DEA Requests for Surrender of Registration
DEA agents contacted you about your registration. During an inspection, they’re asking you to sign a “voluntary surrender” form. Or you received an Order to Show Cause threatening revocation. You’re terrified. Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm with over 50 years of combined experience. Our managing partner, Todd Spodek, has many, many, years of experience defending healthcare professionals in DEA administrative proceedings. Todd has represented clients in high-profile cases covered by NY Post, Newsweek, and other national outlets – including Anna Delvey and juror misconduct allegations in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. Surrender is almost always a mistake. What actually happens if you do it, what the Order to Show Cause process looks like, and what you should do RIGHT NOW.
Why Agents Want You to Voluntarily Surrender
You just had a DEA inspection. They found inventory discrepancies – documentation errors, nothing serious. Now they’re pressuring you to sign Form DEA-104, claiming it’s “voluntary” and “temporary.” They’re saying “voluntary is better than revocation” or “this prevents criminal charges.”
Form DEA-104 is a Surrender for Cause – it’s permanent. The second you sign, your registration terminates immediately. All hearing rights gone. Due process waived. No undoing it tomorrow. This is exactly what DEA wants – voluntary surrender lets them avoid giving you the Constitutional protections you’re entitled to under the Administrative Procedure Act. Saves them administrative costs, eliminates your hearing rights, gets you out of the system without review.
Your registration is gone. Can’t prescribe controlled substances – which means if you’re a doctor, dentist, or nurse practitioner, you can’t practice. Within weeks, state medical board gets notice and initiates disciplinary proceedings. Hospital privileges suspended. Employment terminated. Income stops. This isn’t cooperation – career suicide. 21 U.S.C. § 824 gives you the right to a hearing before revocation. Only if you don’t surrender.
The Timeline After Surrender
You’re considering surrender because you’re scared. DEA agents made it sound easier. But the real timeline of what happens if you sign that form is devastating. Immediate impact: You lose the ability to prescribe controlled substances across all schedules. If you’re a physician or dentist, you can’t practice. Within the first month, your state medical board receives notice from DEA and initiates suspension or revocation proceedings against your state medical license. Within three months, hospital privileges are suspended, employment is terminated, and your income stops completely.
Now let’s talk about getting it back. You have to wait until all underlying proceedings resolve – criminal investigations, civil cases, administrative actions. That can take 2-5 years. Then you can reapply for DEA registration. Reinstatement is NOT automatic and NOT guaranteed. 21 CFR § 1301.36 governs reinstatement applications – DEA has full discretion to deny your application. If it’s contested, the reinstatement process becomes an 18-24 month administrative proceeding. Many, many practitioners never get their registration back. DEA doesn’t publish reinstatement approval rates, which tells you something – it’s low.
Compare this to fighting an Order to Show Cause: If you request a hearing and fight the revocation, you KEEP your registration during the entire 12-18 month administrative process. Keep practicing. Keep your income. Time to prepare a defense, negotiate a Corrective Action Plan, win at hearing. Unlike other law firms who are more focused on their relationship with prosecutors and judges, Spodek Law Group is focused on protecting YOUR Constitutional right to due process.
Order to Show Cause Process
If you refuse to surrender, DEA issues an Order to Show Cause. Formal administrative proceeding under 21 U.S.C. § 824(a) to revoke or suspend your registration.
CRITICAL 30-day window from the date you’re served. Must request a hearing within 30 days or you lose all rights. NO extensions. NO exceptions. Request a hearing, you get assigned a federal administrative law judge, discovery begins, formal hearing with testimony, cross-examination, evidence presentation.
Timeline runs 12-18 months from Order to Show Cause to final decision, according to DEA Diversion Control Division records. Key advantage: Keep your registration during this entire time unless DEA issues immediate suspension based on “imminent danger to public health” – rare, requires very high showing.
Another path: Corrective Action Plan. Negotiate with DEA – implement improved inventory controls, staff training, new prescribing protocols. If DEA accepts your CAP, they can defer or discontinue proceedings. Requires attorney who knows how to negotiate – they don’t advertise this. Settlement possible: probationary registration with restrictions instead of complete revocation. Keep practicing under DEA oversight rather than losing everything.
If you lose at administrative hearing, appeal rights to federal district court. Your Constitutional due process – the right to be heard before the government takes away your livelihood.
If DEA agents are pressuring you right now: Refuse politely. Say “I need to consult with my attorney before signing anything.” Invoke right to counsel. Do NOT sign. Your Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and your right to due process exist for THIS moment – when government pressure is highest.
Already signed a surrender form: Contact attorney immediately. Rare, but if coerced or misled, may be grounds to challenge.
Just served with Order to Show Cause: Calendar the 30-day deadline IMMEDIATELY. Request hearing before deadline even if considering negotiation – can always settle after requesting hearing, can’t get hearing rights back if you miss deadline. NYC Criminal Attorneys (2025) emphasizes this deadline is most commonly missed step, resulting in automatic revocation.
Hire a DEA defense attorney NOW. Need someone with experience in DEA administrative proceedings – not just criminal defense. Hearing experience before administrative law judges, CAP negotiation experience. Our founding partner, Todd Spodek, is a second-generation attorney who has represented clients in cases covered by NY Post, Newsweek, Fox 5, and Business Insider. We’ve defended healthcare professionals facing DEA actions, we understand the administrative state overreach that happens in these cases.
What NOT to do: Don’t provide additional statements to DEA without attorney present. Don’t assume “cooperating” helps – Chapman Law Group’s DEA defense guidance makes clear voluntary surrender has zero impact on criminal prosecution decisions. U.S. Attorney’s Office makes charging decisions independently. Surrendering gives up your civil and administrative rights, provides no protection against criminal charges.
You have Constitutional protections – right to counsel, right to hearing, right to due process. We are available 24/7 for a risk-free consultation. Don’t sign the surrender form. Don’t miss the 30-day deadline. Call us. 212-300-5196.