Indiana drug testing laws for employers: pre-employment testing rules (2026)

Indiana has no general statute that sets procedures for private-employer drug testing, so employers may test job applicants under their own written policy; the state civil rights law says a test for illegal drug use is not a medical examination and neither encourages nor prohibits testing (IC 22-9-5-24). Marijuana is not legal in Indiana for medical or adult use, so no state law protects a candidate who tests positive for THC. As of October 2026, the specific rules are narrower: contractors on public works projects of $150,000 or more must run random testing programs (IC 4-13-18), and a candidate whose offer is withdrawn after a failed or refused pre-employment test is treated as refusing suitable work for unemployment purposes.

Indiana drug testing rules at a glance

Does Indiana have a drug testing law for employers?

Not a general one. The provision employers most often cite is in Indiana's disability discrimination chapter. IC 22-9-5-24 lets a covered entity prohibit illegal drug use and alcohol at work, hold employees who use illegal drugs to the same performance standards as everyone else, and require compliance with Department of Defense, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Transportation rules. Then it stays neutral: "a test to determine the illegal use of drugs shall not be considered a medical examination," and "nothing in this chapter shall be construed to encourage, prohibit, or authorize the conducting of drug testing for the illegal use of drugs by job applicants or employees or making employment decisions based on the test results."

That leaves the procedure to you. We found no voluntary drug-free workplace premium discount in Indiana's labor or insurance titles like Georgia's, and no statute like Minnesota's that dictates notice, labs and retests. A written policy should therefore name the drugs on the panel, when you test (after a conditional offer is the usual point), the laboratory and medical review officer, how a candidate reports prescriptions, and what happens after a confirmed positive or a refusal. Keep the medication conversation with the medical review officer, not the recruiter, so the follow-up does not become a disability inquiry; see pre-employment medical exams under the ADA.

Can Indiana employers refuse to hire someone who tests positive for marijuana?

Yes. Indiana has not legalized marijuana for medical or adult use; under IC 35-48-4-11, knowingly or intentionally possessing marijuana is an offense. No Indiana statute protects off-duty marijuana use or a medical card from another state, so a confirmed THC positive can be the basis for withdrawing a conditional offer under your policy.

Two cautions for recruiters:

• Cross-border candidates. Indiana borders Illinois and Michigan, where adult use is legal and employment protections differ; see Illinois and Michigan. For a job performed in Indiana, start from Indiana's rules above. For a remote or hybrid role worked from Illinois or Michigan, check that state's law before you treat a THC positive as disqualifying.
• Do not screen for tobacco. IC 22-5-4-1 bars requiring "an employee or prospective employee" to refrain from using tobacco outside work as a condition of employment, with an exception only for health-benefit incentives. Leave cotinine off an applicant panel unless counsel approves a specific reason.

What happens when a candidate fails or refuses an Indiana pre-employment test?

Indiana's unemployment law backs the employer. Under IC 22-4-15-2(g), a person is considered to have refused an offer of suitable work if an offer is withdrawn after the person "tests positive for drugs after a drug test given on behalf of the prospective employer as a condition of an offer of employment," or "refuses, without good cause, to submit to a drug test required by the prospective employer as a condition of an offer of employment." Subsection (h) adds that the department's records of the test result may not be admitted against the person in a criminal proceeding.

The Department of Workforce Development's employer guide says a person who "refuses or fails a drug screening as a condition of employment" is not eligible for benefits and is liable to repay benefits received after the refusal. To report it:

1. Make sure the offer was genuine: DWD says it must include a job position and a timeline for acceptance.
2. Withdraw the offer in writing after the confirmed result or the refusal.
3. Complete State Form 56951 (640WR), the Notice of Work Recall Refusal (Employer).
4. Fax it to (317) 633-7206, as DWD's page directs.

Do Indiana public works contractors have to drug test?

Yes, on larger public jobs. IC 4-13-18 applies to state public works contracts, state highway contracts and local public works contracts when the estimated project cost is $150,000 or more, and its definition of contractor includes subcontractors. Each bidder must submit "a written plan for a program to test the contractor's employees for drugs," and a contract may not be awarded to a bidder without one. The program must:

• test each employee at least once a year;
• randomly select at least 2% of employees each month;
• use at least a five-drug panel: amphetamines, cocaine, opiates (2000 ng/ml), PCP and THC; and
• impose progressive discipline: a 30-day suspension after a first positive, 90 days after a second and one year after a third, each with referral to treatment and a year of unannounced testing. Dismissal or stricter discipline is allowed.

A collective bargaining agreement with random testing, a five-drug panel and the minimum discipline in IC 4-13-18-5(c) counts as a compliant plan. The agency may cancel the contract if the contractor fails to run the program or gives false information about it (IC 4-13-18-7). The chapter is about employees, not applicants, but a new hire on the project becomes subject to the random program, so tell construction candidates about it before the offer.

Mining has its own chapter. IC 22-10-15 lets a mine operator test mine employees for illegal drug use or an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more, on probable cause or at random, with SAMHSA procedures, a SAMHSA-certified laboratory and medical review officer certification of results.

Which federal rules still apply in Indiana?

• DOT-regulated roles follow 49 CFR Part 40; a commercial driver needs a verified negative pre-employment result before the first safety-sensitive function (49 CFR 382.301). IC 22-9-5-24(d) expressly leaves DOT testing alone.
• Rescheduling. The April 28, 2026 federal order moved FDA-approved and state-medical-license marijuana to Schedule III. It does not make marijuana legal in Indiana, and DOT's Part 40 guidance says a state medical card or dispensary receipt still cannot turn a DOT positive into a negative.
• Federal contractors need the policy statement and awareness program in the FAR Drug-Free Workplace clause; IC 22-9-5-24(a)(3) also lets employers require compliance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act.

What should staffing agencies placing workers in Indiana do?

• Test as the prospective employer. IC 22-4-15-2(g) speaks of a test "given on behalf of the prospective employer as a condition of an offer of employment." If the agency is the employer of record, the offer letter and the DWD report should come from the agency.
• Public works placements. Workers you place with a contractor on a $150,000-plus public project need to be in a compliant random testing program; agree in writing whose program covers them before the start date.
• Cross-border temps. If you register Illinois or Michigan residents for Indiana assignments, apply the law of the state where the assignment is worked, and note any assignment worked partly across the line.
• The rest of the hiring file: see Indiana staffing agency rules, Indiana background check laws, E-Verify in Indiana, Indiana non-competes, recording consent for interviews and hiring employees in Indiana.

A checklist before you test a candidate in Indiana

1. Adopt a written policy: panel, timing, lab, medical review officer, prescriptions, and consequences of a positive or a refusal.
2. Tell candidates in the posting or at the interview that the offer depends on a drug test.
3. Leave tobacco off the panel.
4. Make the offer conditional, then test with a certified lab and confirm positives.
5. Withdraw the offer in writing after a confirmed positive or refusal, and report it to DWD on State Form 56951.
6. For public works of $150,000 or more, submit the IC 4-13-18 plan with the bid; keep DOT drivers in the federal program.

Start from the pre-employment drug testing policy template, and compare other states in drug testing laws in hiring.