Does amoxicillin expire?
The printed date covers the sealed pack. Once amoxicillin is opened, mixed or diluted, its label sets a second and usually much shorter limit — quoted below, per product.
Shortest limit on any amoxicillin label: 14 days
“Discard suspension after 14 days.”
That applies to the product it is printed on, not to every form of amoxicillin — check which one you have against the list below.
What the labels say
How the label says to keep amoxicillin
Storage is the other half of the question: the stability behind any date assumes these conditions, and a medicine kept outside them ages faster than the calendar says.
- “Store dry powder at 20° to 25°C (68° to 77°F); excursions permitted to 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F) [see USP Controlled Room Temperature].”
- “16 HOW SUPPLIED/STORAGE AND HANDLING Amoxicillin Capsules, USP 500 mg are available as ivory cap and ivory body.”
- “Store at 20°-25°C (68°-77°F) [See USP Controlled Room Temperature].”
- “16 HOW SUPPLIED/STORAGE AND HANDLING Amoxicillin Tablets, USP 875 mg: Each film-coated tablet contains 875 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate.”
- “Store at 20° to 25°C (68° to 77°F) [See USP Controlled Room Temperature].”
- “16 HOW SUPPLIED/STORAGE AND HANDLING Product: 50090-1797 NDC: 50090-1797-0 30 CAPSULE in a BOTTLE 2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION In Adults, 750 to 1750 mg/day in divided doses every 8 to 12 hours.”
- “16 HOW SUPPLIED/STORAGE AND HANDLING A moxicillin tablets, USP: Each tablet contains 500 mg or 875 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate.”
- “Store at or below 25° C (77° F) .”
Frequently asked questions
Does amoxicillin expire?
Two different clocks apply and only one of them is the printed date. The date on a sealed pack is the manufacturer's guarantee for the unopened product. Once it is opened, mixed or diluted, the label imposes its own limit — as tight as 14 days on some amoxicillin products, and that is the number quoted on this page.
Can I still use amoxicillin after the date on the box?
This page cannot tell you that, and nor can any page. The FDA's own shelf-life programme found 88% of tested lots stayed within specification at least a year past expiry — and concluded in the same breath that lot-to-lot variation means this can only be confirmed by testing each lot. What you can check at home is the in-use limit above and whether the product has been stored as the label requires. Ask a pharmacist about a specific pack; they will also dispose of what you no longer need.
Why do different amoxicillin products have different limits?
Because they are different formulations. A suspension that gets mixed with water, a pen that gets carried at room temperature, and a sealed tablet do not behave alike, so each manufacturer's label sets its own limit and each is shown here with the product it belongs to. We never merge them into one number for the molecule.
More on amoxicillin
Quoted from FDA labels for reference, not medical advice, and not a suggestion to use anything past its limit. If you are unsure whether a pack is still good, a pharmacist can tell you and can dispose of it safely.