DEA Requirement Overview and Set Up
New requirements effective March 9, 2026. Features are available exclusively to active NarcTrak Pro subscribers.
Your PPAEMA Reports are available in the Export Reports section which can be found on left hand navigation strip, near the top. The PPAEMA Reports appear in the section at the top titled “PPAEMA Regulatory Compliance (CFR) Reports.” The “CFR Acquisition Log Report” tracks all incoming controlled substances including supplier details (from Form 222 upload), quantities, container info, and acquisition personnel. The “CFR Transfer & Delivery Report” documents movement of controlled substances between locations, including delivery details and receiving personnel. The “CFR Administration & Disposal Report” logs administered and disposed substances including medical director info, dosages, authorizations , and disposal witnesses.
The PPAEMA Reports provide federally mandated compliance reporting with just a few clicks. Before generating reports, a few simple setup steps are required. Follow the instructions below to complete the necessary preparation.
Attached to the bottom of this article is the section of the Final Federal Register Rules and Regulations for DEA Requirements.
Important Information
Why is Configuring this Information Important?
Effective March 9, 2026, the DEA’s final rule regarding the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017 (PPAEMA) dictates strict EMS narcotics management, requiring agency registration, secure, locked storage (in vehicles or stations), and rigorous, cradle-to-grave, electronic or paper record-keeping for all controlled substances. The rules allow for standing/verbal orders, but require detailed documentation of acquisition, transfer, administration, and waste.
The information updates are integrated into the PPAEMA Reports output, such that these reports will be compliant with the DEA. Without configuring the information, you may diminish the effectiveness of these reports, if they should be requested. The information is tracked into the PPAEMA reports only AFTER you finish the configurations. Exporting PPAEMA reports that predate the information being configured will lack this information.
Comprehensive EMS Controlled Substance Records (§ 1304.03(j))
The rule requires registered EMS agencies to maintain accurate and complete records for every controlled substance received, administered, or disposed of. NarcTrack already captures this data at the individual dose level, ensuring:
- Every medication movement is documented
- Each administration or waste event is traceable
- All activity is fully accounted for under your DEA registration
Record Retention & DEA Accessibility (§ 1304.04)
The revised rule requires all inventories and records to:
The revised rule requires all inventories and records to:
- Be retained for at least two years
- Be readily available for DEA inspection and copying
- Be maintained by the registrant in an approved format, including electronic systems
NarcTrack’s electronic records meet these requirements while providing secure, auditable access when needed.
Internal Transfers Between Locations (§ 1304.04(a)(4))
DEA now explicitly requires EMS agencies to document controlled substance transfers between registered and designated locations, including station houses. While these movements are not considered distributions, they must still be tracked. NarcBox and NarcTrack already document:
- Transfers between vehicles, stations, and registered locations
- Chain of custody throughout internal movements
- Accountability across all agency-controlled locations
Location-Based Recordkeeping (§ 1304.04(a)(5))
Records must be maintained at each registered and designated location where controlled substances are received, administered, or disposed of. The DEA specifically acknowledges that electronic systems are well-suited for EMS operations. Your system supports this requirement by maintaining centralized, location-aware records without adding administrative burden to field crews.
Detailed, Transaction-Level Documentation for EMS
The final rule requires EMS agencies to document, for every dose:
- Drug name, form, and quantity
- Date and time of administration or disposal
- Identity of the administering and authorizing personnel
- Method of disposal, when applicable
Beyond patient care, agencies must also document acquisitions, restocking, internal transfers, and destruction events, with the same level of detail expected of other DEA registrants. The rule also adds a 72-hour notification requirement when designated locations receive controlled substances via restocking or internal transfer.
These requirements align directly with how NarcBox and NarcTrack were designed to function – providing continuous visibility, accountability, and audit readiness across the entire medication lifecycle.
The new rules formalize long-standing industry practices and update them for modern tracking, with particular emphasis on preventing diversion and ensuring accountability during medication restocking and transport. Deployment of physical safebox storage solutions for securing controlled substances, which utilize cloud-based electronic administration, tracking and logging systems such as the NarcBox have become business critical to be compliant and to maintain adherence to PPAEMA regulatory requirements, and to avoid unnecessary diversions.
Set Up
The information configured below will be associated with all new records. The configured values are captured at the time an event is created and remain with that event permanently, even if the configuration is updated later. Changes made to the configuration below will apply only to future events and will not update information already assigned to existing events.
Medical Director / Authorizing Professional
Under Settings. In your Account Information tab, scroll down to the “Medical Director / Authorizing Professional” section. The First Name and Last Name fields are required. You may either enter a full name, or a first initial and full last name, or use both initials. The Controlled Substance Registration Number is optional, but we advise you to enter one if you have it. The Compliance Statement is optional, and if left blank, the default verbiage will be used. Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the page.
User Titles
Under Users, hover over the Actions dropdown at the far right of the user row you want to edit, this will display menu options. Select the Edit, which will present a modal for editing that user. Enter the appropriate title in the Title, such as “Battalion Chief” or “EMT” etc. Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the modal page.
Edit Multiple Users' Titles
Another option is to edit multiple users’ titles at the same time, you can use the Users Spreadsheet, located at the top of the Users section. In here you can enter user titles as needed, just click on the space you want to edit, and enter. You can navigate using: tab(right), shift+tab(left), or the up and down arrows. When finished, be sure to click the SAVE button at top or the bottom of the page.
NarcBox Station Information
Under NarcBoxes hover over the Actions dropdown at the far right of the NarcBox row you want to edit, this will display menu options. Select the Edit, which will present a modal for editing that NarcBox. Enter the “Station Name” and “Station Address” in the appropriate fields. Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the modal page.
NarcBox HQ Station Information
Under HQ Management hover over the Actions dropdown at the far right of the HQ Control Panel row you want to edit, this will display menu options. Select the Edit, which will present a modal for editing that HQ Control Panel. Enter the “Station Name” and “Station Address” in the appropriate fields. Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the modal page.
Disposal Methods
Under Medications, In the upper tabs strip, click “Disposal Methods.” This page has two sections: “Manner of disposal for Medications used or wasted during log med use transactions” and “Manner of disposal for items retired through the HQ or the online remove Med form (Expired or Recalled).” Each section has a text area to enter verbiage as a “disposal method statement” as pertains to the medication waste (top) or retirement (bottom). If you leave the disposal statement fields empty, default verbiage will be used as described underneath each text area. Each section also lists your Master Medications list with a checkbox to the left of each medication. Check mark each medication that the associated disposal statement is applicable to, within each section. Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the page.
See the next Knowledge base articles for more information:
Attached below is the section of the Final Federal Register Rules and Regulations for DEA Requirements.
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