Is gabapentin a controlled substance? Not on the federal schedules.

The short answer

Gabapentin is not controlled under the federal Controlled Substances Act. DEA's April 2026 drug fact sheet says so in its Control Status entry, and the name does not appear anywhere in the text of 21 CFR 1308.11 through 1308.15 (Schedules I to V) as published in the eCFR through October 29, 2026.

The statute behind every schedule is Title 21 U.S.C. 812, part of the Controlled Substances Act. The regulation that lists substances one by one is 21 CFR part 1308, sections 1308.11 to 1308.15. This page quotes both. The CFR text was read from the eCFR versioner API for the issue current through October 29, 2026, and the statute from the 2024 U.S. Code edition published on govinfo. This is a classification page only: it contains no dosing, use, acquisition or synthesis information.

What the DEA fact sheet says

The DEA Diversion Control Division publishes one-page drug and chemical evaluation fact sheets. Its gabapentin sheet, dated April 2026, carries a "Control Status" entry that reads in full: "Gabapentin is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act." That sentence is the agency's own statement of federal status and it is the best primary answer to the question this page is built around.

The same sheet describes gabapentin's chemical resemblance to a neighbouring drug: "Gabapentin closely resembles pregabalin, a schedule V drug under the Controlled Substances Act in its chemical structure and pharmacological activity." The sheet, in other words, itself marks the line between the two: pregabalin is on a schedule, gabapentin is not.

The absence check, and what it does and does not prove

To test the schedules directly, the full text of 21 CFR 1308.11, 1308.12, 1308.13, 1308.14 and 1308.15 was pulled from the eCFR versioner API (issue current through October 29, 2026) and searched for the strings "gabapentin" and "Neurontin". There were no matches in any of the five sections. A schedule listing is the thing that makes a substance controlled under the federal list, so no listing means no federal schedule.

Two cautions apply. First, a substance can be added to the schedules by rulemaking at any time under 21 U.S.C. 811, which is why the CFR text carries an "as of" date on this page. Second, this check covers only the federal schedules. A state can adopt its own controlled-substance rules, and other federal programs such as FDA prescription labeling are separate from DEA scheduling. This page does not cover state law and does not make any claim about it; your state board of pharmacy or the state prescription monitoring program is the place to ask.

The nearest listed neighbour: pregabalin in Schedule V

Because gabapentin and pregabalin are often discussed together, here is how pregabalin actually appears. Section 1308.15(e), headed "Depressants" in the Schedule V section, lists seven substances: (1) Brivaracetam 2710; (2) Cenobamate 2720; (3) Ezogabine 2779; (4) Ganaxolone 2401; (5) Lacosamide 2746; (6) Lasmiditan 2790; (7) Pregabalin 2782. Pregabalin is item (7), with DEA Controlled Substances Code Number 2782. The existence of that entry shows what a real listing looks like, and its absence for gabapentin is the contrast.

The nearest listing, in the CFR's own words

The lead-in of 21 CFR 1308.15(e) reads:

(e) Depressants. Unless specifically exempted or excluded or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts:

Entries from Schedule V depressants at 1308.15(e), the nearest listing to gabapentin:

• (1) Brivaracetam 2710
• (2) Cenobamate 2720
• (3) Ezogabine 2779
• (4) Ganaxolone 2401
• (5) Lacosamide 2746
• (6) Lasmiditan 2790
• (7) Pregabalin 2782

What the statute requires for Schedule V

Title 21 U.S.C. 812(b) says a drug or other substance "may not be placed in any schedule unless the findings required for such schedule are made". For Schedule V the findings are: (A) The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV. (B) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. (C) Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV.

Those findings are the statutory test for putting a substance into the schedule. They are not a description of any person's use of a drug, and they are not a medical statement. The CFR sections 1308.11 to 1308.15 then list, substance by substance, what has been placed in each of the five schedules.

How to read and re-check a schedule listing

The page you are reading answers a negative question, so the "listing" is the absence of one. The steps below are how to repeat the check yourself against the live eCFR.

A schedule entry has a fixed shape. A lead-in sentence says which class of substance follows and often that the listing extends to salts, isomers and salts of isomers. Each line then names a substance and, in most sections, a four-digit DEA Controlled Substances Code Number. The opening paragraph of 1308.11 to 1308.14 says each substance "has been assigned the DEA Controlled Substances Code Number set forth opposite it". The number identifies the line; it is not a rating of risk.

1. Open the section for the schedule you want: 21 CFR 1308.11 (Schedule I), 1308.12 (II), 1308.13 (III), 1308.14 (IV) or 1308.15 (V) in the eCFR.
2. Find the paragraph for the class of substance: opiates, opium derivatives, hallucinogenic substances, depressants, stimulants, narcotic drugs, anabolic steroids and so on, each introduced by a lead-in sentence.
3. Read the entry by its official or chemical name, not by brand name, and note the four-digit DEA Controlled Substances Code Number printed beside it.
4. Check for words such as "unless specifically excepted" or "except" in the lead-in or the line itself, which limit what the entry covers.
5. Confirm the date: the eCFR shows an "as of" date, and the schedules change by rulemaking.

Limits of this page

This page quotes the text of 21 CFR 1308.11 to 1308.15 as published in the eCFR, current through October 29, 2026 (last substantive amendment dates per the eCFR versioner: 1308.11 October 21, 2026, 1308.12 December 21, 2022, 1308.13 April 28, 2026, 1308.14 August 31, 2026, 1308.15 June 1, 2022), and parts of 21 U.S.C. 812. It reports federal classification only. It does not describe any state law, any registration, record-keeping or prescription requirement, any penalty, or any use of a drug, and it does not tell you whether a particular product, person or activity is lawful. The eCFR is an editorial compilation, not the official legal edition of the Federal Register, and the schedules change by rulemaking, so check the current text and DEA before relying on it. Questions about law go to a qualified attorney, and questions about a medicine go to a pharmacist or physician.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 21 CFR 1308.15, Schedule V (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR part 1308, Schedules of controlled substances (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• GovInfo: 21 U.S.C. 812, Schedules of controlled substances, United States Code, 2024 Edition (read November 2, 2026)
• DEA Diversion Control Division, "Gabapentin" drug and chemical evaluation fact sheet (April 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR 1308.11, Schedule I (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR 1308.12, Schedule II (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR 1308.13, Schedule III (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR 1308.14, Schedule IV (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)