A SAMHSA locator check is the Part 2 reasonable-diligence search for a practice or provider among substance-use treatment facilities in SAMHSA's online treatment locator. The result is one required evidence item when the 42 CFR 2.3(b) trigger applies. A match, absence, stale listing, or ambiguous identity should be documented and considered with the other required sources.
Editorial approval scope: The team checked current source fidelity, scope boundaries, dates, arithmetic, reader usefulness, practical workflow, and general-information limitations.
Current rule checkpoint
Live 42 CFR 2.3(b)(1)(i) includes searching for the practice or provider among SUD treatment facilities in the online treatment locator maintained by SAMHSA. The locator check is one required component of the broader reasonable-diligence sequence and must be tied to the correct provider identity, place, search evidence, and timing.
Use the correct provider identity
42 CFR 2.3 names the SAMHSA locator. Search legal name, doing-business-as names, relevant addresses, and other supported identifiers. Record the locator, query, date, result, facility details, and reviewer.
A result answers only what the source shows
A listing supports further Part 2 analysis. An absent result does not complete the whole applicability inquiry because names, sites, listings, and services can change. Continue the state, provider-site, and notice checks required by the rule.
Ambiguity needs a routed decision
Compare address, program name, ownership, phone, and service details. Preserve mismatches and possible matches. Qualified Part 2 counsel or the designated legal owner decides how the evidence affects the proposed demand or placement.
Establish the search target
Record legal name, trade names, abbreviations, addresses, nearby sites, phone, domain, former names, and parent or affiliated entities. Identify the specific practice, provider, and location that will receive the demand or placement. A match for an affiliate or another address may be relevant without resolving the target site.
Use a stable internal provider key to connect all query variants and results.
Search the official locator methodically
Use the current SAMHSA online treatment locator and search reasonable name, location, distance, service, and spelling variants. Record source URL, date and time, query, filters, result count, matching listing, site details, and reviewer. Save a screenshot, print view, or other reproducible evidence consistent with agency security.
Do not enter patient names or sealed investigative facts. The task is facility identification and service applicability.
Interpret positive, negative, and ambiguous results
A positive listing can support further Part 2 review, but counsel should verify entity, site, and service match. A negative search records what the locator showed at that time; it does not prove that the provider is outside Part 2. Incomplete, outdated, duplicate, or geographically confusing results need additional analysis.
Document uncertainty and the reason for any match or nonmatch conclusion. Preserve conflicting evidence from other sources.
Complete the remaining diligence sequence
Search an available similar state treatment database, check the provider's website or physical location where available, and view an available Patient Notice or HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. Reconcile names, addresses, services, and notices across sources. Escalate conflicts to qualified counsel before the investigative action.
The 2024 final rule created the express sequence. No single database result replaces it.
Refresh and audit the check
Complete the locator search within a reasonable period and the 60-day outer boundary before the request or placement. Refresh it if the action is delayed, the practice changes names or locations, or new evidence appears. Link the saved result to the exact demand or placement authorization.
Audit whether personnel used the official source, correct entity variants, reproducible evidence, and the full sequence. Correct gaps before action where possible.
Handle related facilities and provider changes
When the locator shows several sites, record which one matches the target address and which listings belong to affiliates, former names, or nearby providers. Review mergers, acquisitions, relocations, rebranding, closures, and service changes through the other diligence sources. A listing for one location should not be copied across an entire organization without support. If the target changes before service or placement, rerun the query for the final entity and site.
Record the changed target explicitly.
Example and controls
Nine provider searches are reviewed. Seven preserve query, timestamp, result, identity match, and follow-up; two retain only a screenshot. Search-record completeness is 7 of 9 checks. Use repeatable queries, exports, and source-change alerts.
SAMHSA-locator checklist
- resolve the target provider, site, aliases, affiliates, and addresses;
- use the official locator with reasonable query and geographic variants;
- preserve URL, date, filters, results, match analysis, and reviewer;
- avoid treating a negative or affiliate result as a final conclusion;
- reconcile the locator with state, public-site, location, and notice checks; and
- refresh stale evidence and link it to the exact investigative action.
This check is strongest when another reviewer can reproduce it and understand how the result affected the Part 2 decision.
Related terms
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