Is ketamine a controlled substance? Yes: Schedule III.

The short answer

Yes. Ketamine is listed in Schedule III at 21 CFR 1308.13(c)(7) as "Ketamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers" with DEA Controlled Substances Code Number 7285.

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.

The ketamine entry, quoted

Paragraph (c) of 1308.13 is headed "Depressants" and has fifteen items. Item (7) reads "Ketamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers 7285", followed by a bracketed note giving a chemical name: "[Some other names for ketamine: (±)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone]". The wording "its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers" is part of the listing itself.

The neighbouring entries in the same paragraph, from item (4) onward, are: (4) Chlorhexadol 2510; (5) Embutramide 2020; (6) Any drug product containing gamma hydroxybutyric acid, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, for which an application is approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 2012; (7) Ketamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers 7285; (8) Lysergic acid 7300; (9) Lysergic acid amide 7310; (10) Methyprylon 2575; (11) Perampanel, and its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers 2261; (12) Sulfondiethylmethane 2600; (13) Sulfonethylmethane 2605; (14) Sulfonmethane 2610; (15) Tiletamine and zolazepam or any salt thereof 7295. Item (15) is a tiletamine and zolazepam combination, listed with the trade name "Telazol" in the eCFR text, a rare case where a brand name appears in the schedule.

Where the statute stands

The initial Schedule III in 21 U.S.C. 812(c) does not name ketamine; the version of 812 printed in the 2024 U.S. Code edition on govinfo contains no match for the word. Section 812(a) and (c) explain why that is not a contradiction: the schedules "shall, unless and until amended pursuant to section 811 of this title, consist of the following drugs", and later additions are made by rulemaking and then appear in the CFR. The CFR listing at 1308.13(c)(7) is therefore the operative citation for ketamine, last substantively amended in this section on April 28, 2026 according to the eCFR versioner.

What the Schedule III findings are

Section 812(b)(3) says a Schedule III substance has "a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II", "a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States", and that abuse "may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence". Those are the statutory findings required for the schedule, not a description of any particular use of ketamine, and this page gives no use, dosing or medical information.

The Schedule III listing, in the CFR's own words

The lead-in of 21 CFR 1308.13(c) reads:

(c) Depressants. Unless specifically excepted 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:

Entries from the items around ketamine in 1308.13(c):

• (5) Embutramide 2020
• (6) Any drug product containing gamma hydroxybutyric acid, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, for which an application is approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 2012
• (7) Ketamine, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers 7285
• (8) Lysergic acid 7300
• (9) Lysergic acid amide 7310
• (10) Methyprylon 2575

What the statute requires for Schedule III

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 III the findings are: (A) The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II. (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 moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.

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

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 1308.13, Schedule III (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)