PTCB Guide to DEA Numbers.

For the PTCB exam, pharmacy technicians are required to know about DEA numbers.

Technicians should know the purpose of DEA numbers, why they are used, and why they remain an effective intervention. Test questions on DEA numbers are common, so it’s worth investing the time to learn about what these numbers represent.

In this PTCB guide to DEA numbers, we review the key details you need to know.

What are DEA Numbers?

DEA numbers are unique identifiers assigned to healthcare providers by the Drug Enforcement Administration – a branch of the US Department of Justice. DEA numbers are primarily used to regulate controlled substances, as set out in the Controlled Substances Act, 1970.

As set out in the act, this includes:

• Prescribing
• Dispensing
• Administration

Controlled substances carry a high risk of dependence, abuse, and misuse – and so controlling how they are prescribed, dispensed, and administered is important.

DEA numbers are assigned to healthcare professionals and organizations to allow them to legally prescribe controlled substances. This includes:

• Physicians
• Dentists
• Nurse practitioners (depending on state laws)
• Physician assistants
• Pharmacists (for dispensing purposes)

Facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies are also required to have DEA numbers to handle controlled substances.

Note that assigned DEA numbers are not permanent. They must be renewed every three years. Renewal applications must be submitted through the DEA’s official system and the necessary fees paid for registration.

How DEA Numbers are Structured.

As pharmacy technicians, you may have already come across a DEA number and noticed its distinct pattern – a pattern consisting of two letters followed by seven digits.

The first letter of a DEA number represents the type of registrant:

The second letter of a DEA number typically represents the first letter of the registrant’s last name (or business name). If the prescriber was Andrew Mitchell, the second digit of his DEA code would be M.

The last digit is a check digit to verify the validity of the DEA number (calculated using a specific formula).

How to Verify the Validity of DEA Numbers.

Pharmacists often need to verify DEA numbers when processing prescriptions. This is done to ensure that the prescriber is legally permitted to prescribe those controlled substances.

DEA number verification is routinely tested on the PTCB exam. The process is very straightforward once you know the method:  

• Step 1: add the 1st, 3rd, and 5th digits.
• Step 2: add the 2nd, 4th, and 6th digits – and multiply this value by 2.
• Step 3: add the two results together.

The last digit of this total should match the last digit of the DEA number.

Let’s review a PTCB exam-style question:

Q. Verify the validity of the following DEA number: AB1234563

Let’s go through the same three step process we learned:

Step 1: add the 1st, 3rd, and 5th digits:

1 + 3 + 5 = 9

Step 2: Add the 2nd, 4th, and 6th digits – then multiply this value by 2:

(2 + 4 + 6) = 12

12 x 2 = 24

Step 3: Add the results from the first two steps:

9 + 24 = 33

Remember, for a DEA number to be valid, the last digit in this number must match the last digit in the DEA number.

As both AB1234563 and 33 end with the same number, this DEA number is valid.

Why are DEA Numbers Important?

There are six primary reasons why DEA numbers are important. Here, we briefly review each of these six advantages:

• Legal authorization of controlled substances – DEA numbers ensure that only licensed healthcare providers and organizations are eligible to dispense controlled drugs.
• Tracking controlled substances – DEA numbers allow for both the monitoring and tracking of controlled drugs. Controlled substances can be tracked from the moment a controlled drug is manufactured to the moment it is prescribed and dispensed. This helps to prevent illegal drug trafficking.
• Prevent drug abuse and misuse – DEA numbers mean that controlled drugs are not abused and misused. As we learned, pharmacists are required to verify the validity of DEA numbers to help ensure that the prescription can be processed.
• Accountability – by issuing DEA numbers, it safeguards that healthcare organizations and prescribers are held responsible for how they handle and prescribe controlled drugs. This also helps to combat prescription fraud.
• Drug scheduling – controlled drugs are divided into five schedules. DEA numbers ensure that a prescriber is qualified to prescribe drugs from an appropriate schedule. For example, only specific practitioners with DEA authorization can prescribe Schedule II drugs or stimulants.
• Addiction – the X designation was introduced to providers who are DATA-waived under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act, 2000 (DATA, 2000). This allowed those providers to prescribe drugs to treat opioid use disorder, such as buprenorphine. This measure was introduced to help combat the opioid crisis, though the X designation was removed in January 2023.

In summary, DEA numbers are essential to ensure that controlled drugs are prescribed, dispensed, and administered safely, legally, and responsibly.

DEA numbers are an important tool to help prevent drug misuse, as well as ensuring accountability among healthcare providers and organizations involved in the handling of controlled substances.

Tutorial Review.

Over the course of this PTCB guide to DEA numbers, we covered many of the key facts that pharmacy technicians are expected to know. Note that this material is examinable on the PTCB exam.

Throughout this tutorial, we learned:

• DEA numbers are unique identifiers assigned to healthcare providers by the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA numbers are primarily used to regulate controlled substances.
• DEA numbers are assigned to healthcare professionals and organizations to allow them to legally prescribe controlled substances. Each assignee is authorized to prescribe only those drugs that fall within the controlled substance schedule for which they have received specific approval.
• DEA numbers are composed of 2 letters followed by 7 digits. The first letter of a DEA number represents the type of registrant. The second letter represents first letter of the registrant’s last name (or business name). The last number represents the validity check value.
• DEA numbers can be validated using the following method:

Step 1: add the 1st, 3rd, and 5th digits.

Step 2: add the 2nd, 4th, and 6th digits – and multiply this value by 2.

Step 3: add the two results together.

The final digit of this value must match the last DEA number for it to be valid.

• DEA numbers are important for several reasons including the legal authorization of controlled substances; tracking and monitoring controlled drugs; to hold healthcare organizations and professionals accountable and prevent prescription fraud; to ensure that prescribers can only prescribe drugs from authorized drug schedules; and, in more recent years, to help combat the opioid crisis through the introduction of the X designation.

By keeping these facts about DEA numbers in mind, you will be sorted for this topic on your pharmacy technician exam.

We hope you found this PTCB guide to DEA numbers helpful. Check back to our blog soon for all the latest content to help you study and prepare for your pharmacy technician exam.