DOT drug & alcohol testing
Part 40 collections, performed at your yard.
If your business is regulated by a Department of Transportation agency, your testing procedures are set by 49 CFR Part 40 and there is no room to improvise. We perform those collections at your location, to the letter, and document them so an audit is a filing exercise rather than a fire drill.
Who this covers
Six agencies, one shared rulebook.
Part 40 is the common procedural standard across every DOT mode. The agency you fall under then adds its own rules about who is covered, at what rate, and what happens after a violation.
- FMCSA for commercial motor vehicle drivers, by far the largest population in North Carolina.
- FAA for aviation safety sensitive employees.
- FRA for rail.
- FTA for public transit.
- PHMSA for pipeline operations.
- USCG for commercial maritime.
If you employ people across more than one mode, the regulation allows you to test everyone at the highest minimum annual rate established for that year by any DOT agency you are subject to. That is usually the simpler path.
The federal panel
What a DOT drug test actually looks for.
The DOT panel is fixed. You cannot add to it or remove from it for a DOT test. Each substance has an initial screening cutoff and a lower confirmation cutoff, both set in Part 40.
| Analyte group | Initial test cutoff | Confirmation cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| Marijuana metabolite (THCA) | 50 ng/mL | 15 ng/mL |
| Cocaine metabolite | 150 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| Codeine and morphine | 2000 ng/mL | 2000 ng/mL |
| Hydrocodone and hydromorphone | 300 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| Oxycodone and oxymorphone | 100 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| 6-Acetylmorphine | 10 ng/mL | 10 ng/mL |
| Phencyclidine (PCP) | 25 ng/mL | 25 ng/mL |
| Amphetamine and methamphetamine | 500 ng/mL | 250 ng/mL |
| MDMA and MDA | 500 ng/mL | 250 ng/mL |
Cutoff concentrations as set out at 49 CFR 40.85. A result below the cutoff is reported as negative, which is not the same as an absence of the substance.
Timing that catches employers out
Three deadlines worth writing on the wall.
8 hours
Alcohol testing should be conducted as soon as practicable. If it has not happened within eight hours, you must stop attempting and record why.
32 hours
Controlled substance testing after a qualifying accident. Beyond thirty two hours, cease attempts and document the reason.
60 + 60 minutes
Every supervisor of covered drivers needs an hour on alcohol misuse and an hour on controlled substances before they can call a reasonable suspicion test.
A common misunderstanding
Not every accident triggers a test. Under FMCSA rules the obligation depends on the outcome: a fatality always triggers testing of the surviving driver, while injury requiring treatment away from the scene or a vehicle towed from the scene triggers testing only if the driver receives a citation for a moving violation, and within specific time limits. Testing when the rule does not require it creates its own problems. We will help you work out which side of the line you are on.
FMCSA Clearinghouse
Queries are not optional, and one of them is annual.
Before a driver performs any safety sensitive function, you must run a full pre-employment query of the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. A full query releases the driver's record to you and requires that driver's specific consent.
Separately, you must query the Clearinghouse at least once a year for every driver subject to testing. That annual check can be a limited query, which needs the driver's consent but returns only whether information exists.
The annual query is the one that slips. It has no natural trigger in the hiring process, so it depends entirely on somebody having a calendar reminder. We build it into the program calendar alongside your random draws.
Current FMCSA random rates
minimum annual rate
minimum annual rate
Rates are set by the FMCSA Administrator and can change from one calendar year to the next based on industry wide violation data. We track the published rate so your pool is sized correctly each year.
Related services
Other collections we run
Non-DOT Workplace Testing
Company policy panels from 5 to 12 substances, built around North Carolina law.
Alcohol Testing
Evidential breath testing on site, plus EtG when a longer window matters.
Random Testing Programs
Consortium administration, selections, and the records an auditor asks for.
Mobile & On-Site Collections
We drive to your yard, plant or office. Your crew never leaves the property.
Next step
Bring your DOT program to a collector that travels.
Tell us how many covered employees you have and which agency regulates you. We will confirm the rate, the panel and a collection schedule that fits your operation.