Process improvement for behavioral health

Updates to Requirements for Buprenorphine Prescribing

In January 2023, SAMHSA announced that clinicians no longer need a federal waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for treating opioid use disorder. However, clinicians are still required to register with the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe controlled medications.

Beginning June 27, 2023, new and renewing prescribers will have to confirm that they have completed a new, one-time 8-hour training.

Exceptions for the new training requirement:

  • Practitioners who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, and
  • Those who graduated from a medical, dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the U.S. within five years of June 27, 2023.

Read the complete announcement from the Drug Enforcement Agency.