What Are The FAA Drug & Alcohol Testing Requirements?

What Are The FAA Drug & Alcohol Testing Requirements?

Currently, the FAA’s current minimum testing annual rates are 25% for drug testing and 10% for alcohol testing.

There are a lot of rules and regulations that keep aircraft and flyers safe in the skies.

For aviation employers, such as air carriers, operators, air traffic control facilities, and required contractors, there are strict drug and alcohol testing requirements for new and current employees.

Are you meeting these requirements?

Let’s find out as we break down the FAA drug and alcohol requirements and which employees are required to be tested and when.

FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Requirements

An FAA drug test is required by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for pre-employment for FAA covered safety-sensitive employees.

These employees include:

  • Aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) licensed by FAA
  • Light crewmembers,
  • Flight attendants,
  • Flight instructors,
  • Aircraft dispatch,
  • Ground security coordinators,
  • Aviation screeners, air traffic controllers, and/or
  • Operations control specialists

Related article: Which Pilots Must Have an FAA Airman Medical Certification?

The FAA requires drug and alcohol testing for the following circumstances:

  • Pre-employment testing
  • Random testing
  • Post-accident testing
  • Reasonable suspicion testing
  • Return to duty testing
  • Follow-up testing, and
  • Pulmonary Function Test or PFT (when applicable/required)

Random alcohol testing: 

When it comes to random drug and alcohol testing, the FAA has a standard of how many employees are required to be randomly tested each year.

Currently, the FAA’s current minimum testing annual rates are 25% for drug testing and 10% for alcohol testing.

Post-accident drug and alcohol testing: 

An airline is required to test a safety-sensitive employee for drugs if that employee’s performance either contributed to an accident or cannot be completely discounted as a contributing factor to the accident. In this instance, the employee should be tested as soon as possible, but not later than 32 hours following occurrence of the accident.

For alcohol testing, an airline is required to complete post-accident alcohol testing within 2 hours of the accident. If that window cannot be met, the airline is required to continue the efforts to collect until 8 hours following the accident.

Once 8 hours has elapsed, the airline must cease attempts at collection and maintain a file on record stating the reason alcohol testing could not be accomplished within 8 hours following the accident.

FAA Required Drug Testing Substances

The FAA follows the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing regulations, and those regulations require testing for the following substances:

  • Marijuana
  • Cocaine
  • Opiates/opioids
  • PCP, and
  • Amphetamines (which includes methamphetamines and MDMA (or Ecstasy)

If an airline chooses to test outside the federally required drugs, it must comply with applicable state and local laws regarding drug and alcohol testing. 

If the airline stays within the federal regulation parameters, those regulations preempt all state and local laws applicable to drug and alcohol testing. 

FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Recordkeeping Requirements

Employers must retain documents related to the random selection process for two years.

The documents should support your random selection policies and process, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Documentation of selection methodology
  • List of safety-sensitive employees in the random pool prior to each selection
  • Random selection list each time selections are made
  • Employer’s copy of the custody and control forms and alcohol testing forms from the completed random testing, and
  • Verified or confirmed test result, which must be maintained under other timeframes

It is important that you document everything in the entire random testing process, which may include:

  • Number of employees selected each time
  • Names of each employee selected
  • Dates and times each employee is notified to report for testing
  • Dates and times of each employee’s collection, and
  • Any reason an employee was not tested during the selection cycle, etc.

All of the records are considered part of the random selection process; therefore, you must retain them for two years and make them available for inspection by the FAA.

FAA Frequently Asked Questions

Where to get an FAA physical exam?

CNS offers FAA physical exams for all classes at our location in Lititz, PA with our Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).

FAA medical exams usually last 30-45 minutes and are mostly documentation.

When should I notify an employee selected for testing?

Once a random draw has been made, the selection list must remain confidential until all of the employees are notified. You should discretely notify an employee selected for testing as close to the test time as possible so the employee has the least amount of time possible between notification of testing and the actual collection process.

A best practice is to document the notification, requiring the employee to sign it. A sample notification form is available on our web site at www.faa.gov/go/drugabatement. If you document the notification, we recommend that you retain a copy with your random testing records.

What is the BAC level for FAA alcohol testing?

The FAA considers an alcohol concentration of .04% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to constitute misuse in violation of its regulations. 

Is pre-employment FAA drug testing required again upon return to the job after an extended absence or furlough?

It is not required. If the employee has been removed from the random pool, FAA best practice is to conduct a pre-employment test and have a negative result if the absence or furlough lasted longer than 60 days.

How long does a pre-employment drug test meet requirements if an employee who is hired and completes the pre-employment drug test with a negative result but does not start in a safety sensitive position right away?

If 180 days elapses from the time of the original negative result, the employer must conduct another pre-employment drug test and receive a negative result prior to the performance of safety sensitive duties.

Need an FAA drug test, physical, or program management?

Our Occupational Medicine Specialists can help with any questions you have.

We also offer many other PhysicalsScreenings and Tests and Employer Services from Biometric Screenings to Work Injury Treatment Plans.

For more information, contact us at 800.551.9816 or info@cnsoccmed.com.

Please be advised that all articles, blogs and written material are not intended to replace the advice of a physician.

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