A 12 panel drug test looks for twelve drug classes in one specimen, most often urine. Five of them usually match a 5-panel test. The other seven can change with the kit maker and with what the employer orders, so the codes printed on the cup say more than the number on the box. This guide covers the usual twelve, where kits part ways, and how a 12-panel list lines up against the 14 panels Testr reads at every visit.
The five base panels
Most 12-panel cups are built on the same five panels as a 5-panel drug test: amphetamines, cocaine, THC (cannabis), opiates and PCP, though some put TCA in place of PCP. Each is listed with its Testr code, screening cutoff and detection window:
AMP, amphetamines: 500 ng/mL cutoff. Usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after use.
COC, cocaine: 150 ng/mL. Usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after use, and up to about two weeks after heavy or repeated use.
THC, cannabis: 50 ng/mL. Detectable for about 3 days after occasional use, but up to 30 days or more with heavy daily use.
MOR, opiates: 300 ng/mL. Usually detectable in urine for 2-3 days after use.
PCP, phencyclidine: 25 ng/mL. Usually detectable in urine for about a week after occasional use, and considerably longer with heavy use.
These are typical ranges and vary by person.
The next five: the usual 10-panel additions
Most 12-panel cups start from a 10-panel list and add two more. As the 10 panel drug test guide explains, the second five on a 10-panel is not fixed either, but these turn up most often, each listed with its Testr screening cutoff and detection window:
BZO, benzodiazepines: sedatives prescribed for anxiety and sleep, such as Xanax, Valium, Klonopin and Ativan. 200 ng/mL. Detectable for 1-3 days after short-acting types, up to several weeks with long-acting drugs or regular use.
BAR, barbiturates: 300 ng/mL. Short-acting types clear in 1-4 days; long-acting phenobarbital can be detectable for two to three weeks.
MTD, methadone: 300 ng/mL. Usually detectable in urine for 3-7 days, sometimes longer with regular dosing.
The fourth and fifth on many kits are methamphetamine, read on a Testr screen as MET at a 500 ng/mL cutoff and usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after use, and oxycodone, read on a Testr screen as OXY at a 100 ng/mL cutoff and usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after the last dose. Some kits carry only one of the two.
The last two, and why they vary
Past ten, the list depends on who made the cup and on what the employer ordered. Published 12-panel lists fill the last two places differently. MDMA and BUP are the most common; the others below turn up on some cups:
MDMA, ecstasy or molly: 500 ng/mL on a Testr screen. Usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after use.
BUP, buprenorphine: the medication in Suboxone. 10 ng/mL on a Testr screen. Usually detectable in urine for 3-7 days after the last dose.
OXY or MET, on cups whose first ten carried only one of the two, so the cup carries both.
TCA, tricyclic antidepressants, on some cups, sometimes in place of PCP.
PPX and MQL, propoxyphene (a painkiller withdrawn in the United States in 2010) and methaqualone, which some older lists still name.
Some cups swap in FYL (fentanyl), TRA (tramadol), ETG (the alcohol metabolite) or K2, the synthetic cannabinoids. So two products sold as a 12-panel can screen for different drugs: the label gives a count, and the codes on the cup show which twelve. Our comparison of 5-, 10- and 14-panel tests sets the other common counts side by side.
Reading the codes and cutoffs on the cup
The spelling of a code depends on the maker. One cup may label the opiates panel MOP, another OPI, and a Testr report uses MOR. Methamphetamine shows up as mAMP or MET, and fentanyl as FYL or FEN. The guide to drug test abbreviations decodes each one, including codes that appear only on other cups.
The number beside a code matters as much as the code. Each panel reads presumptive positive at or above its cutoff and negative below it. A negative does not show that the substance was absent, only that the panel did not read presumptive positive at that cup's cutoff at collection. Cutoffs can differ between cups too. A Testr report reads MOR against a 300 ng/mL cutoff, while a cup marked OPI2000 uses a 2,000 ng/mL cutoff for the same panel, so one specimen can read presumptive positive on the first and negative on the second.
How a 12-panel maps to Testr's 14 panels
Testr offers no 12-panel test. At every visit, a certified collector reads one 14-panel rapid urine screen on site. The base five, the five 10-panel additions listed above, and the MDMA and BUP panels that 12-panel cups often add are all among those 14, listed in full on the 14-panel drug test page.
Two Testr panels are often missing from a 12-panel cup:
FEN, fentanyl: 10 ng/mL. Usually detectable in urine for 1-3 days after use. A count of twelve does not mean a fentanyl strip is on the cup. More in what the fentanyl panel catches and misses.
ETG, the alcohol metabolite: 500 ng/mL. Detectable in urine for up to about 80 hours (3-4 days) after heavy drinking, shorter after light drinking. Many 12-panel cups have no alcohol strip. Testr reads EtG from the same urine specimen; what EtG means on a drug test has more.
The overlap is not complete. TCA, PPX and MQL are not on the Testr screen or on the laboratory menu. Tramadol is not on the 14-panel screen, though it is on the laboratory menu. Synthetic cannabinoids are not on the screen either, and the laboratory menu names only four of them (JWH-210, JWH-250, UR-144 and XLR-11), so a product made with a different compound would not appear on the report; see results only the laboratory reports.
Whether a 14-panel record satisfies a written policy that names a 12-panel is a question for employment counsel. If a court or a case calls for a test, ask your attorney or the court what they accept.
Screening cutoffs and laboratory confirmation
Every rapid panel gives one of two readings against its screening cutoff: negative or presumptive positive. A positive is presumptive because each strip's antibody reacts to a family of related compounds rather than one exact molecule, and some medicines are documented to set off certain panels: sertraline (Zoloft) on the benzodiazepine screen, for example, or dextromethorphan on PCP. Our panel-by-panel false positive guide covers all 14.
A measured result needs the Rapid Test with Laboratory Confirmation. Under chain of custody, the specimen goes, still sealed, to a CAP-accredited laboratory. Its LC-MS/MS menu covers 81 substances across 31 drug classes and reports measured levels in about 72 hours. The laboratory names the compound itself: methadone is confirmed as methadone and EDDP, buprenorphine as buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine, and MDMA as MDMA and MDA.
Every laboratory report goes to a Medical Review Officer (MRO), a physician who reviews laboratory-confirmed results and accounts for valid prescriptions before the report is released.
An At-Home Rapid Test can be upgraded from the app within 2 hours of collection, while the specimen is still viable; see the 2-hour upgrade window and how to read a Testr result.
Booking a 14-panel test in Los Angeles
Arrival windows last 30 minutes and run from 7 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week, at a home or workplace within 20 miles of Century City; the booking screen checks the exact address against the live service area. The first open window can be in as little as 3 hours from booking. The collector comes in plain clothes and an unmarked vehicle and verifies identity at the door with a private PIN. The specimen is temperature-checked and sealed in a tamper-evident container under a chain-of-custody code.
Each booking is for one person, and a parent, an employer or a professional such as a therapist can book for someone else. For a minor, a parent or legal guardian is present for the whole visit and signs consent. Results go only to the account holder, or to a named third party with written consent. See Testr for parents, Testr for professionals and workplace drug testing in Los Angeles.
Testr collects urine only and is not a DOT collection site; DOT vs non-DOT drug testing explains the difference.
Questions people ask
What does a 12 panel drug test test for?
Usually the 5-panel list (amphetamines, cocaine, THC, opiates and PCP), the common 10-panel additions (benzodiazepines, barbiturates, methadone, methamphetamine and oxycodone), and two more that vary by kit, often MDMA and buprenorphine. The codes on the cup show the exact twelve.
Does a 12 panel drug test test for fentanyl?
Only if fentanyl is one of its twelve panels; on a cup, look for a strip printed FEN or FYL. The panel count alone does not say. The Testr 14-panel screen includes a fentanyl panel, with a 10 ng/mL cutoff, at every visit.
Does a 12 panel drug test include alcohol?
Usually not. A cup that screens for alcohol prints ETG, or ALC for an ethanol strip. The Testr screen reads EtG, the alcohol metabolite, from the same urine specimen as the drug panels.
What is the difference between a 10 panel and a 12 panel drug test?
Two more drug classes, and which two depends on the kit. Neither count guarantees fentanyl or alcohol.
How far back does a 12 panel drug test go?
It depends on the panel and its cutoff, not the count. At Testr's screening cutoffs, cocaine is usually detectable in urine for 2-4 days after use, and up to about two weeks after heavy or repeated use; benzodiazepines are detectable for 1-3 days after short-acting types, up to several weeks with long-acting drugs or regular use; and THC is detectable for about 3 days after occasional use, but up to 30 days or more with heavy daily use.
Can I get a 12 panel drug test from Testr?
No. Testr offers no 12-panel or other smaller test. Every visit runs the same 14-panel rapid urine screen, which includes the base five and the five common 10-panel additions. Whether a 14-panel record satisfies a written policy is a question for employment counsel.
To have all 14 panels read at your door, book in the Testr iOS app or online at testrla.com/book.