Canadian · Validation
DEA number validator.
Check a US DEA controlled-substance registration number against its real weighted checksum — the same catch a pharmacist runs before filling a prescription.
How it checks out: a DEA number is 2 letters followed by 7 digits. The 7th digit is a check digit: add the 1st, 3rd and 5th digits; separately add the 2nd, 4th and 6th digits and double that sum; add the two totals together; the ones-place digit of that total must equal the 7th digit.
Inputs
Result
Enter a DEA number and press Check.
How the DEA number check digit is calculated
A US DEA registration number identifies anyone registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to handle controlled substances — practitioners, hospitals, distributors, manufacturers, and more. It's 2 letters followed by 7 digits.
The first letter marks the registrant type (for example C = practitioner, M = mid-level practitioner, B = hospital/clinic, F = distributor). The second letter is normally the first letter of the registrant's last name — or the digit 9 for a registrant using a business address instead of a personal name.
The 7 digits that follow include a check digit as the 7th (last) one:
- Add the 1st, 3rd and 5th digits together.
- Add the 2nd, 4th and 6th digits together, then double that sum.
- Add the two results together. The ones-place digit of that total is the check digit, and must match the 7th digit of the number.
Worked example: the number F91234563 (registrant type F = distributor, business-address 9). Digits 1,2,3,4,5,6 → odd positions 1+3+5 = 9; even positions (2+4+6)×2 = 24; total 33; ones-place digit 3 — matching the number's actual 7th digit, so it checks out.
Checksum only — not a DEA registry lookup
This tool checks the number's arithmetic entirely in your browser. It does not query the DEA's registrant database, so a checksum pass is not proof the number was ever actually issued or is still active — only the prescriber's DEA registration certificate or a direct DEA/pharmacy-benefit verification can confirm that. Nothing you type is transmitted, stored, or logged.