Pre-employment drug testing policy template, with state marijuana rules as variables

A pre-employment drug testing policy states which positions are tested, what substances are on the panel, when the test happens (most safely after a conditional offer), how candidates are told and give consent, who reviews results, and how refusals, dilute samples and positive results are handled. It also has to keep DOT-regulated roles under their own federal rules and adjust for state marijuana laws. Below is a copy-ready policy with [bracketed] fields, a state variables table and the federal rules behind it, as of October 2026.

For the legal background in more depth, including the states that restrict acting on a marijuana result and a worked example, see drug testing laws in hiring. This page is the policy document that puts those rules into practice.

What do you need to decide before writing the policy?

The pre-employment drug testing policy template

Copy it into your own document and replace everything in square brackets.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING POLICY
[Organization]     Version [x]     Effective [date]
Owner: [name, role]     Legal review: [date]     Next review: [date]

1. SCOPE
1.1 This policy covers drug testing of applicants who have received a
    conditional offer for the positions in Appendix A. [Testing of
    current employees is covered by the drug and alcohol policy.]
1.2 Positions regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation are
    tested under section 8, not sections 3 to 7.
1.3 Where a state or local law sets a different rule, Appendix B
    applies.

2. COVERED POSITIONS
2.1 [Option A] All positions, except where Appendix B prohibits it.
    [Option B] Safety-sensitive positions listed in Appendix A:
    positions where impairment could cause death or serious injury
    to the employee or others, [or: list].
2.2 A position is placed on the list before it is posted, and its
    posting states that it requires a pre-employment drug test.

3. NOTICE AND CONSENT
3.1 Job postings and the application state that [covered positions /
    all positions] require a drug test after a conditional offer.
3.2 The conditional offer names the test and the substances in
    Appendix C, and states that the offer depends on a verified
    negative result.
3.3 Before collection, the applicant receives a copy of this policy
    and signs [the consent form / any state-required form].

4. THE TEST
4.1 Collection takes place within [x] days of the conditional offer,
    at [vendor / collection site], with chain of custody.
4.2 Specimen: [urine / oral fluid / hair].
4.3 Panel: the substances in Appendix C. [Marijuana is not tested for
    positions in the states and cities marked in Appendix B.]
4.4 A positive screen is confirmed by [gas chromatography/mass
    spectrometry or an equivalent method] before it is reported.
4.5 [Alcohol is not tested before employment.] OR [Alcohol is tested
    only after a conditional offer, for positions in Appendix A.]
4.6 [Organization] pays for the test.

5. MEDICAL REVIEW
5.1 Confirmed non-negative results go to a licensed physician acting
    as Medical Review Officer (MRO), who offers the applicant a chance
    to explain the result before reporting it.
5.2 The applicant may tell the MRO about lawful prescription use. The
    MRO reports only the verified result [and any safety concern] to
    [role], not the medication or condition.
5.3 [The applicant may ask for the split specimen to be tested within
    [72 hours] of the MRO's call, at [own / our] expense.]

6. REFUSALS, DILUTE AND INVALID RESULTS
6.1 A refusal includes: not appearing within [x] hours without a
    reason accepted by [role]; leaving the collection site after the
    test has started; a specimen the MRO verifies as adulterated or
    substituted; and refusing to cooperate with the collection.
6.2 A refusal is treated as [a verified positive / a withdrawal of
    the application].
6.3 Negative-dilute: [accepted] OR [one immediate recollection].
    The same rule applies to every applicant.
6.4 Positive-dilute: treated as a verified positive.
6.5 Invalid or cancelled result: one recollection.

7. DECISIONS, CONFIDENTIALITY AND RECORDS
7.1 A verified positive result or refusal [withdraws the conditional
    offer] after [role] confirms that Appendix B does not restrict
    the decision for that substance and location.
7.2 [An applicant may reapply after [x] months.]
7.3 Results are kept apart from personnel files and interview notes,
    with access limited to [roles], and disclosed only as law
    requires. Interviewers and hiring managers learn only whether the
    condition was met.
7.4 Records are kept for [period] under the retention schedule.

8. DOT-REGULATED POSITIONS
8.1 Applicants for DOT safety-sensitive positions are tested under
    49 CFR Part 40 and [the applicable DOT agency rule, e.g. FMCSA,
    49 CFR Part 382], including their panel, MRO, refusal and dilute
    rules. State marijuana laws do not change those results.

9. PRESCRIBED MEDICATION AND ACCOMMODATION
9.1 An applicant who takes a lawfully prescribed medication, or is in
    a supervised treatment program and does not currently use
    illegal drugs, may ask [role] for a reasonable accommodation.
    Requests follow [the accommodation procedure].

10. REVIEW
10.1 [Owner] reviews this policy every [12] months and when a law
     where we hire changes.

APPENDIX A: Covered positions
APPENDIX B: State and local rules (see table)
APPENDIX C: Substances tested and cutoff levels

Which state rules change the policy?

Use this as the start of Appendix B. It covers selected states with rules that change a clause above; a state not listed may still regulate testing, so check it before you test there.

Which federal rules sit behind the policy?

• Drug tests are not medical exams under the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12114(d) says a test to determine the illegal use of drugs is not a medical examination, and that the ADA neither encourages, prohibits nor authorizes such testing. Someone currently using illegal drugs is not protected when the employer acts on that use.
• Alcohol tests are. The EEOC's preemployment guidance treats tests of whether or how much alcohol someone has consumed as medical, so they belong after a conditional offer (clause 4.5).
• Lawful prescriptions. The same guidance lets an employer validate a positive result by asking about lawful drug use, and the EEOC's 2020 note on opioids says employers should give anyone tested a chance to provide information about lawful drug use, and that someone in medication-assisted treatment cannot be refused a job for that reason alone, unless they cannot do the job safely or another federal law disqualifies them. Routing that conversation through an MRO (clause 5) keeps medical details away from the hiring team.
• Federal contractors. Contractors covered by the Drug-Free Workplace Act, 41 U.S.C. § 8102, must publish a drug-free workplace statement and run an awareness program. The Act does not itself require testing.

How do DOT-regulated roles fit?

Keep them in section 8 and do not let the company rules leak in. For a commercial driver, 49 CFR § 382.301 requires a verified negative controlled substances result before the driver first performs safety-sensitive functions. Part 40 then sets the rest:

• Panel: the analytes and cutoffs in § 40.85: marijuana metabolite, cocaine metabolite, opioids including codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone and 6-acetylmorphine, PCP, and amphetamines including MDMA and MDA.
• Medical review: under § 40.137 the MRO verifies a confirmed positive unless the employee shows a legitimate medical explanation, and under § 40.151(e) a physician's recommendation under a state medical marijuana law is not one.
• Refusals: under § 40.191, an applicant who leaves before a pre-employment test begins has not refused, which may be narrower than your own policy's definition.
• Dilute results: under § 40.197 a positive-dilute is a verified positive; for a negative-dilute, the MRO may direct an observed recollection when creatinine is between 2 and 5 mg/dL, and otherwise the employer may retest but must treat everyone the same. Clause 6.3 borrows that last rule for non-DOT roles.

How do you use this template?

1. Decide covered positions first. If you choose Option B, write the safety-sensitive list from the duties of each job, not from job titles, and date it.
2. Pick a vendor and an MRO and confirm the collection method and confirmation method meet each state's rules in Appendix B.
3. Fill in Appendix B from the table above and counsel's review, including any state that requires an approved or filed policy before testing.
4. Update postings, applications and offer letters so the notice in clause 3 appears where the state requires it, which in Connecticut is at the time of application.
5. Keep testing out of interviews. Interviewers should not ask about drug use, medication or past treatment; see illegal interview questions.

Drug testing is often one of several conditions on the same offer. Keep the consent forms separate, and run the criminal record part under your background check policy.