Medicine schedule chart – South Africa's S0 to S8

South African medicine schedules describe how a substance or medicine may be supplied and controlled. A higher number does not automatically mean a medicine is stronger, better or more dangerous for every person. The legal schedule can depend on the ingredient, form, route, strength, indication or pack, so a copied internet list is not a safe substitute for checking the exact record.

• Schedule 0 medicines are general-sale products under the conditions attached to that listing.
• Schedules 1 and 2 are pharmacy medicines; whether a product needs a prescription depends on the exact schedule and approved conditions.
• Schedules 3 and 4 are prescription-controlled medicines.
• Schedules 5 and 6 have tighter controls and require careful professional oversight.
• Schedules 7 and 8 are the highest control levels in this series and should never be treated as ordinary self-care products.

A medicine can appear in more than one schedule when the form, strength, route or indication changes. That is why the box and the official record matter.

1. 1Write down the exact active ingredient, form and strength.
2. 2Check the approved South African record or patient information leaflet for that exact product.
3. 3Ask a pharmacist what the schedule means for supply, prescription status and safe use.
4. 4Keep schedule status separate from dose instructions: the schedule does not tell you how much to take.