DOT Oral Fluid Specimen Collector Training

Course Overview

DOT HHS Oral Fluid Specimen Collector Training is a 2-hour online training course that includes virtual mock demonstrations and a comprehensive online course. Students who complete the course will be prepared to conduct saliva specimen collections according to federal DOT rules and regulations. This course will qualify you to collect oral fluid specimens in accordance with a federally-mandated Drug-Free Workplace Program.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), announced in October of 2019 that it was adopting collection procedures for saliva drug testing under federal programs, otherwise known as Oral Fluid Mandatory Guidelines (OFMG).

The Oral Fluid Mandatory Guidelines address public concerns about privacy, safety, detection windows, and employer interests and leaves the adoption of the oral fluid as a drug testing mode up to the federal agency administering the program—meaning that the federal agency can choose to completely eliminate urine testing, keep urine testing for some testing reasons but not all, or to not adopt oral fluid at all.

The OFMG also set forth the requirements for qualification of those individuals designated to collect oral fluid specimens, also known as collectors. Section 4.3 provides that every collector must:

• Be Knowledgeable about oral fluid collection procedures;
• Be Knowledgeable about applicable federal agency Drug-Free Workplace Programs including supplemental information and guidance; and
• Be trained and qualified to use the specific oral fluid collection device.

Training must cover at least the following:

• All steps necessary to complete an oral fluid collection;
• Completion and distribution of the Federal CCF;
• Problem collections;
• Fatal flaws, correctable flaws, and how to correct problems in collections; and
• The collector’s responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the collection process, ensuring the privacy of the donor, ensuring the security of the specimen, and avoiding conduct or statements that could be viewed as offensive or inappropriate.

In addition, each collector must have demonstrated proficiency in collections by completing five consecutive error-free mock collections which must include two uneventful collections, one in which the specimen collected was insufficient, one where the donor refuses to sign, and one where the donor refuses to initial on the seal of the specimen.

Those who would like to be qualified to train others to collect oral fluid specimens in accordance with federal protocols should instead enroll in our DOT/HHS Oral Fluid Specimen Collector Train-the-Trainer Course.