WASHINGTON — Trucking companies and other transportation employers have until Jan. 8, 2027, to comment on federal paperwork requirements associated with workplace drug and alcohol testing programs.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking public input as it prepares to request renewal of an existing information collection under federal regulations governing drug and alcohol testing in the transportation industry.
The notice, published in the Federal Register Nov. 9, applies to multiple transportation sectors, including commercial trucking, which is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The request does NOT establish new testing requirements or change existing drug and alcohol testing procedures. Instead, it focuses on the documentation and reporting requirements used to track testing and support compliance with federal regulations.
What the requirements cover
Under 49 CFR Part 40, DOT establishes procedures for drug and alcohol testing across federally regulated transportation industries.
For trucking companies, these procedures work alongside Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations requiring drug and alcohol testing programs for drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles requiring a CDL.
The information collection renewal covers 45 paperwork-related items and two official DOT forms:
- Alcohol Testing Form (ATF): Documents individual alcohol tests, including the employee’s name, employer, date and type of test.
- Management Information System (MIS) Data Collection Form: Collects employer-level information about drug and alcohol testing, including the reasons for testing and aggregate numbers of negative, positive and refusal results.
The MIS form does not collect information identifying individual employees. The data is used by FMCSA and other transportation agencies in determining annual random drug and alcohol testing rates for their respective industries.
Although DOT is proposing minor revisions to the MIS form, the changes primarily involve removing unnecessary information requested from pipeline operators. They do NOT alter trucking-specific reporting requirements.
DOT seeks input on paperwork burden
According to the notice, DOT estimates the information collection involves approximately 2.38 million respondents and 723,484 hours of administrative work annually across the affected transportation sectors. Those estimates include transportation employers, government representatives and testing service providers, rather than trucking companies alone.
For motor carriers — particularly smaller fleets that handle compliance responsibilities with limited administrative staff — maintaining testing records and managing reporting obligations can be an important part of day-to-day operations.
DOT is inviting comments on whether the information collected is necessary, whether its estimates of the administrative burden are accurate and how reporting requirements could be made more efficient without compromising the quality of the information.
The agency will consider public comments as part of its request to the Office of Management and Budget for renewed approval of the information collection.
How to comment
Comments must be received by Jan. 8, 2027, and may be submitted through Regulations.gov under docket number DOT-OST-2026-4192. For additional information, readers can review the Federal Register notice.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
