COMPREHENSIVE DOT DRUG AND
ALCOHOL TESTING TERMINOLOGY
GUIDE. EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS (VERIFIED AND UPDATED)
Employer - ANS A person or entity employing one or more employees (including an individual
who is self-employed) subject to DOT agency regulations requiring compliance with this part.
The term includes an employer's officers, representatives, and management personnel. Service
agents are not employers for the purposes of this part.
Error Correction Training - ANS Training provided to BATS, collectors, and screening test
technicians (STTS) following an error that resulted in the cancellation of a drug or alcohol test.
Error correction training must be provided in person or by a means that provides real-time
observation and interaction between the instructor and trainee.
Evidential Breath Testing Device (EBT) - ANS A device approved by NHTSA for the evidential
testing of breath at the .02 and .04 alcohol concentrations, placed on NHTSA's Conforming
Products List (CPL) for 'Evidential Breath Measurement Devices' and identified on the CPL as
conforming with the model specifications available from NHTSA's Traffic Safety Program.
FAA - ANS Federal Aviation Administration
FMCSA - ANS Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, FRA - ANS Federal Railroad Administration
FTA - ANS Federal Transit Administration
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) - ANS Gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry. A specialized form of gas chromatography used in conjunction with mass
spectrometry. GC/MS is considered the method of choice for the unequivocal identification of a
drug. Also, when a laboratory suspects adulterants, dilution, or other sample abnormality,
GC/MS will identify the exact chemicals compounds present in suspicious samples.
HHS - ANS The Department of Health and Human Services or any designee of the Secretary,
Department of Health and Human Services.
Initial Drug Test - ANS The test used to differentiate a negative specimen from one that
requires further testing for drugs or drug metabolites.
Initial Validity Test - ANS The first test used to determine if a specimen is adulterated, diluted,
or substituted.
Invalid Drug Test - ANS The result of a drug test for a urine specimen that contains an
unidentified adulterant or an unidentified interfering substance, has abnormal physical
characteristics, or has an endogenous substance at an abnormal concentration that prevents
the laboratory from completing or obtaining a valid drug test result.
Laboratory (Lab) - ANS Any U.S. laboratory certified by HHS under the National Laboratory
Certification Program as meeting the minimum standards of Subpart C of the HHS Mandatory
Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs; or, in the case of foreign laboratories,
a laboratory approved for participation by DOT under this part.
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
ALCOHOL TESTING TERMINOLOGY
GUIDE. EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS (VERIFIED AND UPDATED)
Employer - ANS A person or entity employing one or more employees (including an individual
who is self-employed) subject to DOT agency regulations requiring compliance with this part.
The term includes an employer's officers, representatives, and management personnel. Service
agents are not employers for the purposes of this part.
Error Correction Training - ANS Training provided to BATS, collectors, and screening test
technicians (STTS) following an error that resulted in the cancellation of a drug or alcohol test.
Error correction training must be provided in person or by a means that provides real-time
observation and interaction between the instructor and trainee.
Evidential Breath Testing Device (EBT) - ANS A device approved by NHTSA for the evidential
testing of breath at the .02 and .04 alcohol concentrations, placed on NHTSA's Conforming
Products List (CPL) for 'Evidential Breath Measurement Devices' and identified on the CPL as
conforming with the model specifications available from NHTSA's Traffic Safety Program.
FAA - ANS Federal Aviation Administration
FMCSA - ANS Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, FRA - ANS Federal Railroad Administration
FTA - ANS Federal Transit Administration
Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) - ANS Gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry. A specialized form of gas chromatography used in conjunction with mass
spectrometry. GC/MS is considered the method of choice for the unequivocal identification of a
drug. Also, when a laboratory suspects adulterants, dilution, or other sample abnormality,
GC/MS will identify the exact chemicals compounds present in suspicious samples.
HHS - ANS The Department of Health and Human Services or any designee of the Secretary,
Department of Health and Human Services.
Initial Drug Test - ANS The test used to differentiate a negative specimen from one that
requires further testing for drugs or drug metabolites.
Initial Validity Test - ANS The first test used to determine if a specimen is adulterated, diluted,
or substituted.
Invalid Drug Test - ANS The result of a drug test for a urine specimen that contains an
unidentified adulterant or an unidentified interfering substance, has abnormal physical
characteristics, or has an endogenous substance at an abnormal concentration that prevents
the laboratory from completing or obtaining a valid drug test result.
Laboratory (Lab) - ANS Any U.S. laboratory certified by HHS under the National Laboratory
Certification Program as meeting the minimum standards of Subpart C of the HHS Mandatory
Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs; or, in the case of foreign laboratories,
a laboratory approved for participation by DOT under this part.
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
