CURES exemptions use current 7-day language, not stale 5-day wording

Use the current DCA flyer language that describes a 7-day nonrefillable exemption lane instead of outdated 5-day shorthand.

Last verified March 24, 2026

Reviewed by Mahtab Mansour, DDS on April 25, 2026

What changed

Current California CURES guidance uses 7-day nonrefillable exemption language in the emergency-department, surgical or procedural, and timely-access lanes. A lot of older prep still repeats 5-day wording.

Why it matters for exam prep

CURES questions often test small number changes.
A stale number is enough to turn a broadly correct answer into the wrong California-specific answer.

What to purge from old summaries

"The current California emergency-style exemption is 5 days."

Primary source

A12 DCA CURES overview. https://www.dca.ca.gov/licensees/cures_update.shtml
A13 DCA CURES mandatory-consultation flyer and exemptions. https://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/cures_flyer.pdf
A32 BPC section 688 e-prescribing and exemptions. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=688.