DEA Number Validator (USA)
Validate the structural compliance, registrant category, and checksum formula of US Drug Enforcement Administration registration numbers.
About DEA Number Validation
DEA Number validation checks whether an identifier adheres to the federal specifications codified in the Controlled Substances Act (21 CFR Part 1301).
The validator checks if the first letter represents an active registrant class (A, B, C, F, M, P, R, X), whether the second character is an initial letter or digit, and calculates the weighted checksum over the digits.
Anatomy & Structure of the DEA Number (9 Characters)
Official structure regulated by the Controlled Substances Act (21 CFR Part 1301):
| Position | Field | Length | Meaning & Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Registrant Type | 1 letter | Registrant category (A/B/F/C for Practitioners, M for Mid-Level, P/R for Distributors) | A |
| 2 | Registrant Initial | 1 letter/digit | First letter of legal last name or business entity (or 9 if beginning with a digit) | B |
| 3 to 8 | Sequential Identifier | 6 digits | Unique numeric identifier assigned by the DEA | 123456 |
| 9 | Check Digit | 1 digit | Checksum digit calculated via (Odd Sum + 2 * Even Sum) mod 10 | 3 |
DEA Checksum Algorithm
Proprietary official formula applied to the 6 central sequential digits:
Total = (d1 + d3 + d5) + 2 * (d2 + d4 + d6) | Check Digit = Total % 10
- 1. Sum the 1st, 3rd, and 5th digits (Sum 1).
- 2. Sum the 2nd, 4th, and 6th digits and multiply the result by 2 (Sum 2).
- 3. Add both partial sums together (Total = Sum 1 + Sum 2).
- 4. The check digit is the last digit of the total (Total mod 10).