A DEA number (DEA Registration Number) is an identifier assigned to a health care provider (such as a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, optometrist, podiatrist, dentist, or veterinarian) by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration allowing them to write prescriptions for controlled substances.
The agency prefers that the National Provider Identifier be used for general identification purposes.
In this case, the supervised individual may be identified by affixing an ID string to the end of the supervisor's DEA number, after a dash, e.g. "F91234563-001AB".
Prior to October 1, 1985, DEA registration numbers for physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and other practitioners started with the letter A.
New registration numbers issued to practitioners after that date begin with the letter B, F, or G. [3][4] The rest of the format was the same as the new style.