A high voltage step regulator, such as would be used to provide a regulated low voltage (on the order of a few volts) from a high voltage external supply (e.g. 12V), is presented. To protect the output transistor, through which the output is provided from the input, from breakdown, a depletion type device is connected between the supply and the output transistor. The control gate of the depletion device is then connected to the output level of the regulator. This reduces the voltage drop across the output transistor, helping to avoid violating design rules (EDR) on how great a voltage differential can be placed across the output transistor. Examples of applications for such a circuit are for various operating voltages on a non-volatile memory chip operating with a high voltage power supply.