Uzbekistan Laws & Customs to Know Before You Go

Since early 2026, bringing a vape into Uzbekistan can be a criminal offence. It's the newest rule on a list that most visitors never read, and it's a good example of why the list matters: a thing that's normal at home can cause real trouble at an Uzbek border post.

Uzbekistan is a safe, welcoming country, and the great majority of trips pass without a single encounter with the law. The rules below are the ones travellers actually run into. We've based them on the UK government's travel advice, the Uzbek authorities' own announcements and reporting from Uzbek news outlets. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check your own government's advice before you travel (last checked: September 2026).

Carry your passport, always

This one surprises people. Carrying your passport is a legal requirement in Uzbekistan, not a suggestion, and police do carry out document checks, particularly in Tashkent, around stations and in the metro. You can be fined for not having it. A photocopy doesn't count.

In practice, the check is quick and polite. Keep the passport in an inside pocket or a neck pouch rather than a back pocket, and keep a photo of the main page on your phone in case you lose it.

Registration: the 3-day rule

Every foreign visitor has to be registered with the authorities within three days of arrival, and weekends count towards those three days. It sounds bureaucratic, but you rarely have to do anything yourself:

Hotels and licensed guesthouses register you automatically, usually through the online system called E-mehmon. The tourist tax is included in the bill.
If you stay with friends or in a private flat, the host is responsible for registering you.
If you camp or travel in a campervan, you have to register yourself online through E-mehmon within three days and pay the tourist tax per night.

When you move to a new city and stay more than three days, you need registering again. That happens automatically at each hotel. Keep any registration slips hotels give you. Checks at departure are rare these days, but the rule still says you must be able to account for where you stayed, and gaps can mean a fine.

Night trains are the classic trap. A night on a sleeper doesn't count as a registered night, so don't string three overnight trains together without a hotel in between. Our visa and entry guide covers who needs a visa and how long visa-free stays last.

Medicines: check before you pack

This is the rule most likely to catch out an ordinary traveller. Some medicines that are sold over the counter at home are controlled in Uzbekistan. Codeine is the best-known example, and it's in several common painkillers and cough mixtures. Strong painkillers, some sleeping pills and some ADHD medicines are also restricted.

What to do:

check the Uzbek lists of prohibited and restricted medicines, linked from your government's entry requirements page
carry a doctor's prescription or letter for any prescription medicine, ideally translated into Russian
keep medicines in their original packaging
declare prescription medicines on your customs form when you arrive

Travellers at land borders face more thorough checks than those at Tashkent airport. If you're crossing from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, be extra careful.

Vapes and e-cigarettes are banned

Uzbekistan passed a law in 2025 banning the production, import, sale and use of e-cigarettes and vaping liquids, and it came into force in early 2026. Possession can lead to criminal penalties, including heavy fines and, in serious cases, prison. It isn't clear whether any allowance exists for personal use, and we wouldn't test it. Leave vapes at home, or bin them before the border. Ordinary cigarettes remain legal, though smoking is banned in many public places.

Drugs

Possession of any illegal drugs, including small amounts of cannabis, can bring a long prison sentence. Prison conditions are poor. There's no tolerance for "personal use" and no practical way around it. This applies to CBD products too, which are best left at home.

Drones need a licence

Importing and flying a drone is largely prohibited without a licence obtained in advance. Customs can confiscate drones found in luggage, and flying one without permission can lead to a fine or worse. If aerial photography matters to you, arrange permission well before the trip through a licensed tour operator. Otherwise leave the drone at home. Our photography guide covers what you can shoot and where.

Photographs: most things are fine

Photography rules have relaxed a lot. You can now take pictures in the Tashkent metro, which was banned for decades. Monuments, bazaars and streets are fine. Some sites charge a small extra fee for cameras.

The places to keep your camera down are military sites, border posts, airports, police stations, bridges and government buildings. The Palace of Forums in Tashkent is one that UK advice mentions by name. If a police officer or guard waves at you to stop, stop and delete if asked. Arguing makes it worse.

People are a separate matter. Ask before photographing anyone, especially women and older people. Most say yes with a smile.

Money and currency

Changing money on the street is illegal and penalties are harsh. Since the som became freely convertible in 2017, there's no advantage to the black market anyway. Use banks, official exchange booths or ATMs.

You must declare cash over US$10,000 on arrival, and you can't leave with more foreign currency than you brought in. Exchange booths reject damaged, marked or pre-2013 US dollar notes, so bring clean, recent ones.

Buying antiques and carpets

Old carpets, antiques and some cultural items need an export certificate to leave the country legally. Reputable shops arrange this for you and include it with the purchase. A carpet without the right paperwork can be seized at the airport. Our carpet buyer's guide explains how the certificate works and what it costs.

Alcohol

Alcohol is legal and widely available, and Uzbekistan produces its own wine, beer and vodka. Selling alcohol or tobacco to anyone aged 20 or under is illegal, so younger travellers may be asked for ID. Drinking heavily in public and being drunk in the street are frowned on, especially outside Tashkent.

LGBT+ travellers

Sexual relations between men are a criminal offence in Uzbekistan, under Article 120 of the Criminal Code, with prison terms of up to three years. Same-sex relationships are not recognised, and social attitudes are generally conservative. International groups such as Human Rights Watch have documented harassment of gay men by police.

In practice, LGBT+ visitors do travel in Uzbekistan without problems. Hotels won't question two people sharing a room, which is common among travelling friends. The standard advice from Western governments is to avoid public displays of affection and to be cautious with dating apps. We'd add one thing: be careful about who you meet through apps, because entrapment cases have been reported.

Religion and what to wear

Uzbekistan is a secular state with a Muslim majority, and religion is closely regulated. Missionary work and proselytising are illegal. Bringing a Bible or Quran for personal use is fine, but carrying religious literature to hand out is not.

There's no legal dress code, and in Tashkent you'll see everything from mini-skirts to headscarves. At mosques, shrines and in villages, dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered for everyone, and a headscarf for women inside working mosques. Our guide to Uzbek etiquette covers the everyday customs, from greetings to bread.

If you're stopped, or something goes wrong

Police stops of tourists are usually brief document checks. Stay calm, show your passport, and if there's a language problem, show the registration slip from your hotel or call your guesthouse and hand over the phone. Hosts deal with this every week.

Never offer money to make a problem go away. Petty corruption has fallen sharply in recent years, and an offer that might once have been accepted can now land you in far more trouble than the original issue. If an officer asks for an on-the-spot "fine", ask for a written receipt. Genuine fines are paid through a bank or app, not in cash on the street.

If you lose your passport, report it at the nearest police station and ask for a written statement of the loss. Then contact your embassy in Tashkent, which can issue an emergency travel document. The loss also affects your registration record, so let your hotel know as well. Expect the whole process to take a few days, and keep a scan of the passport somewhere you can reach it online.

If you're detained for any reason, you have the right to ask for your embassy to be contacted. Ask clearly and keep asking. Don't sign anything written in a language you can't read.

A quick checklist before you fly

Passport valid for the whole trip, plus a scan saved online
Prescription medicines in original packs, with a doctor's letter, checked against the restricted list
No vapes, no e-liquids, no CBD
No drone, unless you already have a licence
Clean, post-2013 US dollar notes if you're bringing cash
Accommodation booked for every night, or a plan to register
Your embassy's Tashkent phone number saved on your phone

Social media

This last one is easy to overlook. Posts that insult the president, the state, the flag or national traditions can bring fines or detention under Uzbek law, and UK advice specifically warns about it. Criticism of the government online is a sensitive area. Share your plov photos freely. Think twice before posting jokes about the country's leadership while you're still inside it.

None of this should put you off. Visitors who carry their passport, sleep in registered accommodation, leave vapes and drones at home and check their medicines have nothing to worry about.

Featured image: Bok (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.