Colorado DEA registration and controlled substance licensing

Facts

DEA listing

DEA lists Colorado under: One License Requirement

Note

DEA's page titles this column 'One License Requirement'.

DEA: Medical State Licensure and/or Controlled Substance Licensure

Moving to or adding Colorado

• Get the Colorado license first.
• Then apply for or update the DEA registration for Colorado. Per the DEA Registration Q&A, a separate DEA registration is needed in each state where you practice and dispense controlled substances.
• DEA registration page

NPs and PAs

DEA treats NPs and PAs as mid-level practitioners. Authority comes from state law, so check the Colorado board.

Neighbors

4 of the 6 bordering states are listed with a second-CS-license flag: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming.

• Kansas — one-license flag.
• Nebraska — one-license flag.
• New Mexico — second-CS-license flag.
• Oklahoma — second-CS-license flag.
• Utah — second-CS-license flag.
• Wyoming — second-CS-license flag.

The count is the number of named qualifying neighbors out of all listed land/river neighbors. Open-water-only and point-only contacts are excluded; a neighboring status does not grant practice authority here.

In this state, in context

BLS OEWS May 2025 annual mean employee wages — physicians, all other: $298,570; nurse practitioners: $132,540; physician assistants: $139,580. The physician row is the broad “physicians, all other” category, not an average for all physicians or a particular specialty. These are employee wage estimates, not total compensation or contract rates.

Colorado physicians, all other pay · Colorado nurse practitioners pay · Colorado physician assistants pay

Decision checklist for Colorado

• Identify each principal place of business or professional practice in Colorado where controlled substances are dispensed.
• Read 21 CFR 1301.12 for separate registration at each such place at one general physical location.
• Confirm state authorization separately; a DEA registration depends on authority under state law.

The DEA Registration Q&A separately explains registration for practices in different states. The state listing is a flag to verify, not a complete description of an individual clinician’s authority.

Find your state board (FSMB directory)

Sources

• DEA: Medical State Licensure and/or Controlled Substance Licensure
• DEA Diversion Control Division: Registration Q&A
• 21 CFR 1301.12 (Cornell LII)
• DEA: Registration

General information, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm details with the state board, DEA, or the carrier.