---
kind: "section"
citation: "21 C.F.R. § 290.10"
title: "21"
number: "290.10"
heading: "Definition of emergency situation."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/21/290.10"
---

# §290.10. Definition of emergency situation.


For the purposes of authorizing an oral prescription of a controlled substance listed in schedule II of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the term emergency situation means those situations in which the prescribing practitioner determines:

- (a) That immediate administration of the controlled substance is necessary, for proper treatment of the intended ultimate user; and
- (b) That no appropriate alternative treatment is available, including administration of a drug which is not a controlled substance under schedule II of the Act, and
- (c) That it is not reasonably possible for the prescribing practitioner to provide a written prescription to be presented to the person dispensing the substance, prior to the dispensing.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 352, 353, 355, 371.

### Source

Source: 40 FR 14040, Mar. 27, 1975, unless otherwise noted.