Guidance Documents

Question and answer concerning moving controlled substances to another address without changing the address of the DEA registered location.

Question and Answer concerning suspicious order reporting during the civil unrest and looting.

Question and answer concerning reporting of theft and/or loss of controlled substances during civil unrest and looting.

Questions and answer concerning obtaining a new DEA registration number for a temporary pharmacy that is replacing a damaged pharmacy due to civil unrest/looting at the same physical address.

The guidance discusses the meaning of the term “agent of a foreign principal” as used in FARA.

During the COVID-19 health emergency, DEA will permit OTPs to regularly use off-site locations located in the same state in which they are registered with DEA to deliver take-home doses of buprenorphine to patients authorized to receive them, without separately registering those locations.  OTPs must obtain approval for unregistered delivery locations from local DEA offices and SOTA.

During the Covid19 Public Health Emergency, DEA will temporarily permit registered practitioners such as hospitals, pharmacies, and physicians to distribute controlled substances (CS) in excess of five percent of their total number of dosage units of CS distributed to other registered dispensers during this calendar year, without registering as a distributor.  All DEA security, recordkeeping and other applicable regulations, including state requirements, remain in effect.

During the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency, DEA will permit distributors to deliver narcotic substances to Narcotic Treatment Programs without requiring immediate signature by the NTP’s authorized individual accepting delivery.  Distributors must confirm physical possession by the NTP and complete additional recordkeeping requirements in a timely manner.

Due to the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency, DEA-registered hospital/clinics may utilize alternate satellite hospital/clinic locations providing temporary services under their current registrations. DEA will allow such satellite hospitals/clinics to handle controlled substances and to receive shipments of controlled substances directly from distributors.  DEA must be notified by all registered hospital/clinics of any satellite locations intending to handle controlled substances.

Letter to all federal firearms licensees (FFLs) in response to questions from industry members regarding the legality of firearm sales and deliveries exterior to the brick-and-mortar structure at which the firearms business is licensed, in light of the March 13, 2020, declaration of a national emergency concerning the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the Department of Homeland Security’s subsequent classification of firearms businesses as essential.