ARCOS > Questions and Answers 

Reporting to DEA Banner

Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS)


Questions and Answers

Who Reports to ARCOS?

What is Reported to ARCOS?

How many Manufacturers & Distributors report to ARCOS?

How Many Transactions are Reported Each Year?

Who Uses the System?

Reporting Frequency

ARCOS Registrants and Reporters

Single Reporter

Registered Central Reporter

Non-registered Central Reporter


Who Reports to ARCOS?

Manufacturers and Distributors ONLY.

What is Reported to ARCOS?

Manufacturers of bulk and/or dosage form controlled substances must report inventories, acquisitions, and dispositions of all substances in Schedules I and II, and narcotic and Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) substances in Schedule III (see 21 CFR §1308 Schedule of Controlled Substances). Additionally, manufacturers must report synthesizing activities involving all substances in Schedules I and II, narcotic and Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) substances in Schedule III, and selected psychotropic controlled substances in Schedules III and IV (see 21 CFR § 1304.33 Reports to ARCOS).

Distributors of bulk and/or dosage form controlled substances must report inventories, acquisitions, and dispositions of all substances in Schedules I and II, and narcotic and Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB) substances in Schedule III.

How many Manufacturers & Distributors report to ARCOS?

About 1100 Distributors and Manufacturers report to ARCOS. These 1100 are just a small part of the over 1,000,000 registrants in Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Controlled Substances Act (CSA) data base.

How Many Transactions are Reported Each Year?

30,000,000+ transactions are reported each year.

Who Uses the System?

DEA and other Federal, State and Local investigative agencies use information from ARCOS.

Reporting Frequency

ARCOS registrants (participants) must report quarterly. However, participants may elect to report more frequently on a monthly basis. Those registrants wishing to change their reporting frequency must file a written request with the DEA (ARCOS) before submitting reports according to the new frequency. Requests for a change in reporting frequency must be submitted on company letterhead and may be sent by mail or fax to the ARCOS Unit at:

DEA Headquarters
Attn: ARCOS Unit
P.O. Box 2520
Springfield, VA 22152-2520
Fax: 202-307-8612

ARCOS Registrants and Reporters

An ARCOS registrant is a manufacturer or distributor required to report controlled substance inventories and transactions to DEA. There are three types of ARCOS reporters: (1) single reporters, (2) registered central reporters, and (3) non-registered central reporters.

Single Reporter

An ARCOS registrant reporting only its own controlled substance transactions and inventories to DEA (ARCOS) is a single reporter. If an ARCOS registrant is a subsidiary of a larger corporate entity and submits its own ARCOS reports, it must follow the instructions for a single reporter.

Registered Central Reporter

A registered central reporter has a DEA registration as a manufacturer or distributor and reports controlled substance transactions and inventories for itself and other ARCOS registrants within its corporate structure.

Non-registered Central Reporter

A non-registered central reporter neither manufactures nor distributes controlled substances, does not have a DEA registration, and does not have controlled substance transactions or inventories, but reports the controlled substance transactions and inventories of the ARCOS registrants within its corporate structure.

Note: The reporting frequency must be the same for a central reporter and all of its subsidiaries.

 

DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration Home