How to Choose a Drug Testing Provider
Most comparisons come down to a price per test, which is the least useful number available. These are the questions that actually predict whether your program will work in two years.
First, Decide What You Are Buying
There is a real difference between a vendor who processes tests and a provider who administers a program. Processing means you order, they collect, you get a result. Administration means the pool is maintained, selections are generated and documented, follow-up schedules are tracked, and records are retrievable.
If you only need occasional pre-employment tests, processing is fine. If you run random testing across several locations, buying processing and hoping for administration is how programs end up in the state most of ours arrive in.
The Fee Schedule, Not the Price
Ask for everything, in writing:
- What the per-test price includes, and what is billed separately
- Trip, travel, or minimum visit charges, and when they apply
- After-hours and weekend collection pricing
- No-show and cancellation charges
- Account, setup, or monthly program fees
- Medical Review Officer review, included or extra
- Record retrieval costs, now and after you leave
Two quotes that look 30 percent apart frequently are not, and two that look identical frequently are not either.
Want your current program benchmarked?Five questions, about a minute. A specialist follows up within one business day.
Request a SpecialistCoverage Where Your People Actually Are
National coverage claims are easy to make. Test them against your own map: your rural site, your remote employees, the location two hours from a city. Ask specifically how someone there gets tested, and what the options are when travel is impractical.
Turnaround, Both Numbers
Negative results and non-negative results have different timelines, because the second involves laboratory confirmation and Medical Review Officer review. Ask for both, and ask what the realistic case looks like rather than the best one. If you hire at volume, this number directly affects whether positions get filled.
The 9pm Saturday Question
Ask it plainly. Who answers, how quickly can a collection happen, and what does it cost? Post-accident and reasonable suspicion testing are time-sensitive by nature, and a program that only functions during business hours fails precisely when it is most needed.
Records and Reporting
Ask what reporting you receive and how often, whether you can see completion rates and outstanding selections, and how fast a specific record from eighteen months ago can be produced. Then ask them to show you a sample. This is the question most providers answer worst, and the one that matters most in an audit or a hearing.
Exit Terms, Before You Sign
Notice period, termination fees, who holds your records, how you get them back, and how active random pools and follow-up schedules are handed over. Asking early tells you something about the relationship. A provider comfortable explaining how you would leave is usually confident you will not want to.
One thing no provider can sell you: responsibility. Even in federally regulated programs, the rules state that an employer using a service agent remains responsible for compliance. A good provider reduces your workload and your error rate. The obligation stays with you, and anyone implying otherwise is worth a second look.
Common questions
Should we just take the lowest per-test price?
Only if the quotes cover the same things, and they rarely do. Trip charges, after-hours collections, no-show fees, account fees, MRO review, and record retrieval can all sit outside the headline number. Ask for the full fee schedule and compare that instead.
What is the single best question to ask?
"What happens at 9pm on a Saturday?" It tests coverage, escalation, and honesty in one question. Post-accident testing does not wait for business hours, and a provider without a real answer is telling you what your program will look like at the moment it matters most.
How do we compare turnaround honestly?
Ask for two numbers: typical turnaround for a negative result, and typical turnaround for a non-negative that goes to confirmation and Medical Review Officer review. Quoting only the first is the oldest trick in the industry, and the second is the one that affects your hiring decisions.
What should we check about records?
Where they live, how long they are kept, how quickly you can get one, whether retrieval costs anything, and what happens to them if you leave. Ask them to produce a sample record set. A provider who can do that quickly is showing you their actual capability.
Does size matter?
Less than fit. What matters is coverage where your people actually are, including rural sites and remote staff, and whether the program is administered rather than merely processed. A provider with a huge network and no administration still leaves the pool and the records with you.
See How We Compare
Request a testing specialist
Answer five quick questions. There is no cost and no obligation.
Sources and review
- 49 CFR 40.15 - Use of service agents and employer responsibility (eCFR)
- SAMHSA - Drug-Free Workplace employer resources
This page is general information about employer drug testing, not legal advice. Drug testing rules differ by state and by industry. Check with your own counsel before setting or changing a testing policy.