The DOT urine panel covers marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, and PCP. The exact analytes and cutoff concentrations are fixed by 49 CFR § 40.85 — an employer cannot add to or subtract from a DOT test.
49 CFR § 40.85 — Cutoff concentrations for urine drug tests
As a laboratory, you must use the cutoff concentrations displayed in the following table for initial and confirmatory drug tests. All cutoff concentrations are expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).
| Analyte | Initial test cutoff | Confirmatory cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| Marijuana metabolites (THCA) | 50 ng/mL | 15 ng/mL |
| Cocaine metabolite (Benzoylecgonine) | 150 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| Codeine / Morphine | 2000 ng/mL | 2000 ng/mL |
| Hydrocodone / Hydromorphone | 300 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| Oxycodone / Oxymorphone | 100 ng/mL | 100 ng/mL |
| 6-Acetylmorphine | 10 ng/mL | 10 ng/mL |
| Phencyclidine (PCP) | 25 ng/mL | 25 ng/mL |
| Amphetamine / Methamphetamine | 500 ng/mL | 250 ng/mL |
| MDMA / MDA | 500 ng/mL | 250 ng/mL |
This is the single most common misunderstanding about DOT testing. The panel is set by regulation, so you cannot ask the lab to add fentanyl, benzodiazepines, or alcohol to a DOT drug test, and you cannot drop an analyte you would rather not know about. If you want broader screening, run a separate non-DOT test alongside it — that is where expanded panels belong.
Every specimen gets an initial immunoassay screen at the initial cutoff; anything that screens positive goes to a confirmatory test, usually at a lower cutoff. A confirmed laboratory positive then goes to a Medical Review Officer, who contacts the donor to check for a legitimate medical explanation before reporting a verified result. A lab positive is not a verified positive until the MRO says so.
Alcohol is not on the urine panel. DOT alcohol testing is a breath or saliva test with its own procedures, and the regulatory threshold for a violation is a confirmed concentration of 0.04 or higher.
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Learn more →No. Fentanyl is not among the analytes listed at 49 CFR § 40.85 and cannot be added to a DOT test. It can be included on a separate non-DOT panel.
No. Marijuana remains prohibited for safety-sensitive DOT employees regardless of state law, and a Medical Review Officer will not accept a state medical marijuana authorization as a legitimate medical explanation.
It depends on the creatinine concentration. A negative-dilute specimen with creatinine at or above 2 mg/dL but at or below 5 mg/dL requires a second collection under direct observation under 49 CFR § 40.67(a)(3).
Regulatory text on this page was verified against the current eCFR on August 31, 2026. This is general compliance information, not legal advice. Questions? Call (888) 869-0898.