CarryRules
GB

What can you bring into United Kingdom?

HM Revenue & Customs / Home Office (GOV.UK) · HM Revenue & Customs / Border Force (GOV.UK) · HM Revenue & Customs · Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (GOV.UK)
At a glance
Tobacco 200 piece Restricted Last verified 2026-09-19 Alcohol 18 liter Restricted Last verified 2026-09-19 Cash 10,000 GBP / 10,000 EUR Declare Last verified 2026-09-16 Duty-free value allowance 390 GBP / 270 GBP Restricted Last verified 2026-09-19
Categories
Tobacco and vaping products Cigarettes 200 piece · Cigars 50 piece · Loose/pipe tobacco 250 gram 24 rules Restricted
General allowances Gifts and personal goods 390 GBP · Personal exemption, absence over 24 hours 390 GBP · Personal exemption, absence over 48 hours 390 GBP 28 rules Restricted
Cash and valuables Cash and bearer negotiable instruments (all currencies) 10,000 GBP · Cross-border movement of monetary instruments (cash and bearer negotiable instruments) 10,000 EUR · Currency and monetary instruments (CAN$10,000 reporting) 10,000 GBP 13 rules Declare
Pets and live animals Cats and dogs 5 piece · Aquarium fish 5 piece 5 rules Prohibited
Animal and plant products Meat, meat products and dairy products 2 kilogram · Fish and other fishery products 20 kilogram · Other products of animal origin (honey, live bivalve molluscs, live snails) 2 kilogram 23 rules Prohibited
Food consumables Chewing gum 390 GBP · Tea 390 GBP · Instant coffee 390 GBP 8 rules Allowed
Commercial goods, relocation and vehicles 2 rules Declare
Cosmetics and personal care Perfume and toilet water 390 GBP · Liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) 100 milliliter · Medicine and baby food/milk liquids exempted from the LAG limit 2 liter 6 rules Restricted
Cultural property and antiques Carpets, minerals and fossils 390 GBP 5 rules Restricted
Electronics and batteries Power bank 2 device · Spare (loose) lithium batteries 2 device 9 rules Restricted
Medicines and medical devices Personal-use medicines (non-controlled) 390 GBP · Non-narcotic, non-psychotropic medicines 390 GBP · External-use medicine (personal use) 390 GBP 13 rules Prohibited
Narcotics and controlled substances 1 rule Prohibited
Weapons, explosives and dangerous goods Unmanned aircraft (drones) 390 GBP · Dry ice (carbon dioxide, solid) 2.5 kilogram · Living animals and carcass 5 piece 40 rules Prohibited
Alcoholic beverages Spirits and wine 18 liter · Beer 42 liter · Wine 18 liter 17 rules Restricted

What happens if you do not declare

  • Step 1: Standard duty Statute: Overview / Declaring goods to customs
  • Step 1: Confiscation, Administrative fine Statute: Penalties
  • Step 1: Destruction Statute: If you break the rules
  • Step 1: Confiscation, Administrative fine, Criminal prosecution Statute: Banned and restricted goods; Overview
  • Step 1: Quarantine, Return to origin Statute: What you need to do
  • Step 1: Flat rate tax Statute: Travellers' Allowances Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/955), article 6(3)
  • Step 1: Administrative fine, Confiscation Statute: Control of Cash (Penalties) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1509), regulation 3(1); the £10,000 threshold for Great Britain is set by Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005 as substituted by the Cas
  • Step 2: Confiscation, Administrative fine, Criminal prosecution Statute: Overview
  • Step 2: Confiscation, Reported to authority Statute: Penalties
  • Step 2: Administrative fine, Criminal prosecution Statute: If you break the rules
  • Step 2: Standard duty Statute: GOV.UK guidance 'Bringing goods into the UK for personal use', Overview
  • Step 3: Criminal prosecution, Confiscation Statute: Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 167(1)
  • Step 4: Criminal prosecution, Administrative fine Statute: Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 78(3)
  • Step 5: Confiscation Statute: Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 78(4)
  • Step 6: Confiscation Statute: Travellers' Allowances Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/955), article 3
  • Step 7: Criminal prosecution, Administrative fine Statute: Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 170(3)(a) and (b)
Official authorities 33 official sources
  1. HM Revenue & Customs / Home Office (GOV.UK) Bringing goods into the UK for personal use: Arriving in Great Britain
  2. HM Revenue & Customs / Border Force (GOV.UK) Bringing goods into the UK for personal use
  3. HM Revenue & Customs Simplified rates for bringing personal goods into the UK
  4. HM Revenue & Customs / Home Office (GOV.UK) Take cash in and out of the UK
  5. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (GOV.UK) Bringing food into Great Britain: Meat, dairy, fish and animal products
  6. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Government extends ban on personal meat imports to protect farmers from foot and mouth
  7. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) / Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Bringing food into Great Britain
  8. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (GOV.UK) Bringing food into Great Britain: Pet food
  9. Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) / DEFRA (GOV.UK) Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain: What you need to do
  10. Home Office / HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) Take medicine in or out of the UK
  11. HM Revenue & Customs / Home Office (GOV.UK) Bringing goods into the UK for personal use: Banned and restricted goods
  12. GOV.UK — Border Force / HM Revenue & Customs Guns, knives, swords and other offensive weapons: UK border control
  13. GOV.UK — Animal and Plant Health Agency Bringing pets to Great Britain
  14. GOV.UK — Department for Transport Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports
  15. GOV.UK — Animal and Plant Health Agency Check if you need a CITES permit to import or export endangered species
  16. GOV.UK — HM Revenue & Customs Restricted and controlled goods for merchandise in baggage
  17. GOV.UK — Department for Culture, Media & Sport Exporting or importing objects of cultural interest
  18. GOV.UK (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs / APHA) Bringing plants and wood into Great Britain: Plants and plant-based products from outside the EU
  19. GOV.UK — Home Office / Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Controlling your dog in public: Banned dogs
  20. UK Civil Aviation Authority Items that are allowed in baggage
  21. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: Liquids
  22. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: Personal items
  23. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: Electronic devices and electrical items
  24. GOV.UK — Animal and Plant Health Agency Bringing plants and wood into Great Britain
  25. GOV.UK (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs / APHA) Bringing plants and wood into Great Britain: Plants and plant-based products from the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
  26. GOV.UK — Animal and Plant Health Agency Moving specified plants, plant pests, pathogens and soil
  27. GOV.UK — Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs / Animal and Plant Health Agency Bringing food into Great Britain: Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds
  28. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: Work tools
  29. GOV.UK — HM Revenue & Customs Moving personal belongings to the UK
  30. legislation.gov.uk — HM Commissioners of Customs and Excise / The National Archives The Travellers' Allowances Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/955)
  31. HM Revenue & Customs (reference document for The Customs (Reliefs from a Liability to Import Duty and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) United Kingdom Customs Tariff: Reliefs from Import Duty, version 1.8 — Section 31: Fuel and lubricants present in land motor vehicles and special containers
  32. GOV.UK — Department for Transport Powered transporters — information sheet: guidance on powered transporters
  33. legislation.gov.uk — HM Revenue & Customs / The National Archives The Tobacco Products Regulations 2001, regulation 23 — Exceptions to the requirement to carry a fiscal mark
Last verified 2026-09-20 Report a mistake with this rule