HHS Updates List of Certified Federal Drug Testing Laboratories
Published Date: 3/2/2026
Notice
Summary
This notice lists all the labs and testing centers certified by HHS to do urine and oral fluid drug tests for federal agencies. If a lab loses its certification, it’s taken off the list until it’s fixed. This update helps federal workers and agencies know which places meet the rules, keeping drug testing fair and reliable.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
No HHS-Certified Oral Fluid Labs
The notice says that, despite the Mandatory Guidelines using Oral Fluid (effective October 10, 2023), "At this time, there are no laboratories certified to conduct drug and specimen validity tests on oral fluid specimens." This means there are currently no HHS-certified oral-fluid testing labs available for use under federal workplace drug-testing rules.
One IITF Certified For Urine Testing
The notice lists one Instrumented Initial Testing Facility (IITF) approved to conduct urine drug testing: Dynacare, 6628 50th Street NW, Edmonton, AB Canada T6B 2N7. This IITF is listed as meeting the Mandatory Guidelines using Urine (effective February 1, 2024).
DOT Specimens Cannot Be Tested At IITFs
The notice explicitly states: "Note: DOT does not allow IITFs to test DOT-regulated specimens." That means DOT-regulated drug tests cannot be processed at IITFs listed in this notice.
Multiple HHS-Certified Urine Labs Listed
The notice provides a current list of HHS-certified laboratories approved to conduct urine drug and specimen validity testing, including named labs such as Alere Toxicology Services, Clinical Reference Laboratory, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Quest/LabOne, MedTox, and others. These labs are listed under the Mandatory Guidelines using Urine (effective February 1, 2024).
VA and DoD Labs Limited To Their Employees
The notice lists two certified laboratories that are limited to specific employees: "Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Forensic Toxicology Laboratory... Testing for Veterans Affairs (VA) Employees Only" and "US Army Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory... Testing for Department of Defense (DoD) Employees Only."
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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