• Non-US citizenship.
• Violating the DEA Drug Policy
• Inability to obtain and maintain a security clearance (includes passing background investigation and polygraph examination if required).
• Failing to sign a mobility agreement and agree to relocate to any location depending on the needs of the DEA (if required).
• Failing the medical clearance and annual medical exams (if required).
• Failing drug testing.
• Failing to register with the Selective Service (males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt (see www.sss.gov).
• Failing to pass the E-Verify employment verification check (www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/).
• Not meeting age criteria: Special Agent Applicants must be between the ages of 21 and 36 at the time of appointment.

There may be additional qualifications required depending on the type of position.  Applicants are encouraged to read the “Conditions of Employment” section in the job announcement carefully. 

All job applicants must disclose past and current illegal drug use and drug abuse. Pre-employment forms, in conjunction with a case-by-case analysis, are used by all entities in the hiring process to help determine whether an applicant's prior illegal drug use makes them eligible and/or suitable for DEA employment. A candidate will be found unsuitable for employment and automatically disqualified if they deliberately misrepresent their drug history in connection with their application for employment. 

Marijuana Use 

• Marijuana or cannabis use before the candidate’s 18th birthday is not an automatic disqualifier for DEA employment. Candidates are evaluated using all available, reliable information about the person, past and present, favorable and unfavorable, when reviewing a candidate's application for determining employment eligibility with DEA. Aside from marijuana or cannabis use before the candidate’s 18th birthday not being an automatic disqualifier, applicants cannot have used marijuana or cannabis in any form (natural or synthetic) and in any location (domestic or foreign) within three (3) years preceding the date of their application for employment, regardless of state or foreign country laws where this activity may be legal.
• Applicants cannot present “medical marijuana cards” or other prescriptions as mitigating factors for marijuana or cannabis use. Dronabinol (sold as Marinol, Syndros, or generic equivalents) is the only pharmaceutical drug containing THC that the Food and Drug Administration has approved for lawful use with a medical prescription. 

Other Illegal Drugs

• Applicants cannot have sold, distributed, manufactured, or transported any illegal drug or controlled substance without legal authorization.
• Applicants cannot have used any illegal drug, other than marijuana, within the seven (7) years preceding the date of the application for employment.
• Applicants cannot have used anabolic steroids without a prescription from a licensed practicing physician within seven (7) years preceding the date of the application for employment.
• Applicants cannot have illegally used or been involved with an illegal drug, controlled substance, or illegal narcotic while in possession of a security clearance.
• Applicants cannot have illegally used or been involved with an illegal drug or controlled substance while employed as a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or courtroom official, or while in a position of public trust or public safety.

Prescription Drugs/Legally Obtainable Substances

• Applicants who have abused any prescription drug, over-the-counter substance, or legally obtained substance (e.g., inhalants, solvents, etc.) within three (3) years preceding the date of application for employment will be found unsuitable and disqualified. Abuse is defined as the use of illegal drugs, prescriptions, or over-the-counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are meant to be used or in excessive amounts. Drug abuse may lead to social, physical, emotional, and job-related problems.
• Applicants cannot have used or purchased for use, sold, or provided a prescription drug to someone knowing that person was going to use that drug for something other than its intended medical purpose.

Conflict of Interest

• Applicants whose personal habits, conduct, or behavior pose a conflict of interest with the DEA’s mission to enforce the CSA and provide a drug-free society will not continue in the hiring process. Examples of conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to: being in a current, intimate relationship with a user of illegal narcotic or dangerous drugs; voluntarily living with a user of illegal narcotics or dangerous drugs; or, a person who is seeking or has obtained state licensure or permits to cultivate and/or distribute marijuana, THC, and other cannabis products regardless of state or foreign country laws where this activity may be legal.
   

All DEA applicants must undergo and pass a background investigation and drug test to receive a security clearance and move forward through the employment process.  Once an applicant accepts a conditional offer of employment, the DEA initiates the background investigation and drug test requirements.  In addition, pre-employment requirements may also include a polygraph and medical examination.  

Each job announcement will include the requirements for employment for the position. Please read this section thoroughly to ensure the DEA disqualifiers do not apply to you.