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State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
Effective January 1, 2021, the only California controlled substance prescription forms that are valid and acceptable by pharmacies are those possessing a 12 character serial number and corresponding barcode compliant with the requirements introduced in Assembly Bill 149. For more information about these requirements, please review the following bulletin, which was jointly released by the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) and the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA): AB 149 – New Requirements for Rx Forms. If you need to acquire new forms, please consult the Approved List of Security Printers.
California law requires that any written prescription for a Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV, and Schedule V controlled substance be issued on a tamper-resistant prescription form ordered from a state-approved security printer. In 2005, tamper-resistant forms replaced triplicate prescription forms.
Effective January 1, 2006, vendors seeking to become state-approved printers of controlled substance prescription forms must apply with CA DOJ using application forms that are available here:
Security printer applicants are screened for prior criminal history. Furthermore, a security printer applicant’s policies and procedures are reviewed to ensure that produced prescription forms are only distributed to appropriately licensed practitioners. Security printer applicants must have a means to verify a prescriber’s state licensure and prescribing privileges when taking orders for prescription forms.
On October 4, 2005, Senate Bill 734 (Statutes of 2005, Chapter 487) was signed into law, granting CA DOJ the sole responsibility for reviewing applications from vendors seeking approval to produce controlled substance prescription forms as a security printer.