What drug and alcohol testing records am I required to keep and for how long, and may I maintain them electronically?
The Federal drug and alcohol testing regulations under 49 CFR part 40 and 14 CFR part 120 require you to maintain the following records for the minimum retention periods noted:
- You must retain the following for a minimum of 5 years:
- Alcohol test results of 0.02 or greater.
- Verified positive drug test results.
- Refusal to test determinations, including substituted or adulterated drug test results.
- Records related to other violations of 14 CFR §§ 120.19 or 120.37, including on-duty use, pre-duty use, or use following an accident.
- Records of notification to the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division of refusals to submit to testing by employees or applicants that hold a part 61, 63, 65 airman certificate.
- Records of notification to the FAA’s Federal Air Surgeon of violations by employees or applicants that hold a part 67 airman medical certificates.
- Documentation of employees' disputes of alcohol test results.
- Referrals to the SAP.
- Return-to-duty records, including the SAP referral, evaluation reports, follow-up testing plan, return-to-duty test result, and all follow-up test results.
- Annual Management Information System (MIS) reports submitted to the FAA.
- All historical drug and alcohol records reported to the Pilot Records Database (PRD) under 14 CFR § 111.255 after reporting the records.
- You must retain records of information obtained from previous employers concerning drug and alcohol test results of employees for a minimum of 3 years.
- You must retain the following for a minimum of 2 years:
- Documents generated in connection with decisions to administer reasonable suspicion alcohol tests.
- Documents generated in connection with decisions on post-accident alcohol tests.
- Documents verifying the existence of medical explanations of the inability of a covered employee to provide adequate breath for testing.
- Materials on alcohol misuse awareness, including a copy of your policy.
- Documentation that demonstrates the distribution of required alcohol educational materials.
- Documentation of training provided to employees and supervisors, and the training materials.
- Records of inspection, maintenance, and calibration of evidential breath testing devices.
- Documentation related to the random selection process, including but not limited to:
- Listing of safety-sensitive employees in the random pool prior to each selection;
- The actual random selection list each time selections are made;
- The employer copy of the custody and control forms from the random testing;
- This may or may not include the verified result, which is maintained based on the result.
- You must retain records of negative and cancelled drug test results and alcohol test results of less than 0.02 for a minimum of 1 year.
You are permitted to maintain your drug and alcohol records electronically; however, they must be easily accessible, legible, formatted, and stored in an organized and reviewable manner. If your electronic records do not meet these criteria, you must convert them to printed documentation in a rapid and readily auditable manner at the request of Department of Transportation (DOT) agency personnel. The DOT’s Q&A reiterates that an employer or service agent is obligated to make the records available expeditiously to a DOT representative, regardless of how the records are maintained.
More information about the Federal drug and alcohol record keeping requirements are explained in the DOT’s Employer Record Keeping Requirements Document.
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at (202) 267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about the program
Applicable Regulations:
14 CFR §120.113(d)(6)
14 CFR §120.219(a)(2)(i) and (ii)
14 CFR 111.255(e)