E-Prescribing Mandate State Laws

Many states have passed or introduced e-Prescribing mandates to help fight the opioid epidemic.

This map gives an overview of all of the current and pending e-Prescribing state regulations.
Hover over each state for information on the law or click on the state for further details.

No Mandate
Pending Legislation
Future Mandate
Current Mandate


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US Nationwide Regulations

Medicare Plans Unless a delay is announced, starting January 1, 2023, EPCS will be required for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage rx insurance plans. This means Medical Providers who prescribe for patients on those plans, need to use e-prescribe for their controlled medications. See the CMS website for more information:https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/E-Health/Eprescribing 1/1/2023


States with Current Mandate Laws

State e-Presribing Mandate Laws Effective Date
Arizona Arizona passed the "Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act" in record time in 2018. The law requires Arizona prescribers to e-prescribe schedule II controlled substances. House Bill 2075 extended the original deadline of January 1, 2019 until January 1, 2020. See Arizona E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2020
Arkansas Arkansas Senate Bill 174 became Act 447 on March 13th, 2019. This law requires that all prescriptions for controlled substances Schedule II-VI be electronically prescribed. The law details a penalty for noncompliance. See Arkansas E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
California California Assembly Bill 2789 states that both prescribers and pharmacists must have the ability to e-Prescribe by January 1, 2022. Prescribers are required to e-Prescribe all prescriptions. Exceptions are mentioned in the bill, but not waivers. The bill also mentions not following the law will be grounds for disciplinary action. See California E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2022
Colorado Colorado Senate Bill 79 proposes that all controlled substances Schedule II-IV be electronically prescribed. The effective date is July 1st, 2021 for podiatrists, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and optometrists. The effective date is July 1st, 2023 for dentists and practitioners serving rural communities or in solo practice. See Colorado E-Prescribing for more information. 07/01/2021 or 07/01/2023
Connecticut Connecticut passed "An Act Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse" in 2017. The law requires e-Prescribing for all controlled substances. Public Law 17-131 allows for exceptions and waivers and doesn't include any specific penalties for not adhering to the law. For further details see Connecticut E-Prescribing. 01/01/2018
Delaware Delaware House Bill 115 mandates that all prescriptions be electronically prescribed. The bill details a waiver system that prescribers can apply for. See Delaware E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Florida Florida House Bill 831 mandates that all prescriptions be electronically prescribed. This bill also presents many other healthcare regulation changes for the state of Florida including detailing penalties for prescribers. The effective dates are upon renewal of the providers license or July 1st, 2021, whichever comes first. See Florida E-Prescribing for more information. Upon license renewal or 07/01/2021
Indiana Indiana Senate Bill 176 mandates that all controlled substance prescriptions be electronically prescribed. This Act also presents several other healthcare regulation changes for the state of Indiana. Indiana passed House Bill 1468 on April 29th, 2021 which retroactively delayed the mandate until January 1st, 2022. See Indiana E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2022
Iowa Iowa House File 2377 requires electronic prescribing for all prescriptions - both non-controlled and controlled substances. Exceptions, waivers and penalties are included in the Act. See Iowa E-Prescribing for more information. 01/01/2020
Kansas Kansas House Bill 2119 requires that all prescriptions for controlled substances that contain an opioid be electronically prescribed. The Act details some exceptions and reaffirms penalties for not following State laws. See Kansas E-Prescribing for more information. 07/01/2021
Kentucky Kentucky House Bill 342 requires that all prescriptions for controlled substances be electronically prescribed. The Act details exceptions that can be made that will be determined at a later date. See Kentucky E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Maine Maine passed the "Act To Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program" in 2016. It mandates that all controlled substance prescriptions containing opiates be electronically sent. It also outlines specific penalties for prescribers that do not adhere to the law. See Maine E-Prescribing for more information. 07/01/2017
Massachusetts Massachusetts House Bill 4742 requires e-prescribing for all controlled substances. The bill, an Act for Prevention and Access to Appropriate Care and Treatment of Addiction, includes exceptions and waivers, but does not list any specific penalties. Massachusetts amended their legislation in late 2019 delaying the effective date for the mandate from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. See Massachusetts E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Minnesota Minnesota was the first state to pass a law mandating e-Prescribing. Minnesota Statutes 62J.497 was passed in 2008 and requires that all prescribers maintain an electronic prescription drug program for transmitting ALL prescriptions. However, there are no penalties for non-compliance. See Minnesota E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2011
Missouri Missouri Senate Bill 275 mandates that all controlled-substance prescriptions be prescribed electronically. The bill outlines penalties for not complying. See Missouri E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Nebraska Nebraska LB583 requires all controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of January 1st, 2022. The bill is extensive and includes many changes to prescriber and dispenser legislation. See Nebraska E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2022
Nevada Nevada Assembly Bill 310 mandates that all controlled-substance prescriptions be electronically prescribed. The bill outlines additional regulations for controlled substance prescriptions including penalties for prescribers. See Nevada E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
New Hampshire New Hampshire HB143 mandates all controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of January 1st, 2022. The mandate language is brief, allows for some exceptions and establishes a 1-year waiver. See New Hampshire E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2022
New Mexico New Mexico code 16.19.20.42 requires electronic prescribing for all controlled substance prescriptions. The Act allows for exceptions to the requirement but does not establish a waiver system. See New Mexico E-Prescribing for further details. 04/01/2021
New York New York was the first state to mandate e-Prescribing and put penalties in place for non-compliance. The Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing, or I-STOP, mandate was passed in 2012 and requires prescribers to electronically prescribe both non-controlled and controlled substances. See New York E-Prescribing for further details. 03/27/2016
North Carolina North Carolina passed the Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act in 2017. The Act requires targeted Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances to be electronically prescribed. There were no waivers or penalties listed in the original act. See North Carolina E-Prescribing for more information. 01/01/2020
Ohio Ohio passed HB193, mandating all Schedule II controlled substances be electronically prescribed. It became effective Sept. 2022 however there are exceptions that allow hand written prescriptions for Schedule II as well. 09/23/2022
Oklahoma Oklahoma passed HB 2931 which mandates electronic prescribing for Schedule II through V controlled substances. The Act allows for waivers and exceptions, but no penalties were listed. See Oklahoma E-Prescribing for more information. 01/01/2020
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Act 96 mandates e-Prescribing for Schedule II through V controlled substances. The Act lists penalties but also allows for exceptions and exemptions. See Pennsylvania E-Prescribing for more information. 10/24/2019
Rhode Island Rhode Island passed SB 546 in 2017 which requires e-Prescribing of all controlled substances. See Rhode Island E-Prescribing for more information. 01/01/2020
South Carolina South Carolina House Bill 3728 requires that all controlled substance prescriptions be prescribed electronically. This Act did not detail waivers or specific penalties for non-compliance. See South Carolina E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Tennessee Tennessee HB1993 was passed in 2018 and required electronic prescribing for schedule II controlled substances. SB0810 was passed in 2019 and amended the previous Act to include a mandate for all controlled substances to be electronically prescribed. The Act allows for exceptions and waivers, as well as has potential for specific penalties for noncompliance with the law. See Tennessee E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Texas Texas House Bill 2174 mandates that all controlled substance prescriptions be prescribed electronically. The bill goes into detail about what must be included in the prescription upon being sent to the pharmacy and requires prescribers to complete additional continuing education. See Texas E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021
Utah Utah HB0177 requires that all controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of January 1st, 2022. The bill provides for exceptions as well as establishes penalties for non-compliance. See Utah E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2022
Virginia Virginia passed HB 2165 in 2017 which requires a prescription for any controlled substance containing an opiate to be issued electronically and prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless it's an electronic prescription. No waivers or exceptions are listed at this time. See Virginia E-Prescribing for more information. 07/01/2020
Washington Washington Senate Bill 5380 mandates that all controlled substance prescriptions be prescribed electronically. The Act details a waiver system and requires that practices of greater than 10 prescribers have an EHR that integrates with the state PMP. Washington SB5446 (2020) adds additional exceptions to the already passed Washington mandate enacted in 2019. The bill initially had an effective date of January 1st, 2020, however in June of 2020 the effective date was pushed to September 30th, 2021. See Washington E-Prescribing for further details. 09/30/2021
Wyoming Wyoming’s Enrolled Act No 66/SF0047 passed in 2019 and requires all controlled substances be sent via electronic prescribing. The Act also requires that the state PMP be utilized for every controlled substance prescribed but does not outline penalties. Some exemptions and extensions will be possible pending state board review. See Wyoming E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2021


States with Future Laws

State e-Presribing Mandate Laws Effective Date
Illinois Illinois HB3596 mandates all controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of January 1st, 2023. The Illinois mandate contains the most concise language seen from any state mandate thus far, totaling just over 200 words. The mandate allows for providers who prescribe less than 25 prescriptions in a calendar year an exception for complying with the law. See Illinois E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2023
Maryland Maryland SB166 requires that Schedule II controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of January 1st, 2022. The bill provides for exceptions as well as establishes a waiver process for up to 12 months. The state further delayed to 1/1/2023 to coincide with CMS. See Maryland E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2023
Michigan Michigan House Bill 4217 requires electronic prescribing for all prescriptions. The Act contains many other regulation changes regarding healthcare and veterinarians. The Act allows for exceptions and establishes a waiver system not to exceed two years. In September of 2021, the MI Bureau of Licensing stated that the mandate would not be enforced until 1/1/2022 or on CMS Ruling Effective Date which then got exended to 1/1/2023. See Michigan E-Prescribing for further details. 01/01/2023


States with Pending Legislation

State e-Presribing Laws Effective Date
Mississippi Mississippi House Bill 1163 would mandate electronic prescribing for controlled substances with some exceptions. To Be Determined
Montana Montana House Bill 86 would mandate mandate electronic prescribing for controlled substances with some exceptions. To Be Determined
New Jersey New Jersey Bill A4114 proposes mandating all controlled substances be electronically prescribed with an effective date of one year after enactment. The bills provide for exceptions as well as establish a waiver process for a currently unspecified duration. One year after enacted
West Virginia West Virginia HB2311 proposes mandating all prescriptions be electronically prescribed with an effective date of July 1st, 2021. The bill provides for exceptions as well as makes mention of a waiver process to be established in the future. We expect the effective date to be amended. TBD
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