On-site drug testing means the collector comes to the workplace, and the employee does not drive to a clinic and back. For Los Angeles employers, Testr sends a certified collector to the address you choose to collect a urine specimen, read a 14-panel screen on the spot, and seal the specimen under chain of custody. Every Testr test is non-DOT.
This post covers how an on-site visit works, what it screens for, what it does not do, and what the collector needs on arrival. The service itself is described on the non-DOT workplace drug testing page.
What "on-site" means with Testr
One collector, one person, one 30-minute arrival window. Windows run 7 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week, and the earliest window is 3 hours after you book, so a collector can be on site in as little as 3 hours. Book in the Testr iOS app or at testrla.com/book.
The collector arrives in plain clothes and an unmarked vehicle, so the arrival looks like any other visitor's. The address does not have to be the workplace. For a candidate who has not started yet, it can be their home.
Urgent and routine collections use the same windows. Same-day drug testing in Los Angeles works the same way at a workplace address.
When employers book
The workplace service covers four kinds of collection.
Pre-employment. The visit can be at your office or at the candidate's home, and the on-site read is finished before the collector leaves.
Reasonable suspicion. Your own policy decides when this applies. Once that decision is made, the earliest window is 3 hours after you book, on any day of the week.
Random. Selection stays with your program, which picks the names and the dates. Testr does not run the selection; you book one visit for each person selected.
Post-incident. Windows run 7 AM to 7 PM and the earliest is 3 hours after you book, so an incident late in the day or overnight is collected the next morning.
Testr's role is the collection and the report. When to test, and what to do with a result, are decisions for your own policy. Questions about that policy, and about how California employment law applies to it, are for employment counsel.
What a non-DOT test is, and is not
A non-DOT test is one performed outside the federal transportation rules. The U.S. Department of Transportation sets its own procedure for the positions it regulates, such as commercial drivers, pilots, and transit and pipeline workers. An employee in one of those positions needs a DOT collection site, not Testr.
For employees outside those rules, Testr collects a non-DOT urine drug screen. It collects urine only and does not perform hair, saliva, blood or breath testing. A Testr record is not a substitute for a DOT test.
What the on-site screen covers
Every visit uses the same 14-panel rapid urine screen, read on site by the certified collector:
AMP (amphetamines), BAR (barbiturates), BUP (buprenorphine), BZO (benzodiazepines)
COC (cocaine), EtG (the alcohol metabolite), FEN (fentanyl), MDMA
MET (methamphetamine), MOR (morphine and opiates), MTD (methadone), OXY (oxycodone)
PCP and THC
Three validity strips check the specimen itself for pH, oxidants and creatinine. Each panel reads negative or presumptive positive against its screening cutoff. The codes printed on a cassette are decoded in the drug test abbreviations guide, and what each of the 14 panels screens for is covered one panel at a time.
Alcohol is covered by the EtG panel in the same urine specimen. EtG is a breakdown product of alcohol that shows drinking well after the alcohol itself is gone. It is not a breath reading of alcohol in the body right now, and Testr does not perform breath testing. How the EtG alcohol test works is explained on its own page.
Laboratory confirmation when a result will be acted on
Testr offers two tests: the At-Home Rapid Test, and the Rapid Test with Laboratory Confirmation. The rapid test is the same product whether the address is a home or a workplace.
When a result will be acted on, the Rapid Test with Laboratory Confirmation is the one to book. Its sealed specimen travels under chain of custody to a CAP-accredited laboratory, which confirms by LC-MS/MS and reports a measured level for each substance. Its menu covers 81 substances across 31 drug classes, well past the 14 panels. Results come back in about 72 hours.
Every laboratory report then goes to a Medical Review Officer (MRO), a physician who reviews laboratory-confirmed results and accounts for valid prescriptions before the report is released. If the employee has a prescription, they mention it to the collector during the visit so it goes on the record.
If you booked the At-Home Rapid Test and the on-site read raises a question, you can add laboratory confirmation in the app within 2 hours of collection. The limit comes from specimen viability.
Chain of custody at a job site
Chain of custody runs the same way at a workplace as it does at a home.
The collector verifies identity with the 4-digit PIN shown in the booker's app.
The urine specimen is temperature-checked at collection.
The specimen is sealed in a tamper-evident container and photographed.
The collector and the person tested both sign for it.
One chain-of-custody code ties the specimen, the on-site record and any laboratory result together.
Results are released privately to the ordering account, in the Testr app or at testrla.com/account, with a PDF download. They go to anyone else only with the account holder's written consent, and then directly to the third party the account holder names.
Booking for an employee
To book for an employee, choose "Someone else" at booking, enter the employee's name and pick the workplace address. The employee's consent is recorded at booking.
One person is tested per booking, so a group means one visit per person. Parents and professionals use the same "Someone else" flow when they book for another person. How it works for therapists and family-law professionals is described in Testr for professionals.
What the collector needs on arrival
Set aside a restroom the employee can use and a little room for paperwork. The collector brings the rest.
If the front door is not the right entrance, message the collector in the Testr app with the lobby, the suite number or the loading-dock entrance. The app also shows the collector on a map as they approach. For a step-by-step account of the visit itself, read what happens at a mobile drug test visit.
When you are ready, book an on-site drug test.
Questions people ask
Can we get same-day on-site drug testing on a weekend?
Yes. Windows run 7 AM to 7 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, as on weekdays, and the earliest window is 3 hours after you book.
Can you test several employees in one visit?
No. Each visit covers one person. For a team, book a separate visit for each employee; every visit has its own 30-minute window, chain-of-custody code and record.
Who receives the results of an on-site drug test?
The account that placed the order. Results go to anyone else only with the account holder's written consent, and then directly to the third party that account holder names.
Can Testr collect a DOT-required test?
No. Testr performs non-DOT testing only, so an employee in a DOT-regulated position needs a DOT collection site.
Does on-site drug testing cover alcohol?
Yes. Alcohol is screened through EtG, one of the 14 panels, read from the same urine specimen. Testr does not do breath testing.
What is a non-DOT urine drug screen?
A urine drug test performed outside the federal transportation rules. At Testr it is the 14-panel rapid screen read on site, with laboratory confirmation available when a result will be acted on.