When Is an FMCSA Pre-employment Drug Test Required?

Before a driver performs safety-sensitive functions for an FMCSA-regulated employer for the first time, the driver takes a pre-employment controlled substances test. The employer needs a verified negative result from the Medical Review Officer or a consortium or third-party administrator (C/TPA) before the driver starts (49 CFR 382.301).

The rule includes a limited exception. The employer is not required to test if the driver took part in a compliant testing program within the previous 30 days, and was either tested within the past six months or took part in a random testing program for the previous 12 months, and no prior employer known to the employer has a record of a violation of 49 CFR Part 382 or another DOT agency's controlled substances rule within the previous six months (49 CFR 382.301). An employer using this exception obtains and keeps documentation from the testing program (49 CFR 382.301).

Pre-employment alcohol testing is optional under the FMCSA rule. An employer that chooses to conduct it tests each covered driver uniformly, after a contingent offer of employment, and the driver's result is below 0.04 before the driver performs safety-sensitive functions (49 CFR 382.301).

A test result is one part of the hiring check. Employers also conduct a full pre-employment query of the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse with the driver's consent (49 CFR 382.701). The Clearinghouse query is used to check prior FMCSA-regulated employers, while records from employers under other DOT agencies are requested directly (49 CFR 382.413, 49 CFR 40.25).

An applicant who leaves before a pre-employment test begins is not considered to have refused the test (49 CFR 40.191).

Official Sources

• 49 CFR 382.301 (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 382.701 (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 382.413 (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 40.25 (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 40.191 (eCFR)