Updates to Requirements For All DEA-Registered Practitioners. What it Means for Your Practice.

Beginning June 27, the DEA registration will require applicants – both new and renewing – to complete a new, one-time, eight-hour training focusing on substance use disorder, with exceptions for some practitioners.

On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 enacted this training requirement for all Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-registered practitioners on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.

Below is information on this new requirement:

Who is responsible for satisfying this new training requirement?

All DEA-registered practitioners, with the exception of practitioners that are solely veterinarians.

How will practitioners be asked to report satisfying this new training requirement?

Beginning on June 27, 2023, practitioners will be required to check a box on their online DEA registration form—regardless of whether a registrant is completing their initial registration application or renewing their registration—affirming that they have completed the new training requirement.

What is the deadline for satisfying this new training requirement?

The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a practitioner’s next scheduled DEA registration submission—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—on or after June 27, 2023.

This one-time training requirement affirmation will not be a part of future registration renewals.

How can practitioners satisfy this new training requirement?

There are multiple ways that practitioners can satisfy this new training requirement:

First, the following groups of practitioners are deemed to have satisfied this training:

Group 1: All practitioners that are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Board of Addiction Medicine, or the American Osteopathic Association.

Group 2: All practitioners that graduated in good standing from a medical (allopathic or osteopathic), dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the United States within five years of June 27, 2023, and successfully completed a comprehensive curriculum that included at least eight hours of training on:

- Treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a substance use disorder; or

- Safe pharmacological management of dental pain and screening, brief intervention, and referral for appropriate treatment of patients with or at risk of developing opioid and other substance use disorders.

Second, practitioners can satisfy this training by engaging in a total of eight hours of training on treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders from the groups listed below. A few key points related to this training:

1. The training does not have to occur in one session. It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight hours of training.

1. Past trainings on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards a practitioner meeting this requirement. In other words, if you received a relevant training from one of the groups listed below—prior to the enactment of this new training obligation on December 29, 2022—that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement.

1. Past DATA-Waived trainings count towards a DEA registrant’s 8-hour training requirement.

1. Trainings can occur in a variety of formats, including classroom settings, seminars at professional society meetings, or virtual offerings.

What accredited groups may provide trainings that meet this new requirement?

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP)
American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or any organizations accredited by the AOA to provide continuing medical education
The American Dental Association (ADA)
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)
The American Psychiatric Association (APA)
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Any other organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (AACCME) or the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition (CCEPR), whether directly or through an organization accredited by a State medical society that is recognized by the ACCME or CCEPR
Any other organization approved or accredited by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the ACCME, or the CCEPR