DEA number


A DEA number is an identifier assigned to a health care provider by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration allowing them to write prescriptions for controlled substances.
Though there is no legal basis for preventing its use as a general prescriber identification number, for security reasons the DEA prefers that DEA registration numbers only be used for authenticating and tracking prescriptions for controlled substances. The agency prefers that the National Provider Identifier be used for general identification purposes.

Current format

A valid DEA number consists of:
Registrant type :
For example, for a registrant using a business address instead of a name, the DEA number might look like "F91234563". In some cases, multiple people are prescribing under the supervision of a more senior prescriber. In this case, the supervised individual may be identified by affixing an ID string to the end of the supervisor's DEA number, after a dash, e.g. "F91234563-001AB".

Older format

Prior to October 1, 1985, DEA registration numbers for physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and other practitioners started with the letter A. New registration numbers issued to practitioners after that date begin with the letter B, F, or G. The rest of the format was the same as the new style.