Creatine powder is allowed on US flights in both carry-on and checked bags. The catch is not whether it can fly but how it is screened: a tub of white powder over a certain size goes through the checkpoint on its own and may be opened. This page sets out the rule as TSA publishes it, how many creatine products are over the threshold, and what changes for liquids and gummies.
The TSA rule, as published
TSA's "What Can I Bring?" entry for protein or energy powders — the category creatine falls under — reads, as of its last update on 2018-06-22:
- Carry-on bags: yes. Checked bags: yes.
- Powder-like substances greater than 12 oz / 350 mL must be placed in a separate bin for X-ray screening.
- They may require additional screening and containers may need to be opened.
- TSA encourages travellers to put non-essential powders over 12 oz in checked bags.
- As on every TSA item page: the final decision rests with the TSA officer.
The same wording appears on TSA's baby-powder entry, so it is a general rule for powders, not one aimed at supplements. Below 12 oz / 350 mL the separate-bin step does not apply.
Two things the rule does not say. It sets no maximum amount of powder — 12 oz is a screening threshold, not a cap. And it states the threshold as volume (350 mL) alongside an ounce figure, while creatine is sold by weight; how much space a given weight of powder takes depends on how finely it is milled and how densely it packs, and no published bulk-density figure for retail creatine was found.
How many creatine tubs are over 12 oz
The label database run by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements records each product's net contents. On 2026-10-20, of 369 on-market creatine powder labels with a stated net amount:
| Net contents | Labels |
|---|---|
| 340 g (12 oz) or more | 179 |
| Under 340 g | 190 |
| Most common sizes | 300 g (53), ~500 g (55), ~1 kg (25) |
So about half of creatine tubs on the US market are 12 oz or more by weight — the 500 g and 1 kg tubs are well over it, and a 300 g tub sits just under by weight. Whether a 300 g tub is under 350 mL by volume depends on how densely the powder packs, which the labels do not state.
What the rule describes for a powder over the threshold is a bin of its own and a possible look inside, not a refusal. A smaller container of powder falls outside the separate-bin step altogether. At the 5 g serving most labels use, a 300 g tub holds 60 servings; the serving arithmetic is on how much creatine should I take.
Liquid creatine and the 3.4 oz rule
Liquid creatine products are screened as liquids. TSA's liquids rule allows containers of 3.4 oz (100 mL) or less in a quart-sized bag in the carry-on; larger containers go in checked baggage.
The NIH database lists 11 on-market liquid creatine products, in bottles of 5 to 16 fl oz — every one of them over 3.4 oz as sold. Several are "creatine serum" products whose labels list an ingredient called creatine serum without stating how much creatine they contain; what those labels do and do not say is on liquid creatine.
Gummies and chews
TSA's entry for candy states that solid food items can go in carry-on or checked bags, and that liquid or gel foods over 3.4 oz cannot go in the carry-on. Creatine gummies are solid. The same entry notes officers may ask travellers to take foods and powders out of the bag for screening. What creatine gummies contain per piece — and the survey that found some held less creatine than labelled — is on creatine gummies.
Outside the US
Rules differ by country and by airport. The UK government's hand-luggage page, read on 2026-10-20, says food items and powders in hand luggage can obstruct images on X-ray machines, that bags may need to be checked again manually, and suggests putting them in hold luggage to minimise delays. It sets no separate powder volume limit on that page. Other countries' rules were not checked for this page, and an airline or airport can apply its own.
Airport screening is about what goes through the checkpoint. Bringing supplements into a country is a separate question for that country's customs and food authorities, and is not covered here.
Is there a legal or doping issue?
In the US, creatine is sold as a dietary supplement and is not a controlled substance; FDA's position on it is set out on is creatine FDA approved. It is not on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list, so carrying it raises no anti-doping question; that and the steroid confusion are covered on is creatine a steroid and does creatine show up on a drug test.
What is not established
- How often creatine is opened or delayed at US checkpoints. TSA publishes the rule, not the outcome rate.
- The volume of a given tub. Labels give weight; the 350 mL threshold is volume, and retail creatine's bulk density is not published on the labels read.
- Rules in countries other than the US and UK.
Sources
All read 2026-10-20.
- TSA, "What Can I Bring? — Protein or Energy Powders," last updated 2018-06-22. tsa.gov
- TSA, "What Can I Bring? — Baby Powder," last updated 2020-04-09. tsa.gov
- TSA, "What Can I Bring? — Candy." tsa.gov
- TSA, "Liquids, Aerosols, and Gels Rule." tsa.gov
- GOV.UK, "Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports." gov.uk
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Dietary Supplement Label Database, API v9: search "creatine", first 1,500 results; on-market products named creatine; net contents read from 369 powder labels and 11 liquid labels.