EtG Urine Alcohol Test
Updated October 14, 2026
EtG is a breakdown product of alcohol that shows drinking well after the alcohol itself is gone.
The EtG (alcohol) panel is one of the 14 on every Testr urine drug test, read on site by a certified collector at your door anywhere in the Los Angeles area. On a Testr report it is printed as ETG (Alcohol metabolite).
How long does alcohol show up on an EtG test?
That range is typical rather than a guarantee: how much was taken, how often, body weight and hydration all move it.
The screening cutoff above is the level at or above which the on-site cassette reads positive. Below it the panel reads negative even when a trace is present, which is why the cutoff matters as much as the number of days.
Can a prescription cause a positive on the EtG (alcohol) panel?
Heavy exposure to alcohol-based products like hand sanitizer or mouthwash can occasionally cause low-level positives.
Need this panel collected at home? See the EtG alcohol test in Los Angeles page for how the visit works and what the laboratory confirms.
What does a positive on the EtG (alcohol) drug test panel mean?
The on-site read is a drug screen. It reports positive or negative against the screening cutoff, not a measured level. Laboratory confirmation is what produces a number: a CAP-accredited laboratory quantifies the specimen by LC-MS/MS and reports measured levels, in about 72 hours. 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. Confirmation can be added when you book, or from the app within 2 hours of collection, while the specimen is still viable.
What an EtG result can and cannot tell you
EtG, short for ethyl glucuronide, is a breakdown product the body makes from alcohol, and it lingers in urine well after the alcohol itself is gone. A positive EtG line means the specimen reached the 500 ng/mL cutoff. It does not say how much was drunk, when the last drink was, or whether anyone was impaired at any point; the strip reads positive or negative and nothing else. A measured laboratory level does not convert into a number of drinks or an hour of the day either, and nothing on a Testr report is a blood alcohol level.
EtG next to a breath test or an alcohol strip
A breath test measures the alcohol in the body at that moment, so it reads zero once the alcohol has cleared. Some urine cups carry an alcohol strip, printed ALC, that looks for alcohol itself and, like a breath test, sees only the recent past. EtG covers a different stretch of time: it is detectable in urine for up to about 80 hours (3-4 days) after heavy drinking, shorter after light drinking. Testr does no breath, blood, hair or saliva testing. Alcohol is tested only through the EtG panel, from the same urine specimen as the 13 drug panels.
Two alcohol metabolites at the laboratory
Laboratory confirmation measures two alcohol metabolites by LC-MS/MS: ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS), at 500 ng/mL each. Two measured levels from one specimen say more than one strip can, which matters most for the low-level positives described in the answer above. EtG is not on a standard 5-panel and is not one of the usual 10-panel additions. It is one of the 14 panels on every Testr visit.
What a negative EtG result means
A negative EtG line means EtG stayed below 500 ng/mL in that specimen. Because the window is shorter after light drinking, a negative is not proof that no alcohol was drunk in the previous three or four days; it is a reading against a cutoff on one date. Low positives are the other edge case, and they are where the two measured laboratory levels earn their place.
What ETG means on the report
What does ETG mean on a drug test?
ETG stands for ethyl glucuronide (usually written EtG), a metabolite of alcohol. On a Testr report, and on most test cups, this panel is printed as ETG. On a Testr screen the ETG panel reads positive at or above 500 ng/mL, and it is detectable in urine for up to about 80 hours (3-4 days) after heavy drinking, shorter after light drinking.
What is the ETG cutoff on a drug test?
500 ng/mL on a Testr screen: at or above that level the ETG panel reads positive, below it negative. Other cups can print ETG with a different cutoff. Laboratory confirmation applies its own cutoff to each compound it measures and reports the measured level rather than a positive or negative.
Every code on the cassette, with its cutoff and detection window, is on one page: drug test abbreviations, decoded.
More questions about EtG (alcohol)
Does EtG show how much someone drank?
No. The on-site EtG panel reads positive or negative at 500 ng/mL. Laboratory confirmation reports measured EtG and EtS levels, but a level cannot be turned into a number of drinks or the time of the last one.
Is an EtG test the same as a breathalyzer?
No. A breath test measures alcohol in the body at that moment. EtG is a breakdown product the body makes while clearing alcohol, and it is detectable in urine for up to about 80 hours (3-4 days) after heavy drinking, shorter after light drinking, long after a breath test would read zero. Testr runs no breath tests.
Is EtG on a 10-panel drug test?
Usually not. Alcohol is not among the common 10-panel additions, and a standard 5-panel does not include it. EtG is read at every Testr visit, from the same urine specimen as the drug panels.
Can an EtG test show drinking from three days ago?
It can, after heavy drinking. EtG is detectable in urine for up to about 80 hours (3-4 days) after heavy drinking, shorter after light drinking, so the amount drunk matters as much as the day.
Is an EtG test a blood alcohol test?
No. EtG is read from urine, and neither the rapid line nor a laboratory level is a blood alcohol reading. Testr does no blood or breath testing; alcohol is screened only through the EtG panel.
Can EtG tell beer from wine or liquor?
No. EtG forms from alcohol itself, whatever the drink, so the panel reads the same after beer, wine or spirits. Neither the strip nor a laboratory level identifies the drink.
What is EtS on a drug test?
EtS, ethyl sulfate, is a second breakdown product of alcohol. It has no line on the rapid cassette; laboratory confirmation measures it alongside EtG, at 500 ng/mL each, by LC-MS/MS.
How the Testr drug test screens for it
This panel is part of every Testr drug test. A certified collector handles the urine collection at your home, checks specimen temperature, and reads a clinical 14-panel drug screen cassette on the spot. For measured levels rather than a positive/negative read, add laboratory confirmation: a CAP-accredited lab quantifies the result by LC-MS/MS, with measured levels on the report. Testr covers the Los Angeles area seven days a week, 7 AM to 7 PM, with the earliest window 3 hours after you book.