Changes could be on the horizon when it comes to drug testing for truckers.
According to the most recent Unified Regulatory Agenda, a number of proposed changes are expected to be unveiled over the coming months that would impact the trucking industry. Those regulation changes involve hair testing, adding drugs to the testing panel and increasing the amount of information reported to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
Hair testing
The push to include hair testing in federal workplace drug testing programs has been a lengthy process with plenty of opposition along the way.
In September 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would establish hair-testing guidelines that would “allow federal executive branch agencies to collect and test a hair specimen as part of their drug testing programs with the limitation that hair specimens be used for pre-employment and random testing.”
In November 2020, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed comments opposing the inclusion of hair testing. In its comments, OOIDA cited concerns regarding the reliability of testing, pointing to issues arising from potential contamination from the environment and interference of cosmetic treatment on the analysis of hair. Also, the Association noted that variances in hair types can create issues when it comes to testing.
Following a 60-day comment period, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opted to submit a revised version of the proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget in March 2023. The revised version was expected to publish to the Federal Register in June 2023. That date came and went with no movement.
In July 2024, after the Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda was announced, a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking regarding hair testing was expected in October 2024. Once again, that date came and went without a revised version being published.
Now, according to the 2025 agenda, a revised version of the proposal is expected to be published sometime in October. Time will tell if that actually happens or if the agency continues to kick the can down the road.
Oral fluid testing
In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced amendments to its drug testing programs that would allow for oral fluid collection as a means of testing. Despite the new regulations going into effect in June of that year, Health and Human Services still needed to certify laboratories to conduct oral fluid drug testing before employers could begin exercising the new option.
In fact, the agency needs to certify at least two laboratories before the collection method can be used – one to serve as a primary lab and a second to serve as a split-specimen laboratory. According to the most recent list of certified laboratories, published in September 2025, the agency has yet to certify a single lab to conduct oral fluid testing.
The slow crawl when it comes to certifying labs has been just one of the issues the DOT has faced when it comes to rolling out oral fluid testing.
The department said the implementation has also been slowed by “unforeseen circumstances rendering it impossible to comply with requirements” for training specimen collectors.
Creating another bump in the road was language in the May 2023 final rule that requires an oral fluid test to be conducted when an observed collection is required. Of course, a person would have to go to a certified lab to have this done – something that, as mentioned, is not yet possible.
Some instances that would require an observed collection include if the original sample were determined to be invalid without adequate medical explanation or if the test was for a return to duty.
The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking expected to publish this fall aims to correct this factual impossibility. The proposal would provide interim provisions that would allow for a directly observed urine test to be conducted in instances where an oral fluid test is required.
Other proposed regulatory changes
According to the 2025 agenda, a notice of proposed rulemaking from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expected to be published in May 2026 would expand what information is provided to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
There is little information available right now about the proposal, but the agency said it would look to modify the current regulations by “increasing the availability of driver violation information in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to keep unsafe drivers off the road.”
In addition, FMCSA said it would look to make changes to “improve the efficiency of certain Clearinghouse processes to provide increased flexibility for drivers and employers, and further align Clearinghouse rules with underlying drug and alcohol use and testing regulations to improve compliance with, and enforcement of, these requirements.”
Another proposed change is the addition of fentanyl and norfentanyl to the testing panel for DOT drug testing.
Published on Sept. 2, the proposal includes adding fentanyl to both the urine and oral fluid testing panels, as well as adding norfentanyl – a metabolite of fentanyl and a precursor used in the illicit manufacture of fentanyl – to the urine testing panel.
A public comment period regarding the proposed changes is open now through Oct. 17. Comments can be made online at Regulations.gov using the docket number DOT-OST-2025-0049. LL
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