Registering Emergency Medical Services Agencies Under the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017

What it does

The "Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017," (the Act) which became law on November 17, 2017, amended the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to allow for a new registration category for emergency medical services agencies that handle controlled substances. It also established standards for registering emergency medical services agencies, and set forth new requirements for delivery, storage, and recordkeeping related to their handling of controlled substances. In addition, the Act allows emergency medical services professionals to administer controlled substances outside the physical presence of a medical director or authorizing medical professional pursuant to a valid standing or verbal order. The Drug Enforcement Administration is publishing this final rule to conform its regulations to the statutory amendments of the CSA and to otherwise implement its requirements. This final rule adopts, with minor modifications, the notice of proposed rulemaking published on October 5, 2020.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

5 parts of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

21 CFR 1300, 21 CFR 1301, 21 CFR 1304, 21 CFR 1306, 21 CFR 1307

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Drug Enforcement Administration has published 27 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 17 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1117-AB37 since Jan. 1, 2025.

Since then:

• April 1, 2026 Final rule Registering Emergency Medical Services Agencies Under the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017

What happens next and when

This rule is effective March 9, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket DEA-2020-0029 on Regulations.gov
• Title 21 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register