If you're studying for the MPJE, the telemedicine controlled-substance rules are worth knowing because they're current and easy to get wrong, since the situation has changed several times.

Here's the accurate state as of now. At the end of December 2025, the DEA and HHS issued a fourth temporary extension of the pandemic-era telemedicine flexibilities, pushing them through December 31, 2026. Under that temporary rule, a practitioner can prescribe Schedule II–V controlled substances via telemedicine without a prior in-person evaluation, as long as the visit otherwise complies with DEA guidance and federal and state law.

The trap I'd flag for the exam is the "special registration." The DEA put out a proposed rule that would create a special registration pathway for telemedicine prescribing, and a lot of people assume it's already required. It isn't — it's still proposed and not finalized, so right now you don't need it to prescribe under the temporary flexibilities. The other wrong direction is thinking telehealth CS prescribing is banned without an in-person visit; that pre-pandemic "cliff" is exactly what these extensions keep pushing back.

Two practical caveats worth holding onto: state law can be stricter than the federal flexibility, so you always layer state rules on top; and because this is a temporary rule with an expiration date, the correct answer here is genuinely time-stamped — it's tied to the December 31, 2026 window and could shift if a permanent rule lands.

For anyone who's taken the MPJE recently — are you seeing these very current federal changes tested, or does it stick mostly to the stable CSA fundamentals? Trying to help people decide how hard to chase the news.

(If it helps, there's a free MPJE question set at [pharmacyexam.com/mpje](http://pharmacyexam.com/mpje) — no sign-up.)

MPJE current-law heads-up — where DEA telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances actually stands right now