What Records Must a Laboratory Keep for DOT Drug Tests?

A laboratory keeps all records pertaining to each employee urine specimen for a minimum of two years under 49 CFR 40.109(a). Under 40.109(b), it also keeps for two years the employer-specific data required for the statistical summaries in 49 CFR 40.111.

Under 40.109(c), within the two-year period, the MRO, the employee, the employer or a DOT agency may ask the laboratory in writing to keep the records for an additional period, for example to preserve evidence for litigation or a safety investigation. The laboratory complies with such a request. Without one, it may discard the records at the end of the two years.

These record rules are separate from the rules on keeping the specimen itself. Under 49 CFR 40.84, a positive, adulterated, substituted or invalid specimen is kept for at least one year, as covered in How Long Does a Laboratory Keep a DOT Drug Test Specimen?.

Under 49 CFR 40.107, a laboratory permits inspections, with or without prior notice, by ODAPC, a DOT agency, a DOT-regulated employer that contracts with it for DOT drug testing, or that employer's designee. The statistical summaries that use the employer-specific data are covered in What Statistical Summaries Does a Laboratory Send to Employers?.

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