How Long Must DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Records Be Kept?

DOT drug and alcohol testing records have minimum retention periods. The baseline for DOT agencies is in 49 CFR 40.333, and some agencies set longer or added periods.

Part 40 baseline (49 CFR 40.333(a)).

• Five years. Alcohol results of 0.02 or greater, verified positive drug results, refusals (including adulterated or substituted results), SAP reports, and follow-up tests and schedules
• Three years. Information from previous employers under 49 CFR 40.25
• Two years. Inspection, maintenance and calibration records for evidential breath testing devices
• One year. Negative and cancelled drug results and alcohol results below 0.02

Agency differences.

• FMCSA. Five years also applies to driver evaluations and referrals, calibration documentation, program administration records and annual summaries. Other collection process records are kept two years. Training records for supervisors, drivers and technicians are kept while the person performs the function plus two years (49 CFR 382.401(b)). Motor carrier recordkeeping is covered in more depth in FMCSA DER training.
• FTA. Collection process and employee training records are kept two years, and copies of MIS reports five years (49 CFR 655.71(b)).
• PHMSA. Under the anti-drug rules, collection process records, training records and records of decisions not to give a post-accident drug test are kept at least three years (49 CFR 199.117(a)). The alcohol rules keep collection and training records two years and post-accident decision records three years (49 CFR 199.227(b)). Pipeline operator records are covered in PHMSA DER training.
• FAA. Copies of annual MIS reports are kept five years, and records of the alcohol testing process and training two years (14 CFR 120.111(f), 14 CFR 120.219).
• FRA. Railroads keep negative and cancelled results for two years instead of one, and test result summaries and annual reports for five years (49 CFR 219.901).
• USCG. Marine employers keep chemical test records as 49 CFR 40.333 provides and make them available to Coast Guard officials on request (46 CFR 16.260).

How records are kept. Records stay in a location with controlled access. A service agent may hold them, but the employer must be able to produce them at its principal place of business in the time the agency requires, such as two business days for an FMCSA request. Electronic records must be easy to access, legible and organized (49 CFR 40.333(c) to (e), 49 CFR 382.401(d)). Records of reasonable suspicion decisions and post-accident decisions are part of the required file (49 CFR 382.401(c)).