Delegation Agreement · PA
District of Columbia Delegation Agreement for Physician Assistants
Required. The Delegation Agreement is the written instrument District of Columbia law names for a Physician Assistant working with a physician. Below: the board that governs it, what it must contain, and the terms it has to carry.
DC was not identified among the states that have adopted an experience-based autonomous-practice pathway for PAs (as of this pass, unlike e.g. Virginia's 2026 reform or North Dakota's) — a PA in DC needs an active Delegation Agreement with a supervising physician for as long as they practice.
What a District of Columbia Delegation Agreement must contain
Governed by the DC Board of Medicine and the DC Board of Pharmacy. Each numbered item is a statutory requirement the agreement must satisfy.
The Physician Assistant ("PA") shall practice pursuant to a written Delegation Agreement with the Physician, as required by the DC Board of Medicine. The Delegation Agreement shall list every practice location and shall address the Physician Assistant's delegated prescriptive authority and duties.
The Physician and the Physician Assistant shall complete a documented quarterly Practice Advisory Review, maintained in the Physician Assistant's personnel file at the practice site.
- The Delegation Agreement on file also carries 1 scope, 1 education, 1 registration clauses, generated in the document itself.
Statutes and rules cited
- DC Code § 3-1202.08statute
Authorizes pharmacist-physician collaborative practice agreements to initiate, modify, or discontinue a drug therapy regimen, and directs the Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medicine to jointly issue implementing regulations.
Terms it has to carry
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing terms the agreement has to carry, from the state's supervision rules.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
17 DCMR § 4914 requires the PA be under physician supervision at all times while practicing, but no on-site or mile/minute radius standard was confirmed in this pass — treat the specific proximity mechanics as an open item pending direct confirmation of the full regulation text.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Quarterly
The PA and a supervising physician listed on the Delegation Agreement must complete a documented 'Practice Advisory Review' quarterly, kept in the PA's personnel file at the practice site (DC Health Delegation Agreement form; D.C. Code § 3-1204 framework).
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
The Delegation Agreement must address the PA's delegated prescriptive authority; controlled-substance prescribing requires the supervising physician to delegate that authority and the PA to hold its own DC controlled-substance registration plus DEA registration. Specific schedule-level restrictions were not confirmed in this pass — do not assume unrestricted Schedule II authority without verifying the current Delegation Agreement form/17 DCMR text.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional Corporation or PLLC under D.C. Code § 29-508 — secondary-sourced guidance describes 100% licensed-physician ownership, all directors/officers physician-licensed, and shares transferable only to physicians or the corporation itself. No DC statute was found enumerating PAs as an eligible independent owner of such an entity — treat PA independent practice-entity ownership as an open item.
This ownership question is distinct from the Delegation Agreement below, which governs clinical oversight of the PA, not who may own the entity the PA practices through.
Legal sources for these rules (5)
- D.C. Code § 3-1204 — Board of Medicine authority over PA delegation agreements
- 17 DCMR § 4914 — Supervision (Physician Assistants)
- 17 DCMR § 4911 — Scope of Practice (Physician Assistants)
- DC Health — Physician Assistant Delegation Agreement form
- D.C. Code § 29-508 — Professional corporation ownership requirements (secondary-sourced summary)secondary
About District of Columbia's rules
The Health Occupations Revision Amendment Act of 2024 repealed D.C. Code § 3-1206.03, eliminating the collaboration mandate for all APRN categories (NP/PMHNP/CRNA/CNM/CNS) — DC is now a full-practice-authority jurisdiction for APRNs. PAs are NOT covered by that reform and still require a Board of Medicine Delegation Agreement regardless of experience; no autonomous-PA pathway was found in DC as of this pass.
Other clinicians in District of Columbia: see the state overview.