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

North Carolina does not require employers to drug test, but any employer that tests applicants must follow the Controlled Substance Examination Regulation Act, G.S. 95-230 to 95-235, and the NC Department of Labor's rules in 13 NCAC 20. Applicants may get an on-site screen with a single-use device, but a positive must be confirmed by an approved laboratory using GC/MS or an equivalent method unless the applicant waives it in writing, and the applicant may retest the sample at their own cost. North Carolina has no medical or adult-use marijuana program, so a confirmed THC positive can be treated like any other, as of October 2026.

North Carolina drug testing rules at a glance

Does North Carolina have a drug testing law for employers?

Yes, a procedural one. The General Assembly's stated purpose in G.S. 95-230 is to protect people "from unreliable and inadequate examinations and screening for controlled substances" while letting employers choose from "a range of cost-effective and advanced drug testing technologies." The Act does not tell you when you may test or what to do with a result. It tells you how to test. G.S. 95-233 says it places no duty on employers to test at all.

The Act covers any "examiner," meaning a person, firm or corporation doing business in North Carolina, including state, county and municipal employers, "who is the employer or prospective employer of the examinee" (G.S. 95-231(2)). The NC Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Bureau enforces it and publishes the administrative rules and controlled substance forms.

What are North Carolina's rules for pre-employment drug tests?

1. Collect properly. Samples are collected "under reasonable and sanitary conditions," with "individual dignity" preserved and safeguards against substitution, either on-site or at an approved laboratory (G.S. 95-232(b)). A sample may be urine, blood, hair or oral fluid (13 NCAC 20 .0101(4)).
2. Give the rights notice. When the sample is provided, give the applicant written notice of their rights and responsibilities under the Act (13 NCAC 20 .0401).
3. Screen. For prospective employees, "a preliminary screening procedure that utilizes a single-use test device may be used" (G.S. 95-232(c)(1)). The rules require the device to meet FDA requirements in 21 CFR Part 807 and the federal SAMHSA cutoff levels (13 NCAC 20 .0101(6)). Current employees must be screened by an approved laboratory.
4. Confirm a positive. If the screen is positive, an approved laboratory must confirm it by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry or an equivalent method, "unless the examinee signs a written waiver at the time or after they receive the preliminary test result" (G.S. 95-232(c1)). An "approved laboratory" is one that has shown satisfactory performance in the HHS or College of American Pathologists forensic urine drug testing programs (G.S. 95-231(1)). If you use something other than GC/MS, you carry the burden of proving it is equivalent (13 NCAC 20 .0203).
5. Keep a chain of custody. You or your agent must set chain-of-custody procedures (G.S. 95-232(e)), and you must follow the laboratory's procedural instructions unless you adopted equally reliable ones in writing (13 NCAC 20 .0305). If you use a collection contractor, you must make sure its procedures comply (13 NCAC 20 .0304).
6. Notify a positive. Within 30 days after the results reach you, tell the applicant in writing of any positive result and of their retest rights (13 NCAC 20 .0402).
7. Allow a retest. The confirming lab keeps a portion of every confirmed positive sample for at least 90 days, and the applicant may have it retested at the same or another approved lab by a written request (G.S. 95-232(d), (f)). The applicant pays the reasonable costs; the rules allow the employer to charge up to $15 for its own chain-of-custody work unless it proves a higher actual cost (13 NCAC 20 .0602).
8. Pay and keep it confidential. The employer pays for all examinations except examinee-requested retests (13 NCAC 20 .0601). Results and medication information are confidential, but may be released with the applicant's written authorization, to laboratories, "for employment-related reasons," or to an agency or court with jurisdiction (13 NCAC 20 .0501 to .0503).

Two things the Act does not require: a medical review officer (13 NCAC 20 .0304 says nothing in the federal standards should be read to require one) and any particular notice in the job ad. An MRO is still the simplest way to deal with a candidate who explains a positive with a prescription.

What does North Carolina say about marijuana and hiring?

• No medical or adult-use program. Marijuana and most tetrahydrocannabinols are Schedule VI controlled substances under G.S. 90-94, and the statute makes no exception for a medical card issued by another state.
• The lawful-products law does not reach it. G.S. 95-28.2 makes it unlawful for an employer with three or more regular employees to refuse to hire for "the lawful use of lawful products" off premises during nonworking hours. Because marijuana is not lawful in the state, off-duty marijuana use is not protected by it. Lawful products such as alcohol and tobacco remain protected, subject to the section's exceptions.
• Hemp. G.S. 90-94(b)(2) excludes tetrahydrocannabinols in a product with no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis. Hemp-derived products can still produce a THC-positive urine result, and the Act does not say how to weigh that explanation for a non-DOT test, so decide your rule in the written policy.
• FDA-approved products. G.S. 90-94(c) excludes from Schedule VI any FDA-approved prescription drug that the DEA reschedules, unless the state Commission objects under G.S. 90-88(d). A candidate taking an FDA-approved cannabinoid medicine on prescription has a legitimate medical explanation, the same as any other prescription.

Which federal rules still apply in North Carolina?

• DOT and NRC tests are outside the Act. G.S. 95-235 says the Act does not apply to an examination required by the U.S. Department of Transportation or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Those 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). Your non-DOT staff still fall under the state Act.
• Rescheduling. The April 28, 2026 order moved FDA-approved and state-medical-license marijuana to Schedule III. North Carolina issues no medical marijuana licenses, and DOT's Part 40 guidance (May 15, 2026) says a state-licensed marijuana product still cannot make a DOT positive negative. 49 CFR 40.151(f) also bars accepting hemp or CBD product claims as a medical explanation in DOT tests.
• Federal contractors need the policy statement and awareness program in the FAR Drug-Free Workplace clause.
• The ADA: see pre-employment medical exams under the ADA.

What should staffing agencies placing workers in North Carolina do?

• You are an examiner. The Act covers the "employer or prospective employer" that performs or has a test performed, so an agency testing its own candidates must follow every step above.
• Applicant or employee changes the method. Single-use on-site devices are allowed only for prospective employees. A worker already on your payroll who is tested for a new assignment is a current employee, so the screen must be done by an approved laboratory (G.S. 95-232(c)(2)).
• Agree who sends the notices. Decide in the client contract who gives the rights notice at collection and the 30-day positive notice, and who handles retest requests.
• Licensing, background checks and onboarding: see North Carolina staffing agency licensing, North Carolina background check laws and hiring employees in North Carolina.

A checklist before you test a candidate in North Carolina

1. Write a policy that names the drugs tested, the sample type and how you treat prescriptions and hemp.
2. Give the written rights notice when the sample is collected.
3. Use only FDA-cleared single-use devices for applicant screens, and an approved lab for everyone else.
4. Send every positive to an approved lab for GC/MS confirmation unless the applicant signs a written waiver.
5. Send the written positive notice and retest rights within 30 days.
6. Pay for the tests, and keep results confidential.

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