DEA Certification for GME Residents and Fellows

During onboarding, incoming residents and fellows are given information on how to apply for an individual Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number or, if already a current DEA registrant, how to update address and medical license information. All residents and fellows must provide a copy of their new Controlled Substances Registration Certificate (“DEA certificate”).

Current DEA registrants will need to update their address before the start of clinical training at UW Health. DEA certifications that were required for training at another institution will not be reimbursed.

A full, unrestricted medical license is required before applying for an individual DEA registration number.

An Individual DEA registration number is not required for every specialty.

If a resident does not have a DEA certificate and it is required for their training:

  • Residents will receive an email from the GME office with instructions on how to apply for an individual DEA registration number after receipt of their unrestricted medical license
  • A pro-rated reimbursement based on the number of months left of training (calculated from the date the DEA was issued) will be processed by to the GME office

Institutional DEA

Residents training at UW Health will be assigned the institution’s DEA number. This number is only valid while training at UW Health and its facilities (e.g., not UnityPoint Health-Meriter). The institutional DEA will expire after a personal DEA is obtained or at the end of training. Institutional DEAs do not transfer or remain available after the completion of training (e.g., new residents and fellows that used an institutional DEA number at their previous institution will not report this information on any new hire documentation).