DEA license, apply now or when offered a job?

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Hello all!

Just looking for some advice in regards to DEA licensing. Graduated and passed my boards in December and in process of waiting for state NP license. Once I have all of that do you recommend applying for a DEA license before or after securing a job? In school they said we should have it included in contracts but I'm just wondering if that's for the renewal and that you are expected to have it before you start.

Just trying to find a job and want all my ducks in a row! I thought I had a job lined up with one of my clinical sites but due to some "structural changes" I'm now scrambling.

Thanks for any help!

I got my DEA # in one week and another classmate of mine also got hers in one weeks time. We are both in different states. I was glad I had mine before my first job, and they reimbursed me for the DEA licensing.

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So frustrating! Has anyone gotten their DEA recently? Approximately how long did it take?

What is frustrating? A DEA license does not take long at all. It can take just days or 1 week, in some cases maybe a bit longer but not that much---unless you don't provide all the information they ask for. They email you the approval, and the paper certificate comes in the mail shortly afterwards. I have never had any problems with them. I used to do a lot of locum all over the country, and each time I changed state it took them less than 1 week to update when I applied for the transfer.

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Just got off of the phone with the DEA regarding the address to put on the business line if you are not employed. The rep said I had to have an employer address to be issued a DEA number, but I could put my home address there for now and the application would stay in a pending status until an employer business address was obtained. The rep sounded like he just woke up and had an IQ of 3 on a good day, so I don't know if anything he said was accurate. Sounded more like he was guessing or just making stuff up to other questions I asked. I found this link from Barton Associates https://www.bartonassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Applying-for-a-New-DEA-Registration.pdf for help in filling out the DEA application, but it states that you cannot use a home address on that line.

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Did you ever get an answer regarding this?

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Purrsx2 said:

When applying for DEA license the form requires to state the address of the practice where you are prescribing. What do you put there if you are not working/prescribing yet?

I'm necroing this thread for anyone with a similar question:

According to this DEA Guidance document, https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/GDP/(DEA-DC-052)(EO-DEA183)_Home_as_Registered_Location_(Revision_1).pdf you may put your home address. HOWEVER, read this part carefully, "If an individual practitioner or mid-level practitioner does choose to use their home 
address as a principal place of business or professional practice, the location becomes a 'controlled premises' and is subject to unannounced inspections and administrative warrants under existing DEA regulations."

My advice is to wait until you have a place of employment. A DEA license usually does not take that long to procure (usually days to, at most, a few weeks), though anecdotally, it seems the waiting period is usually a few days to a week normally.

Hope this helped someone.

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