How to Find Methotrexate in Stock Near You (Tools + Tips for 2026)

With methotrexate injection on the FDA shortage list since March 2023, finding a pharmacy that has your dose and formulation in stock can feel like a scavenger hunt. This guide gives you a concrete, step-by-step action plan to locate methotrexate — and get your prescription filled — as quickly as possible.

Step 1: Know Exactly What You're Looking For

Before making any calls, have these details ready for every pharmacy you contact:

Formulation: Oral tablet (2.5 mg) vs. injectable solution (25 mg/mL) vs. subcutaneous auto-injector (RediTrex)

Dosage strength: e.g., 2.5 mg tablets, or 25 mg/mL injection in a 2 mL or 10 mL vial

Preservative-free status: Critical for intrathecal (spinal) administration — must be preservative-free

Quantity needed: Number of tablets or vials per prescription fill

Pharmacies check their systems much faster when you give them precise information rather than just asking "do you have methotrexate?"

Step 2: Start With Your Current Pharmacy — Then Expand Your Search

Call your regular pharmacy first, but don't stop there. Availability varies enormously between pharmacies even within the same ZIP code. Here's the order to try:

Your current pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.)

Big-box pharmacy chains (Walmart, Costco, Kroger pharmacy) — often have competitive generic stock

Independent pharmacies — local independents sometimes maintain smaller but more reliable stock of specialty generics

Hospital outpatient pharmacies — especially for injectable and preservative-free formulations needed for cancer treatment

Specialty and compounding pharmacies — may be able to compound methotrexate if standard formulations are unavailable (requires a provider prescription specifying compounding is medically necessary)

Step 3: Use a Pharmacy Finder Service

Calling pharmacy after pharmacy is exhausting, especially when you're not feeling well. medfinder does that work for you. You provide your medication, dosage, and ZIP code, and medfinder calls pharmacies near you to check availability. Results are texted to you — typically within 24 hours — so you can go directly to a pharmacy that has your medication ready.

Step 4: Ask Your Prescriber for Help

Your rheumatologist, dermatologist, or oncologist has connections that you don't. Many physician offices have dedicated staff who handle medication access issues and maintain relationships with specialty pharmacies. They may also be able to:

Contact a hospital pharmacy directly on your behalf

Prescribe a different formulation (oral vs. injectable) if clinically appropriate

Authorize a bridge medication while you wait for methotrexate to become available

Refer you to an infusion center or hospital pharmacy that stocks the medication

Step 5: Consider Mail-Order Pharmacies

Mail-order pharmacies — including those operated by major insurers — sometimes have better access to generic medications than brick-and-mortar locations because they purchase in larger volumes. If you're on long-term oral methotrexate for arthritis or psoriasis, a 90-day supply via mail order can reduce the risk of running out between fills.

Note that injectable methotrexate — particularly preservative-free formulations for cancer treatment — typically requires specialty pharmacy fulfillment, not standard mail-order.

Tips for Calling Pharmacies More Efficiently

Call the pharmacy directly — not the automated line — and ask for the pharmacist

Ask specifically: "Do you currently have [formulation + dosage] in stock at this location?"

Ask if they can order it and when it would arrive

Call in the morning — pharmacies receive deliveries overnight and early morning is the best time to check current stock

For background on why this shortage is happening, see our post on why methotrexate is hard to find in 2026 and the latest methotrexate shortage update.