the composition printed on it.
2. A dozen bottles for the whole extended family. Cause: quantity turns personal use into a distribution question and blows past the 50 dosage unit ceiling for residents. Action: one traveller, one personal supply, nothing for other households.
3. Nothing declared because it looked like a herbal remedy. Cause: phenobarbital is Schedule IV whatever the box calls the product. Action: declare it, in writing on CBP Form 6059B and out loud at the booth.
4. A Russian-language prescription and nothing else. Cause: the officer cannot read it and it is not a DEA registrant prescription. Action: carry an English letter from the physician plus the pharmacy receipt.
5. The parcel arrives and then vanishes. Cause: refusal under 21 U.S.C. 381(a), where a drug valued at $2,500 or less can be destroyed with no export option at all. Action: read the notice date and act on it immediately instead of waiting out a 90 day window that may never apply.
6. Phenazepam carried into the wrong state. Cause: Schedule I in Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina, whatever the federal position. Action: treat it as a state criminal exposure question and speak to a lawyer, not to a forum.

Two Typical Scenarios: The Baggage Hall and a Parcel to Fair Lawn NJ

Typical scenario: two bottles in a toiletry bag at the airport

Typical scenario, arriving passenger. A green card holder returning from Yerevan packs two 25 ml Corvalol bottles, about 913 mg of phenobarbital in total, in a toiletry bag, and ticks nothing on the declaration. In secondary inspection the bottles are found. Because they are in original cartons and the traveller has a pharmacy receipt, the realistic outcome is a decision about the goods rather than about the person: the traveller is offered the chance to give the bottles up on the spot. The undeclared status is what created the exposure under 19 U.S.C. 1497, not the bottles.

Typical scenario: four bottles mailed to Fair Lawn NJ 07410

Typical scenario, parcel. A family in Staten Island NY 10314 asks relatives to mail four bottles of Valocordin to a cousin in Fair Lawn NJ 07410. There is no declaration by an individual, no physician letter inside, and no US prescriber anywhere in the chain. The package is held and a notice issues. Because the goods are worth a few dollars, the export route that the 90 day language seems to promise is exactly the one the statute lets the agency skip. Nothing in the chain was criminal; nothing in the chain satisfied 21 CFR 1301.26 either.

Both scenarios above are illustrative composites built from the rules cited on this page, not accounts of specific individuals.

Your Situation, What To Do, Why

Situation	Recommendation	Reason
Green card holder, one small bottle for personal use	Original carton, declare it, carry a receipt and an English physician letter	21 CFR 1301.26(a) and (b) conditions plus the resident cap in (c)
Visitor on a B-2 visa, three month trip	Bring only your own supply with visa copy, doctor letter and prescription in English	FDA allows foreign nationals a 90-day supply of drug products
Tablets rather than drops	Count them and stay well under 50 units	21 CFR 1301.26(c) caps residents at 50 dosage units combined
Relatives want to mail it	Do not rely on the mail for anything containing phenobarbital	No individual is present to make the declaration the exemption requires
Phenazepam of any quantity	Leave it abroad and speak to a licensed US physician about care here	Unapproved new drug refusable under 21 U.S.C. 381(a), Schedule I in several states
Living in or flying through Kentucky	Treat phenobarbital as a higher-tier controlled substance there	902 KAR 55:015 places phenobarbital in Schedule III, expressly departing from the federal Schedule IV
Already received a CBP or FDA notice	Note the date and get counsel immediately, without assuming a 90 day window	21 U.S.C. 381(a) permits destruction with no export opportunity for a drug valued at $2,500 or less
Elderly parent moving to the US permanently	Build US care first: Medicare paths for aging Russian parents and visitor visa versus green card	A US prescriber ends the import problem permanently

What SafeBridge Does and Does Not Do Here

SafeBridge Insurance Group works with Russian-speaking families in New York, New Jersey and Florida in Russian, English and Ukrainian. We do not clear customs, we do not import medication, and nothing on this page is medical, legal or immigration advice or a personal consultation. What we do handle is the coverage side of the same move: health coverage for immigrants without employer insurance and the rest of the first year checklist. Questions: (315) 871-0833, data@truckernavi.com. For anything involving a seizure notice, a scheduled substance or a change of medication, speak to a licensed US attorney or a licensed US physician.