Every practitioner who applies for a new DEA registration or renews an existing one must attest that they have completed at least eight hours of training on treating patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. The requirement comes from the MATE Act, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and has applied to every qualifying registration submitted since June 27, 2023. Practitioners make the attestation directly on DEA's own registration forms, so it becomes part of the official record DEA reviews when deciding whether to grant or renew a registration. Checking that box without having completed qualifying training is a false statement on a federal application, the same category of problem DEA cites when it moves against a registration.
Background on the MATE Act Training Requirement
Congress created the training requirement in the MATE Act, the Medication Access and Training Expansion Act, enacted December 29, 2022 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The rule is specific about the number: at least eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, which can be completed across more than one course. DEA's own guidance describes the attestation as a one-time requirement rather than a recurring one. Once a practitioner has attested on a qualifying registration or renewal, DEA has said that affirmation will not be required again on a later renewal.
Who Must Attest, and the Veterinarian Exception
The requirement reaches every practitioner who holds or applies for a DEA registration to handle controlled substances, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, and podiatrists. DEA's guidance names one exception: practitioners who are solely veterinarians. A practitioner attests on the registration form itself, by checking a box built into DEA Form 224 for a new registration or DEA Form 224a for a renewal, at the first qualifying registration submission on or after June 27, 2023. DEA does not request a certificate or course syllabus at the time of attestation, though records should be kept to show what training supports it.
What Satisfies the Training Requirement
DEA recognizes more than one path to the eight-hour threshold. A practitioner can satisfy the requirement through board certification in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry from a recognized certifying board, through a medical, dental, physician assistant, or nursing program completed within five years of June 27, 2023 whose curriculum already included at least eight hours of relevant instruction, or through eight cumulative hours of qualifying coursework from an accredited source. Prior DATA-waiver training counts toward that total. Qualifying coursework can come from accredited continuing medical education providers, national specialty and nursing associations, and training approved by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Confirm a specific course meets DEA's current criteria before relying on it.
The MATE Act attestation is a single checkbox, but it is a representation made to DEA on a federal registration application, not a formality to clear and forget.
Why the Attestation Carries Legal Weight
Furnishing false or fraudulent material information on an application required under the Controlled Substances Act is itself unlawful. The MATE Act attestation becomes part of that application record. A practitioner who checks the training box without having completed qualifying training has made a false statement on a federal application, which is grounds to revoke or suspend a registration through a DEA order to show cause. An immediate suspension order requires DEA to separately find an imminent danger to the public health or safety, a standard a false attestation alone does not meet. If a registration comes under scrutiny on other grounds, DEA can review every representation on the application, including this one. For how that process unfolds, see Health Law Alliance's guides to Responding to a DEA Order to Show Cause and DEA Immediate Suspension Orders: The Imminent Danger Standard.
Early Engagement of Counsel
It is critical that practitioners and healthcare businesses promptly retain experienced healthcare defense counsel upon receiving a DEA order to show cause, an immediate suspension order, or any other government inquiry touching a DEA registration. Early legal intervention can help protect the practitioner's rights, support accurate and complete responses to DEA's inquiries, help avoid inadvertent admissions, preserve available defenses, and allow counsel to communicate with DEA on the practitioner's behalf. Delaying representation can affect the outcome and expose the practitioner to unnecessary risk.
How Health Law Alliance Can Help
Health Law Alliance's attorneys have overseen 2,000+ audits and handled 5,000+ matters, with 25+ years of experience.
If your practice is preparing a DEA registration application or renewal, or you are already facing a DEA inquiry, contact Health Law Alliance's DEA defense attorneys for a free, confidential consultation.
