From the FDA label (DailyMed)Verified 2026-06-01

Zepbound Dosing & Titration Schedule

Where tirzepatide begins, every step it climbs, and where it stops — maintenance and maximum both — read straight off the FDA prescribing information.

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Zepbound Titration Schedule

Each rung of the Zepbound ladder, taken from Dosage & Administration in its FDA label (DailyMed SetID 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b). The schedule you actually follow is the one your prescriber writes; this is the reference behind it, not advice about your case.

Step	Dose	When
1	2.5 mg once weekly	Weeks 1–4 — the run-in
2	5 mg once weekly	Once 4 weeks at 2.5 mg are behind you
3	Increase in 2.5 mg increments (7.5 / 10 / 12.5 / 15 mg)	4 weeks or more at whatever dose you are on

Source: Zepbound FDA prescribing information via DailyMed (SetID 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b), Section 2 Dosage & Administration, read on 2026-06-01. Treat this as a summary: the full label is the document, and your prescriber's instructions are what you follow.

Zepbound Dosing at a Glance

Starting dose

2.5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks (all indications)

Maintenance dose

For weight reduction: 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg once weekly. For obstructive sleep apnea: 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly.

Maximum dose

15 mg once weekly (all indications)

How to titrate safely

Steps come in 2.5 mg increments, and never sooner than 4 weeks at the current dose. Outrunning the schedule is not permitted, and side effects you cannot live with are a reason to slow down.

One rule governs the whole ladder: you only climb if you are tolerating where you already are, and you hold or slow down when side effects flare. Outrunning the label's schedule does not get you results sooner. What it reliably produces is more nausea and more of everything else the gut does in response.

If you miss a dose or can't tolerate a step

Missed a dose? How late is too late is not the same answer for every drug. Read GLP-1 missed-dose rules by drug for what Zepbound specifically allows, before you double up or write the dose off.

Can't tolerate a dose increase? Holding at the current dose, or waiting longer before the next step, is something the label explicitly permits. What each step tends to bring is set out on the Zepbound side effects page, then talk to your prescriber before changing your schedule.

Compare every Zepbound provider

Your dose and your titration plan are set by a prescriber before anything is written. Current price, verification status, product form and the states each seller ships to are all on one screen.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Zepbound (tirzepatide) opens at 2.5 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks (all indications) — the initiation dose written into its FDA label, DailyMed SetID 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b. It exists to let your body adjust, and as a rule it is not the dose that produces the full effect.

Steps come in 2.5 mg increments, and never sooner than 4 weeks at the current dose. Outrunning the schedule is not permitted, and side effects you cannot live with are a reason to slow down. What governs you is the schedule written on your own prescription. The ladder above is the label's escalation, not advice about your case.

Its FDA label caps Zepbound at 15 mg once weekly (all indications), and puts maintenance at For weight reduction: 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg once weekly. For obstructive sleep apnea: 10 mg or 15 mg once weekly..

Late-dose windows are drug-specific, so check the missed-dose guide rather than assuming. Where a step up brings side effects you cannot live with, the label permits holding at the current dose or dropping back to the previous one — but raise it with your prescriber rather than deciding on your own. The Zepbound side-effects page sets out what each step tends to bring.