Are SARMs Legal in Your Country? 2026 Country Guide

No country has approved any SARM as a medicine, and in most places SARMs count as unapproved medicines: illegal to sell for human use and liable to be seized at the border. Australia and New Zealand go further and make them prescription-only, and Brazil banned them outright in 2021. In the US they are unapproved drugs, not dietary supplements, but not controlled substances. A “for research use only” label does not change any of this, and every SARM is banned in sport.

The table lists what official sources say in each country we have checked, with the source and the date we checked it. Laws change; this is a research summary, not legal advice.

SARMs legal status by country (2026)

“Uncertain” means we found no official source that names SARMs for that country, so we say so instead of guessing.

What are SARMs and why are they regulated?

SARMs (selective androgen receptor modulators) act on the androgen receptor, the same receptor as testosterone. They were developed as medicines, but none has been approved in more than 25 years (Adolf 2026), so most regulators treat them as unapproved drugs. The FDA says products containing SARMs are not dietary supplements, are illegally marketed and carry risks including liver injury, heart attack and stroke (FDA).

They are also banned in sport: the WADA Prohibited List puts SARMs in S1.2 (other anabolic agents), prohibited at all times (WADA).

Are SARMs legal in the United States?

SARMs are not approved by the FDA. The agency says products sold as SARMs are unapproved drugs, not dietary supplements, and are illegally marketed; it has sent warning letters to sellers and pursued criminal cases against distributors (FDA). In a December 2025 warning letter to an online seller, the FDA named products sold as “Ostarine MK-2866”, “MK-677 Ibutamoren”, “Cardarine GW501516” and “LGD-4033 Ligandrol” as unapproved new drugs (FDA warning letter).

SARMs are not controlled substances under federal law. The SARMs Control Act of 2019 (S. 2895) would have added them to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act and treated them like anabolic steroids in several provisions (bill text). It was introduced on 19 November 2019 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and GovInfo holds only that introduced version (GovInfo).

MK-677 has an extra FDA flag: since 2022 and 2023, ibutamoren mesylate has been on FDA’s Category 2 list of compounding substances that may present significant safety risks, because of a heart failure signal in a hip-fracture trial (FDA).

What is the legal status of SARMs in the European Union?

We found no single EU-wide law on SARMs, and no SARM is an authorized medicine in the EU or anywhere else (Adolf 2026). The rules are national. These are the countries we have checked:

Germany

The annex to the Anti-Doping Act (AntiDopG) lists SARMs as a class, with andarine, ligandrol, ostarine (enobosarm), RAD-140, S-23 and YK-11 as examples, and also lists ibutamoren (MK-677), GW501516 (cardarine) and SR9009 (AntiDopG annex). Section 2 bans making, trading or selling doping agents for doping in sport, and acquiring, possessing or bringing into Germany a “non-small quantity” of a listed substance for doping in sport (AntiDopG § 2). We have not checked how German medicines law treats SARMs outside sport.

Netherlands

The food and consumer product safety authority (NVWA) warned in 2020 that SARMs are prohibited but still sold online, naming ostarine, MK-677 and S-23, and advised people not to use them. The notice does not say which law applies or whether personal possession is an offense (Dopingautoriteit).

Sweden

Sweden’s Doping Act covers synthetic anabolic steroids, testosterone and its derivatives, growth hormone, and chemicals that increase the production or release of testosterone or growth hormone. Import, sale, possession and use are banned except for medical or scientific purposes, with up to two years in prison. SARMs are not named in the Act, and we found no official source that confirms which SARMs it covers (Riksdagen).

Ireland

We found no Irish law or HPRA statement that names SARMs. The HPRA says supplying prescription medicines online in Ireland is illegal, and it detained over one million units of illegal medicines in 2024 (HPRA). More in our guides to SARMs in Ireland and are SARMs legal in Ireland, and for the rest of the continent, SARMs in Europe.

Are SARMs legal in the UK?

UK Anti-Doping says no SARM has been approved for human use and that the Food Standards Agency treats SARMs as unauthorized novel foods, so selling or advertising them as food or in supplements is illegal. It adds that any sale for human consumption is illegal, and that “research purposes only” labels are used to get around the rules (UKAD; UKAD). A search of legislation.gov.uk for SARM names returned no results, so SARMs do not appear in UK drug-control law (legislation.gov.uk). Whether personal possession is an offense was not confirmed in an official source. Our UK guide covers the rest.

Are SARMs legal in Australia and New Zealand?

Australia. The Poisons Standard (June 2026) lists SARMs, including enobosarm, and ibutamoren (MK-677) in Schedule 4 (prescription-only) and in Appendix D clause 5: “poisons for which possession without authority is illegal”. Cardarine is in Schedule 10, for substances so dangerous that their supply and use are prohibited (Poisons Standard). The TGA also states that SARMs are prohibited imports (TGA) and has fined a seller for advertising them (TGA). We have not checked state and territory penalties. More in SARMs in Australia.

New Zealand. The Medicines Classification Committee classified SARMs as prescription medicines in November 2013, naming enobosarm, to match Australia (Medsafe 2013). A 2025 Medsafe submission confirms this group classification and reports 56 parcels with peptides or SARMs intercepted at the border between 1 April and 19 May 2025 (Medsafe 2025).

Are SARMs legal in Canada?

Health Canada says SARMs have not been authorized for any medical use and names ostarine, RAD-140, LGD-4033 and andarine as examples. It warns that “For Research Use Only – Not for Human Consumption” labels do not make products legal, and that unauthorized health products bought online may be refused entry or seized at the border. Anabolic steroids are controlled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; the page does not say SARMs are (Health Canada). For cardarine, Health Canada published the developer’s 2013 warning not to use it under any circumstances (Health Canada).

Are SARMs legal in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America?

• Singapore: the Health Sciences Authority says no SARMs are approved for clinical use in humans, and lists SARM products found overseas as containing potent ingredients that are not allowed. How SARMs are scheduled is not confirmed (HSA).
• United Arab Emirates: we found no rule that names SARMs. In 2019 the health ministry warned that gyms were selling unlicensed hormones and steroids, said they would be confiscated, and said hormones need a prescription (Khaleej Times).
• Thailand: we found no Thai FDA statement on SARMs. Travelers may bring medicines for personal use (up to 30 days’ supply) only if they are not legally prohibited (Thai FDA).
• Brazil: Anvisa resolution RE 791/2021 prohibited the sale, distribution, manufacture, import, compounding, advertising and use of products containing SARMs, and ordered their seizure (Anvisa).
• Mexico: we found no COFEPRIS alert or rule that names SARMs (COFEPRIS).

We have not yet checked China, Japan, India, the Philippines or Saudi Arabia against official sources, so they are not in the table.

Is ostarine legal?

Ostarine (enobosarm, MK-2866) has the same status as other SARMs, and several authorities name it directly:

• US: the FDA’s December 2025 warning letter calls products sold as “Ostarine MK-2866” unapproved new drugs (FDA).
• Australia: enobosarm is Schedule 4 and in Appendix D clause 5, so possession without a prescription is illegal (Poisons Standard).
• New Zealand: enobosarm was named a prescription medicine in 2013 (Medsafe).
• Germany: ostarine (enobosarm) is named in the Anti-Doping Act annex (AntiDopG).
• Sport: the WADA List names “enobosarm (ostarine)” as a prohibited SARM (WADA).

Some older articles, including an earlier version of ours, said ostarine was legal everywhere except Australia and would soon be approved by the FDA. Neither holds. Its two Phase 3 cancer trials missed their main goals in 2014 (GTx 2014), a later Phase 3 breast cancer trial was stopped for a business decision (ClinicalTrials.gov), and it is now in Phase 2 trials with weight-loss drugs (Veru 2025). More in our ostarine fact sheet.

Is MK-677 legal?

MK-677 (ibutamoren) is not a SARM, but its legal status is similar:

• US: not an approved drug; on FDA’s Category 2 compounding list for significant safety risks (FDA); named as “MK-677 Ibutamoren” in the December 2025 warning letter (FDA).
• Australia: ibutamoren is Schedule 4 and in Appendix D clause 5 (Poisons Standard).
• Germany: ibutamoren is named in the Anti-Doping Act annex (AntiDopG).
• Sport: named as “ibutamoren (MK-677)” in WADA section S2.2.4, banned at all times (WADA).

More in our MK-677 fact sheet.

Will SARMs become illegal?

In many countries they already are restricted, and recent actions point the same way:

• US: the 2019 bill to schedule SARMs did not move beyond committee as far as GovInfo shows (GovInfo), but the FDA keeps acting against sellers, most recently with the December 2025 warning letter (FDA).
• Brazil banned SARM products in 2021 (Anvisa).
• Australia keeps SARMs in Schedule 4 with Appendix D in the June 2026 Poisons Standard (Poisons Standard), and New Zealand intercepted 56 parcels with peptides or SARMs in seven weeks in 2025 (Medsafe).

We do not predict new laws. When an official source changes, we update the table and the date we checked it.

Can athletes use SARMs?

No. WADA bans all SARMs at all times, in and out of competition, including ones it does not name, such as RAD-150 and AC-262,536 (WADA; UKAD). Positive tests for SARMs numbered 106 in 2024 (Adolf 2026). Full details: SARMs and WADA and SARMs drug tests.

Why does legal classification matter?

• Seizure: products can be refused entry or seized at the border (Health Canada; TGA).
• Fines: Australia’s TGA has fined a seller for advertising SARMs (TGA).
• Sport: a positive test is an anti-doping rule violation, and it is up to the athlete to prove how it happened (Kintz 2024).
• Product quality: unregulated products often do not match their labels; in one analysis only 52% of products sold as SARMs contained a SARM (Van Wagoner 2017). See how to read a lab test.

The bottom line

No SARM is an approved medicine anywhere. Selling SARMs for human use is illegal in most of the countries we checked, possession without a prescription is an offense in Australia, Brazil has banned them, and every sport bans them. “Research use only” labels do not make them legal. Check the official source for your country in the table above. For the science behind the rules, see the SARMs database and SARMs side effects.