SAMHSA Revises Federal Drug Testing Forms for Accuracy
Published Date: 12/23/2025
Notice
Summary
SAMHSA is updating the forms used for federal workplace drug testing to keep things clear and up-to-date. These changes affect federal agencies, DOT, NRC, and labs that handle drug tests, with a new approval needed by August 31, 2026. The updates come after public feedback and aim to improve how drug test info is collected and reported, with no new costs announced.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Paperwork Time and Cost for Tested Workers
If you are a worker who provides a urine or oral fluid specimen for federal, DOT, or NRC workplace drug testing, SAMHSA estimates time and wage costs from the revised Custody and Control Form. For example, SAMHSA lists 6,726,610 donor responses at 0.08 hours each (total 538,129 hours; $13,453,225), 6,726,610 collector responses at 0.07 hours each (total 470,683 hours; $7,060,245), and 6,726,610 Medical Review Officer responses at 0.05 hours each (total 336,331 hours; $50,449,650).
Lab Certification Forms: New Data, New Burdens
Laboratories and Instrumented Initial Test Facilities (IITFs) that seek or hold HHS certification will use updated NLCP forms that let them report analytes from Authorized Testing Panels and information on new technologies or instruments. SAMHSA also lists estimated burdens for labs: the CCF laboratory row shows 6,726,610 responses at 0.05 hours each (336,331 hours; $11,771,585), NLCP application work for labs is estimated at 20 responses × 3 hours (60 hours; $2,100), NLCP checklist 19 responses × 1 hour (19 hours; $665), and recordkeeping 19 responses × 250 hours (4,750 hours; $166,250).
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Key Dates
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