DEA Form DEA-7
Definition
The US Drug Enforcement Administration's Report of Drug Property Collected, Purchased or Seized: the primary chain-of-custody document that records every custodian, transfer date, seal condition, and exhibit weight from field seizure through to laboratory destruction or return.
- Full name
- Report of Drug Property Collected, Purchased or Seized
- Issuing agency
- US Drug Enforcement Administration
- Function
- Primary chain-of-custody document for seized drug exhibits
- Fields recorded
- Custodian, transfer date, seal condition, exhibit weight
- Scope
- Covers field seizure through laboratory destruction or return
Common questions
What is the practical consequence of a gap in DEA-7 documentation?+
An unrecorded transfer or missing weight entry creates a break in the documented chain of custody, which defence counsel can use to argue the exhibit may have been substituted, contaminated, or altered while unaccounted for, potentially undermining the admissibility of the evidence.
Does the DEA-7 track the exhibit all the way to disposal?+
Yes, it is designed to record every custodial transfer from the point of field seizure through laboratory analysis and ultimately to destruction or return of the exhibit, giving a continuous documented record for the full life of the evidence.
Related terms
- ASTM E1492
- Standard Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory: establishes container requirements for fire debris (metal can...
- BSA 2023 (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023)
- India's evidence law that replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872, governing the admissibility of documents and expert opinions in Indian courts; together...
- Chain of Custody (CoC)
- The documented sequence of individuals who had possession of, access to, or control over a physical exhibit from the moment of its...
- Court Sample
- In India under the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules 2014, a duplicate sealed sample drawn at the time of seizure...
- FSR Codes of Practice and Conduct
- Mandatory requirements issued by the UK Forensic Science Regulator under the Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021, governing exhibit management, method validation, contamination...
- Mahazar (Panchnama)
- In Indian criminal procedure, a document drawn at the time of search and seizure in the presence of independent witnesses (Panchas), recording...
- Permeability (Packaging)
- The rate at which molecules of a gas or vapour pass through a solid membrane. Polyethylene has significant permeability to volatile organic...
- Tamper-Evident Sealing
- Packaging closure that makes any opening of the package visible: heat-sealed bags, security adhesive tape with a void pattern that transfers on...
- TWGFEX / SWGMAT
- Technical Working Group for Fire and Explosion Investigation (now the OSAC Ignitable Liquids, Explosives, and Gunshot Residue Subcommittee): the US body that...