Courses that Meet Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Requirements for Licensing

Beginning on June 27, 2023, Section 1263 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 requires that all practitioners applying for a new or renewed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration will need to complete at least eight hours of training on opioid or other substance use disorders, or be board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry. Below are some common questions we receive and specific details to be aware of related to the new requirements:

• How often does this need to be done? The training requirement is a one-time only requirement and must be affirmed on the DEA registrant’s next scheduled DEA registration submission — either the initial registration or the renewal — occurring on or after June 27, 2023. Upon completion of the affirmation, additional training requirements will not be required in subsequent registration renewals.
• Is the 8-hour training a specific course I need to take? No. There is not a specific 8-hour course that needs to be taken. Practitioners can select multiple continuing education (CE) activities that meet their specific area of interest in opioid or substance use disorders to fulfill the requirement. The training content can be provided through any combination of different activity formats (online on-demand, live webinar, recorded webinar, conference session, audio digest, etc). Additionally, there is no requirement regarding a specific time range in which the 8-hours must be earned.
• What CE activities can qualify to meet this requirement? Any new trainings and previously completed trainings — including the DATA 2000 Waiver training — can count toward meeting the requirement if those trainings are/were on the treatment and management of patients with opioid and other substance use disorders and are/were accredited by designated organizations (AANP is listed as a designated organization). If you are looking for additional CE activities to take to meet this requirement, you can visit the “Courses that Meet DEA Requirements” category in the AANP CE Center for a comprehensive and up-to-date listing of all the content AANP has to offer related to this requirement subject area. Any content completed from this area should be accepted by the DEA for their training requirement. Some content in this area is available for free, and some of it has a cost. The cost associated with meeting the training requirement depends on which courses you select to take.
• How do I know if the CE content I’ve completed will meet the DEA requirements? As long as the content of the training is related to the treatment and management of patients with opioid and other substance use disorders and was offered by an accredited organization specified by the DEA (list on bottom of Page 2 of this letter), it should be accepted.