DEA License Information

Step One: Obtain Fee-Exempt License

Please reach out to contrsubs@umd.edu to obtain verification of the fee-exempt status for both the Maryland Department of Health Office of Controlled Substance Administration (OCSA) Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) Registration/Renewals and the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Diversion Control Division Registration/Renewals. The information needed for these sections of the applications will be provided to you once your status is confirmed.

DO NOT send applications or other content with personal identification information filled out to the e-mail address above!

Any questions specifically about the application process for the State of Maryland OR Federal licenses should be addressed to the appropriate entity (see links below). We will not respond to emails with these questions. The information below is the best we can provide and is subject to change.

Contact the Maryland OCSA

Contact the DEA Diversion Control Division

Step Two: Maryland Registration

Apply for a Maryland CDS Registration with the OCSA. The OCSA webpages contain all appropriate forms and submission tools. Most applications receive a determination within 23 days.

1. From the OCSA homepage, navigate to the "CDS Application" from the menu options at the top of the screen.
   1. Complete the "Practitioner - 3 Year Application." Be sure to:
      1. Fill out all requested information.
      2. Select "Researcher Schedule I-V" (Section 1A). The schedule for some common controlled substances are indicated in the tables below.
      3. Input information provided from contrsubs@umd.edu in Section 1C.
      4. Provide physical address where the drugs will be used in Section 2C (i.e., your lab including room number).
      5. List Federal DEA license # as "Pending" (Section 3B).
      6. As a researcher, you may not have a "Professional License #" so you may simply put "N/A" (Section 3A).
      7. As a researcher, you are not a "prescriber" so you do not need to register with the PDMP and can simply put "N/A" (Section 4).
   2. Save as a PDF when complete.
2. Navigate to the "CDS Questionnaire" page in the menu at the top of the screen and complete the "CDS Researcher Questionnaire."
   1. Save as a PDF when complete.
3. Complete the CDS Online Registration (for renewals as well–make sure information in the above is revised if it has changed).
   1. Fill out all requested information and ensure that it matches your answers in the previous two forms above.
   2. Upload the appropriate PDFs when indicated.

Step Three: Federal Registration

Once your State of Maryland license is approved, apply for a Federal DEA license (you will need your state license number).

First-time applications for Researchers should complete the online DEA Form 225 to apply for the signature required to waive fees for the Federal application. Please see Form 225 and Instructions for 225.

You will be asked to complete the Federal DEA Researcher Questionnaire after you have submitted the application.

Federal DEA licenses must be renewed annually.

Most of these items are NOT on the DEA list above, but must be considered as the schedule category listed below when applying for your license. If the controlled substance is on the DEA list, the schedule is indicated in parentheses and should be indicated correctly.