DOT Drug Testing Requirements - Health Street (2024)

A DOT Drug Test is the most basic and most obvious requirement of the United States Department of Transportation. Pre-employment and ongoing random drug and alcohol testing is required according to very specific rules covered in CFR 49 Part 40. Health Street's collectors meet these standards, as does our SAMHSA certified laboratory and Medical Review Officer. This test is also required after any on-the-job accident that meets certain threshold requirements.

DOT Drug Test

A DOT Breath Alcohol Test is required for post accident, reasonable suspicion, certain random tests, as well as for follow up and return to duty tests as indicated by a Substance Abuse Professional. Some companies also require a BAT for pre-employment, thought DOT doesn't mandate this. Breath alcohol devices ("breathalyzers") must meet strict guidelines for the accurate detection of alcohol and only alcohol. These devices must be listed on the federal registry of Evidential Breath Testers (EBT's). Health Street uses EBT's for all DOT alcohol testing.

DOT Breath Alcohol Test

Every safety sensitive employee must be enrolled in a DOT Random Pool. Random selections must be made according to the currently published percentages of staff updated annually by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Medium to large businesses are enrolled into a self-contained pool that only includes their employees, but Health Street also offers a Small Business Consortium to allow companies with less than 6 drivers (or pilots, captains, etc.) to meet the DOT requirements for belonging to a random pool. This consortium is a group of hundreds of small businesses that we bring together for the purpose of allowing each small company meet the random DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements.

DOT Random Pool Membership

Any company with employees that perform safety sensitve functions must have at least one supervisor formally trained in how to identify the signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol use. Health Street offers this DOT Supervisor Training online in a convenient, click-and-learn presentation format. Your company's supervisors can view it on a computer in the comfort of their offices or homes. The required training is 2 hours for the first year, and 1 hour refresher courses each year thereafter. At the end of the course, they are issued a certificate to keep on file to present to DOT in the case of an audit. Health Street also offers in-person DOT supervisor training for groups of managers in many metropolitan areas nationwide (call for details).

DOT Supervisor Training

The USCG and Merchant Marines have additional, highly particular requirements that go above and beyond a normal DOT drug test. The USCG Merchant Marines Drug Test package offered by Health Street meets all of these requirements, including special forms (such as the CG-719P) that must be filled out by our MRO. If you are applying for a captain's license, a license renewal, or any other safety-sensitive position governed by the Coast Guard's rigorous drug testing regulations, you must adhere to these strict guidelines, or your test results will be rejected.

USCG Merchant Marines Drug Test

Certain employers of safety-sensitives employees must follow strict regulations for drug and alcohol testing set by the Department of Transportation. Below are some resources to learn more about compliance for the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).