What Is Chain of Custody in Drug Testing?

Chain of custody is the documented record of who handled a drug test specimen and when. Part 40 defines it as the procedure used to document the handling of the urine specimen from the time the employee gives the specimen to the collector until the specimen is destroyed, using the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF) (49 CFR 40.3). The Federal CCF is required for each collection under the DOT drug testing program, and a non-Federal form or an expired CCF may not be used (49 CFR 40.40).

At the collection site, the collector maintains personal control over each specimen and CCF throughout the collection process. To the greatest extent possible, the urine collection container stays in view of both the collector and the employee until it is sealed (49 CFR 40.43). In the presence of the employee, the collector places tamper-evident seals on the specimen containers and records the date, and the employee is asked to initial the seals. If the employee declines, the collector notes it in the Remarks line and completes the collection (49 CFR 40.71, 49 CFR 40.74). The collector then completes Step 4 of the CCF by printing a name, recording the date and time, signing the statement, and entering the name of the delivery service. The specimen is shipped to the laboratory within 24 hours or during the next business day (49 CFR 40.79).

The laboratory checks incoming specimens for fatal flaws. These include no CCF, no specimen submitted with the CCF, no printed collector name and no collector signature, two collections on one CCF, specimen ID numbers that do not match, and a broken or tampered seal or an insufficient specimen when the split cannot be redesignated. For oral fluid, an expired collection device is also a fatal flaw. The Medical Review Officer (MRO) cancels a test with a fatal flaw (49 CFR 40.83, 49 CFR 40.199). A missing collector signature on the certification statement is a correctable flaw that the laboratory attempts to correct (49 CFR 40.203).

Some errors do not cancel a test. Examples include a minor administrative mistake, such as an omitted middle initial, and an omitted or wrong courier name. Such errors may still subject an employer or service agent to enforcement action under DOT agency regulations or Subpart R of Part 40 (49 CFR 40.209).