An improper DSCSA quality agreement notarization can result in regulatory violations during DEA audits, potentially leading to fines or license suspension. Federal compliance standards require notarized quality agreements to meet specific formatting and language requirements—errors can render the notarization invalid in the eyes of regulatory authorities.
Real Scenario: A Las Vegas pharmacy had their DSCSA quality agreement notarized by a general bank notary who was unfamiliar with pharmaceutical compliance language requirements. The notary omitted specific DSCSA compliance language that confirms the vendor authorization and chain-of-custody verification. During a routine DEA audit, the inspector identified the notarization as "incomplete for DSCSA compliance purposes" and issued a regulatory finding requiring corrective action.
If You Discover an Error: The fastest solution is complete re-notarization by a notary experienced in pharmaceutical documentation. The corrected notarization should reference the original document's error and provide corrected language. Most pharmaceutical vendors will accept re-notarized documentation if submitted with an explanation of the correction.
Critical: Do NOT attempt to add language or make corrections to the original notarized document. This invalidates the notarization further. Instead, obtain completely new notarization with proper pharmaceutical compliance language.
Timeline: Re-notarization can typically be completed within 24-48 hours. Mobile notaries provide same-day service, allowing pharmacies to correct audit findings before regulatory penalties accumulate.
Prevention: Use notaries with pharmaceutical compliance expertise from the beginning. Specialized pharmacy notaries understand DSCSA requirements, Board of Pharmacy language standards, and vendor-specific quality agreement formatting. This prevents costly correction cycles.
If you're facing a pharmacy notarization audit finding, Lake Mead Mobile Notary can provide emergency same-day re-notarization to bring your documentation into compliance before penalties increase.


