The Department of Transportation authorized oral fluid testing as an alternative to urine in May 2023, and employers are right to ask what it means for them. The short answer, as of this writing, is nothing yet. A DOT test may only be analyzed by a laboratory certified by HHS, and the June 1, 2026 Federal Register notice of certified laboratories states that there are no laboratories certified to conduct drug and specimen validity tests on oral fluid specimens. Until that changes, no DOT oral fluid test can be conducted. DOT closed the gap this created with a rule effective June 10, 2026: where an oral fluid test would otherwise be required, a directly observed urine collection is done instead, and when a same-sex observer is not available the DER arranges one or sends the employee to another site (49 CFR 40.67(g)). Oral fluid remains available for non-DOT programs under your own policy. PSI advises on where oral fluid fits in a non-DOT program.
The short version
- Oral fluid is authorized in the DOT framework, but no HHS-certified oral fluid laboratory exists as of June 2026, so no DOT oral fluid test can be performed
- Return-to-duty, follow-up, and other observed collections remain directly observed urine collections under the June 10, 2026 rule
- Oral fluid is available for non-DOT programs under company policy
- PSI advises on where oral fluid fits in your program