Drug Abatement Frequently Asked Questions

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Program Applicability

1. Does an individual's participation in a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) testing program satisfy U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug and alcohol testing requirements?
2. If my company operates an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) under 14 CFR Part 135 flight rules, am I required to conduct drug and alcohol testing under the DOT/FAA regulation?

Starting or Changing a Testing Program

1. How do I establish a federal drug and alcohol testing program to comply with FAA’s regulation?
2. When am I required to update my program registration, Letter of Authorization (LOA), or Operations Specifications?
3. Are employers required to renew their contractor registrations for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drug and alcohol programs?
4. As a repair station, do I establish my federal drug and alcohol testing program under an Operations Specification paragraph (A449) or a registration?
5. Is it possible to conduct one federal drug and alcohol testing program if I own more than one part 145 repair station certificate?
6. If I operate under part 121 and own a part 145 repair station, can I cover all my safety-sensitive employees under a single drug and alcohol testing program?
7. If I operate under part 135 and conduct air tours as defined in 14 CFR § 91.147, do I need to implement two federal drug and alcohol testing programs?
8. As a commercial air tour operator, I applied for a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from my local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).  Am I required to provide the FSDO with evidence of a drug and alcohol registration and testing program?
9. If the ownership, name, or structure of my company is going to change, am I required to conduct a new pre-employment drug test for my covered employees?
10. Should we conduct a pre-employment drug test and obtain a negative result if we acquire employees through a merger or acquisition of another FAA-regulated employer?

Program Implementation

1. I am the Designated Employer Representative (DER) for two air carriers on behalf of our corporate office. Is this a problem?
2. What are the drug and alcohol training requirements for my safety-sensitive employees and their supervisors?
3. When an air carrier hires a contract employee to perform safety-sensitive work, how can it ensure that the employee is tested under a FAA drug and alcohol testing program?
4. If a repair station provided me a copy of their A449 paragraph with the notation ‘A2’ or ‘A3’ in the telephone field, what else do I need to verify they conduct federal drug and alcohol testing?
5. What drug and alcohol testing records am I required to keep and for how long, and may I maintain them electronically?
6. Am I required to notify the FAA if my service agent or Designated Employer Representative (DER) changes?
7. As an employer, what steps can I take to run an effective alcohol testing program?
8. How do I report a drug and alcohol testing issue of noncompliance under the FAA’s voluntary disclosure reporting program?
9. I hired a contract employee to perform safety-sensitive duties and added him to my random testing pool. Am I required to conduct my own pre-employment drug test?
10. Which drug and alcohol test results must be reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)?
11. How do I change a DOT drug and/or alcohol test to a non-DOT test when I discover an error?
12. How do I prepare for an inspection of my DOT/FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing program by the FAA?
13. What is required for a virtual inspection of my DOT/FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing program by the FAA?

Drug and Alcohol Records Check

1. How far back do I need to request Federal drug and alcohol testing information for a safety-sensitive applicant?
2. If my new employee previously worked as a mechanic for a non-Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated employer (e.g. Wal-Mart), am I required to conduct a drug and alcohol records check? If not, what documentation is necessary?
3. Am I required to request drug and alcohol testing records from the FAA or the U.S. Military for a newly hired safety-sensitive employee?
4. May an employer include the question asking about previous pre-employment test results on the drug and alcohol records release form?
5. Does the FAA’s suggested ‘Release of Information’ form indicate a change in the regulatory requirement to conduct the drug and alcohol records check?
6. When conducting the drug and alcohol records check for a safety-sensitive employee or applicant, can I use an electronic or digital signature?
7. I am having trouble with a drug and alcohol records check on a potential employee. What should I do?
8. If I hire a pilot, am I required to query the Pilot Records Database and request drug and alcohol records under the Pilot Records Improvement Act?
9. Am I required to enter my employee’s non-negative test result into the Clearinghouse or query the Clearinghouse when I hire a safety-sensitive employee who previously worked for a motor carrier?

Pre-Employment Testing

1. Is an employer required to conduct a pre-employment drug test on a safety-sensitive employee who is on extended leave or furloughed?
2. Do I need to conduct another pre-employment test if it takes more than 6 months to hire someone for a safety-sensitive position?
3. If I failed to conduct a pre-employment test before hiring an individual for a safety-sensitive function, can the violation be corrected by conducting the test after an individual has been hired or transferred?

Random Testing

1. What type of documentation should employers maintain in support of the random selection process?
2. When is an employer required to remove an employee from the random testing pool?
3. If I have a small number of safety-sensitive employees, may I add dummy names or numbers to my random pool? If “dummies” are used, am I required to test an actual employee to meet the annual random rate?
4. If an employee was selected and tested in December 2011, but the result was not received until January 2012, does the employer count that random test for 2011 or 2012?
5. How can I create a random number generator using Microsoft Excel?
6. Can an employer give in-flight notification of random testing to flight crew members via the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), cell phone, in-range calls, etc.?
7. When conducting my random selections, may I over select or use an alternate list, since my employees are not always available?
8. Is it permissible to generate the selections for random drug testing from the full list of eligible employees in the random pool, then make the alcohol selections from the list of employees that were selected for drug testing?

Post-Accident Testing

1. What constitutes a post-accident test? What is the definition of an accident?
2. If I determine that my safety-sensitive employee contributed to an "accident" (as defined in 14 CFR § 120.7) am I required to conduct drug and alcohol post-accident testing?

Return-To-Duty and Follow-Up Testing

1. Am I obligated to conduct an alcohol return-to-duty test if my employee previously tested positive on a drug test?
2. I am hiring a person who had a positive drug test at a previous employer, then successfully complied with the SAP's requirements. Do I have to conduct both a pre-employment drug test and a return-to-duty drug test for this person?
3. I discovered that my employee’s follow-up drug tests were not collected using the direct observation procedures. What should I do?

Service Agents

1. Is an employer required to perform audits of its service agents (e.g., collection site, Medical Review Officer, or Substance Abuse Professional) to ensure compliance?
2. How can an employer find a service agent (e.g., Consortium/Third-Party Administrator (C/TPA), Medical Review Officer (MRO), collector, etc.) to help administer its drug and alcohol testing program?
3. Does the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approve employer or consortia/third party administrator (C/TPA) drug and alcohol testing programs?
4. As a consortium/third party administrator (C/TPA), am I required to have a copy of an aviation client’s program registration or Operations Specifications?
5. How can an employer verify its collector, Screening Test Technician (STT) and/or Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) is qualified to conduct Federal collections?

Employee Violations

1. My mechanic tested positive on a random drug test for marijuana, but he said he only used a CBD product. Is his test valid?
2. When does the use of medication become a safety concern?
3. How do the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) drug and alcohol testing regulations apply to an individual who has self-disclosed a drug or alcohol abuse problem?
4. I have a pilot that tested above 0.04 for alcohol on a law enforcement test conducted after the employee reported for duty. Where should I report this information?
5. What steps must I take if my employee violates the Federal drug and alcohol testing rule?
6. How can I ensure a Substance Abuse Professional’s education, treatment and follow-up testing plan are sufficient?
7. Our pilot tested positive on a Federal random drug test. Am I required to enter the result in the Pilot Records Database?

Safety-Sensitive Duties

1. Are people who repair or maintain cargo containers loaded on the aircraft in cargo operations included in the requirement for a drug and alcohol testing program? (Note: Cargo containers are considered part of the aircraft.)  
2. Is a manufacturer who tests a component to determine the extent of needed repairs or to determine the serviceability required to be covered under a drug and alcohol program when performing work for a 14 CFR Part 121/135 air carrier?
3. Do non-certified helpers who perform some maintenance duties as part of a process under direct supervision need to be covered under a drug and alcohol testing program even though they will not sign off the work?
4. If an air carrier sends aircraft or component work to a maintenance provider, and that provider contracts out part of the work, does the third level contractor have to be covered under a drug and alcohol program?
5. If I hire mechanics from a foreign country and bring them into the United States to work, are they subject to testing?
6. I operate a flight school. Does instruction in a flight simulator qualify as a safety-sensitive function?
7. What is an Operations Control Specialist?
8. How can an employer be sure that the work being performed qualifies as maintenance or preventive maintenance?
9. Does a person who cleans an aircraft have to be covered under a drug and alcohol testing program?
10. Does a person who paints an aircraft have to be covered under a drug and alcohol testing program?
11. Is an individual who performs a safety-sensitive function solely in a foreign country subject to testing under the employer's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drug and alcohol testing program?