DEA's 2026 Rulemaking Agenda: An Already Thin Agenda Gets Downright Skinny

On July 6, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget released the 2026 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which sets out DEA's current rulemaking priorities. Before turning to those priorities, it is worth reflecting on the broader deregulatory environment that has shaped this agenda.

Over the past year, DOJ withdrew more than a dozen pending rulemaking priorities—a clear signal of the current administration's commitment to deregulation. (For more information on DOJ’s efforts, you can read my post from September 11, 2025.) The priorities that survived that withdrawal process represent a deliberately narrow set of actions, reflecting this administration's reluctance to promulgate new regulations. (For more information DEA’s surviving rulemaking priorities, you can read my post from September 12, 2025). Thus, DEA entered 2026 already facing significant rulemaking headwinds.

The numbers tell the story. DEA's Fall 2023 agenda listed 28 active rulemaking priorities. That number fell to 12 in each of the Spring and Fall 2024 agendas, dropped to 6 in the Spring 2025 agenda, and now stands at just 4 in the 2026 agenda — two at the proposed rule stage, one at the final rule stage, and one where a final rule has already been published. The trend in long-term rulemaking priorities is equally stark: from 15 in both Spring and Fall 2024, to 8 in Spring 2025, to 5 in the 2026 agenda.

We are, in short, navigating a committed deregulatory environment and a pronounced rulemaking drought — and we find ourselves in that drought at a moment when the industry urgently needs regulatory clarity on multiple fronts. Among the most pressing unresolved issues: a permanent framework for telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances, finality on suspicious order reporting requirements, and clarity on campus registration requirements and the scope of "principal place of business or professional practice" for registration purposes — the latter two of which have been removed from the agenda entirely.

Despite that backdrop, DEA's 2026 agenda is not without substance. What follows is a summary of all current DEA rulemaking activity, organized by stage.

1. Proposed Rule Stage

Changes to a Prescription (RIN 1117-AB72). This rulemaking will specify the circumstances under which a pharmacist or pharmacy technician may make changes to a Schedule II–V written controlled substance prescription after it has been signed. This is a long-overdue clarification that will have direct operational implications for dispensing pharmacies.

Extension of Reexportation Period (RIN 1117-AB87). This rule will extend the time period permitted for reexports of controlled substances. It is primarily relevant to manufacturers and distributors engaged in international transactions.

2. Final Rule Stage

Special Registrations for Telemedicine (RIN 1117-AB40). This is the most consequential item on DEA's active rulemaking agenda. The rule proposes a framework for a Special Registration for Telemedicine, authorizing practitioners and mid-level practitioners to prescribe controlled substances via audio-video telemedicine without a prior in-person medical evaluation. The rule also proposes to require certain direct-to-consumer telemedicine platforms that play an intermediary role in the provider-patient relationship to register with DEA. With the current telemedicine prescribing flexibilities set to expire December 31, 2026, the pressure on DEA to finalize this rule — or provide yet another extension — is significant.

Implementation of the SUPPORT Act: Dispensing and Administering Controlled Substances for Medication-Assisted Treatment (RIN 1117-AB55). DEA published the final rule on this topic on June 9, 2026. This priority is complete.

3. Long-Term Action Stage

Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (RIN 1117-AA61). This rulemaking will modernize the 2010 interim final rule governing EPCS requirements. Proposed changes include a requirement that practitioners undergo in-person identity proofing before receiving two-factor authentication credentials for electronic prescribing, along with updated technical standards for biometric authentication. This rule will affect virtually every DEA-registered prescriber.

Suspicious Orders of Controlled Substances (RIN 1117-AB47). This rule will specify the procedures a registrant must follow upon identifying and receiving a suspicious order of controlled substances. Given the volume of DEA enforcement activity in this area, the absence of a final rule continues to leave distributors navigating a compliance landscape defined largely by guidance documents, case law, and DEA's own enforcement positions — rather than clear regulatory text.

Implementation of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (RIN 1117-AB53). This rule will amend DEA's regulations to conform to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill.

DEA Registration for Religious Organizations Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RIN 1117-AB66). This rule seeks to create a registration pathway for religious organizations seeking DEA registration under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

Import/Export and Domestic Transactions of Tableting and Encapsulating Machines (RIN 1117-AB80). This rule will amend the existing requirement that sellers notify DEA of domestic transactions involving tableting and encapsulating machines at least 15 days prior to shipment.

4. Other Notable Rulemaking Activity

Butalbital Products — Proposed Rule (May 26, 2026). In 2022, DEA proposed to revoke the exempted prescription product status for all butalbital products — a move that would have subjected products like Fioricet to full Schedule III regulation. That NPRM drew significant attention but was never finalized. DEA's new May 2026 NPRM represents a substantially narrower action: rather than rescheduling active butalbital products, DEA is now proposing only to remove from its Table of Exempted Prescription Products those 160 NDCs that are inactive because the products are no longer commercially available or the original applicant no longer exists. The remaining 29 active NDCs will be unaffected. In short, Fioricet will continue to be exempt from Schedule III.

Rescheduling of FDA-Approved Marijuana Products — Final Rule (April 28, 2026). DEA issued a final rule placing all FDA-approved products containing marijuana into Schedule III, consistent with President Trump's December 2025 Executive Order on Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research.

CSOS Modernization — Final Rule (October 2, 2025). DEA finalized updates to its CSOS enrollment processes and requirements for electronic ordering of Schedule I and II controlled substances. Distributors and manufacturers relying on CSOS should confirm that their systems and procedures are aligned with the updated framework.

Expansion of Administrative Subpoena Authority — Final Rule (May 21, 2026). DEA finalized a rule authorizing Supervisory Diversion Investigators, Field Intelligence Managers, and Intelligence Group Supervisors to sign and issue administrative subpoenas. The practical effect is an increase in the number of DEA personnel who can compel production of registrant records without the prior approval previously required of line investigators — a development worth noting for any registrant subject to DEA oversight.

The Bottom Line

DEA's 2026 rulemaking agenda is the thinnest it has been in years, and intentionally so. The deregulatory posture of the current administration has choked off rulemaking efforts considerably. We will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates as they unfold.