UW Medicine - DEA Policy and Licensure

Scope

All residents and fellows participating in accredited University of Washington post-graduate training programs (i.e., residencies or fellowships).

Policy

Residents and fellows who write prescriptions are required to register for an individual DEA license. Licenses may be obtained on a fee-exempt basis while in training in a UW GME training program; however, such licenses are restricted to activities within the scope of the training program (including activities at UW Medicine sites and other affiliated training sites).

Exemption from payment of the application fee is limited to federal, state or local government operated hospitals, institutions and officials. Residents and fellows who engage in outside professional activities (e.g., moonlighting) at any site outside of UW Medicine must obtain an individual DEA license and may not use their fee-exempt license for this purpose.

Procedure

It is the responsibility of the individual resident or fellow to obtain and maintain DEA licensure. Applications for new license registrations are to be submitted online via the DEA website. Residents and fellows must hold a current Washington state medical license at the time their DEA license application is submitted. New applications are processed in 4-6 weeks.

Under 'Select One Business Activity' select 'Practitioner'
Fee-Exempt License: Under Business or Facility name include 'University of Washington' and please use the GME Office address - 1959 NE Pacific St., C212, Box 356340, Seattle, WA 98195-6340. Do not include your home address.
Paid License: The address provided should be the provider’s home address.

If you have not yet received your DEA license registration, please use the institutional DEA number. This number should be written as follows: Institutional DEA Number (hyphen) MedStaff ID#. If you do not know your MedStaff ID#, please contact your program or the GME office at 543-0065.

License Renewals

Renewal notices are mailed by the DEA Office approximately 60 days prior to the expiration date. Residents and fellows may complete the standard renewal form or renew their license online. Licenses may be renewed as fee-exempt as long as the license will only be used within the scope of the training program. Renewals are processed in approximately 4 weeks.

Switching from Fee-Exempt to Paid / Paid to Fee-Exempt

When renewing your license, if you want to change the status (from fee-exempt to paid or paid to fee-exempt), you may submit a renewal form or renew online. You do NOT need to submit a new license application.

Change in License Registration / Address Information

It is the responsibility of the individual resident or fellow to notify the DEA of any license registration changes by submitting the online Registration Changes form on the DEA website. This includes:

Current UW Residents / Fellows with Name Changes
Residents / Fellows New to UW - Residents and fellows who are new to UW and already have a paid DEA license, do not need to apply for a new license but will need to update their address information.
Residents / Fellows Leaving UW Programs - Residents and fellows with a fee-exempt license may not use their license outside the training program and will need to apply for a new license. Those with a paid license will need to update their address information.