World Anti-Doping Agency — International independent agency, founded in 1999, that publishes the World Anti-Doping Code and the annual Prohibited List used by tested sport federations worldwide.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is an international independent organisation founded in 1999 to coordinate anti-doping policy across sports and countries. WADA publishes the World Anti-Doping Code and the annual Prohibited List, which is the operational document defining which substances and methods are banned in tested sport. The Prohibited List is the reference standard against which most “natty” or “not natty” determinations on Retapedia are made.
Prohibited List structure
The Prohibited List is published each January and groups banned substances into categories:
- S0 Non-approved substances
- S1 Anabolic agents — includes anabolic steroids and SARMs
- S2 Peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances, and mimetics — includes growth hormone, IGF-1, and GH secretagogues
- S3 Beta-2 agonists
- S4 Hormone and metabolic modulators
- S5 Diuretics and masking agents
- S6–S9 In-competition only (stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, glucocorticoids)
Therapeutic use exemptions
Athletes with documented medical need for a prohibited substance may apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) authorising the substance for the duration of treatment.
Signatories
The WADA Code has been adopted by the International Olympic Committee, international federations, national anti-doping organisations, and most major sports leagues. Natural-bodybuilding federations typically adopt the WADA list as a baseline, often adding further restrictions.
See also
External links
This page was last edited on May 23, 2026, at 00:00 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.