NEW DEA Registration Requirements for all prescribers who hold DEA registration

Updated Guidance on Mandatory Substance Use Disorder Training for Drug Enforcement Administration Registrants

As previously reported, last December, Congress passed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. That legislation included the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, which requires all Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrants (except veterinarians) 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. The DEA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released additional information on how practitioners will be required to comply with the new training requirement.

The DEA released a letter to practitioners that provides important information on how practitioners will be required to submit the affirmation. The one-time, eight-hour training requirement must be affirmed to 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, the affirmation will not be included in subsequent registration renewals. The DEA also clarified that both new trainings and previously completed trainings — including the DATA 2000 Waiver training — can count toward the practitioner meeting this 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, including AANP. Practitioners can also meet the training requirement if they have graduated in good standing within the last five years from an advanced practice nursing school in the U.S. that included a comprehensive curriculum with at least eight hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a substance use disorder.

In addition to the DEA letter to practitioners, SAMHSA also issued its recommendations for curricular elements in substance use disorder training. Further information is also available on the SAMHSA guidance webpage.

While the DEA is not requiring the submission of supporting documentation for the training affirmation, you can access your CE certificates by using the AANP CE Tracker if you previously completed applicable training courses through AANP.

As an authorized organization for these trainings, AANP continues to offer several courses that can be completed to satisfy the eight-hour training requirement. You can access the courses directly in the AANP CE Center or within the “Courses that Meet DEA Requirements” category. As a reminder, practitioners do not have to complete all eight hours in one training to satisfy this requirement; however, the total number of CE credits must equal at least eight hours.