DOT Compliance Statement.

Scope and Governing Authority

This statement describes how Apex Courier Logistics Group LLC, DBA Apex Medical OC (“Apex”), California Entity No. B20260171016, performs specimen collection, breath alcohol testing, and program administration for employers whose personnel are subject to federal workplace drug and alcohol testing.

49 CFR Part 40, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,” is the governing procedure for every federally regulated test Apex touches. Part 40 is administered by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and applies across the operating administrations, including FMCSA, FTA, FAA, FRA, PHMSA, and the United States Coast Guard. The operating administration rules, such as 49 CFR Part 382 for motor carriers, sit on top of Part 40 and determine who must be tested and when. Part 40 determines how.

Apex also performs non-federal, employer-authority testing. Non-federal collections are conducted using the same collection discipline but under the employer’s written policy rather than under Part 40, are documented on a non-federal custody and control form, and are never commingled with federal paperwork or federal specimens.

The Roles Apex Holds, and the Roles It Does Not

Precision here matters more than marketing. Federal testing is deliberately divided among independent parties so that no single party controls a result. Apex occupies part of that structure and not the rest.

Collector Qualification and Training

Collector qualification follows 49 CFR Part 40 Subpart C. No Apex personnel performs a federally regulated collection without completing it, and qualification documentation is retained and produced on audit.

• Basic information. The collector must be knowledgeable about Part 40, about the current DOT Urine Specimen Collection Procedures Guidelines, and about the operating administration rules applicable to the employer.
• Qualification training. Instruction on all steps of the collection procedure, on the completion and transmission of the custody and control form, on problem collections, on fatal and correctable flaws, and on the collector’s obligation to maintain donor privacy and specimen security.
• Initial proficiency demonstration. After training, the collector must complete five consecutive error-free mock collections monitored by a qualified monitor who attests to them. At least three of the five must be scenario-based problem collections, covering situations such as insufficient quantity, out-of-range temperature, and a donor who refuses to sign or leaves before the process is complete.
• Refresher training. Requalification, including a further proficiency demonstration, at least every five years.
• Error correction training. Where a collector makes an error that causes a test to be cancelled, that collector must undergo error correction training covering the area of the error within 30 days of notification, including three consecutive error-free mock collections in that area.

The Collection Procedure

The sequence below is a summary of the Part 40 procedure Apex follows. It is not a substitute for the regulation or the DOT guidelines.

• Identification and preparation. The donor presents photo identification. The collector explains the process, has the donor remove outer clothing and empty pockets for inspection, secures personal effects, and restricts access to water sources and adds bluing agent to toilet water in the collection area.
• Private collection. The donor provides the specimen in privacy unless a directly observed or monitored collection is required by the regulation. The donor is instructed to provide at least 45 mL.
• Temperature reading. The collector checks the temperature of the specimen within 4 minutes of the donor handing it over. The acceptable range is 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A reading outside that range is documented and triggers the out-of-range procedure, including a directly observed recollection.
• Split specimen. In the presence of the donor, the collector pours approximately 30 mL into the primary bottle and at least 15 mL into the split bottle, caps and seals both, and has the donor initial the seals.
• Custody and control form. The Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form is completed and signed by the donor and the collector, distributed to the required parties, and kept with the specimen. The specimen and paperwork are placed in the sealed shipping container and released to transport.
• Transport. Apex moves the sealed package under its own documented custody, with active cold chain where the specimen type requires it, and delivers it to the certified laboratory.

Correctable Flaws and Fatal Flaws

Part 40 distinguishes paperwork problems that can be cured from defects that destroy the evidentiary value of a specimen. The distinction decides whether a test stands or is cancelled.

Correctable flaw

A defect that can be cured by a memorandum for record from the responsible party, obtained by the MRO or the laboratory. Typical examples are a missing collector signature on the custody and control form, or the use of a non-federal form for a federally regulated collection. If the flaw is corrected, the test proceeds.

Fatal flaw

A defect that cannot be corrected and that requires the test to be cancelled. Typical examples are a specimen identification number on the bottle that does not match the number on the custody and control form; a bottle seal that is broken or shows evidence of tampering; an insufficient quantity of urine in the primary bottle with no split available for redesignation; and an absence of any specimen in the container.

Effect of cancellation

A cancelled test is neither positive nor negative. It has no result. Where the employer is required to obtain a test, a cancelled test does not satisfy that requirement, and a recollection is arranged.

Apex documents every flaw it identifies or causes, notifies the employer’s Designated Employer Representative, and completes error correction training under Section 03 where a collector error caused a cancellation.

Insufficient Specimen: the Shy Bladder Procedure

Where a donor provides less than 45 mL, the collector discards the insufficient specimen and begins the shy bladder procedure. The donor is offered fluids, up to 40 ounces, distributed reasonably over a period of up to three hours, and remains at the collection site. The three-hour period ends as soon as the donor provides a sufficient specimen.

If the donor has not provided a sufficient specimen at the end of the period, the collector discontinues the collection, notes the fact on the custody and control form, and immediately notifies the Designated Employer Representative. The employer must then direct the donor to obtain, within five days, an evaluation from a licensed physician acceptable to the MRO and with expertise in the shy bladder question. If that physician finds no adequate medical explanation for the failure to provide, the MRO reports a refusal to test. A donor who simply declines to attempt, or who leaves the collection site before the process is complete, is likewise treated as a refusal.

Evidentiary Breath Alcohol Testing

Alcohol testing is conducted by a qualified Breath Alcohol Technician using an evidential breath testing device approved by the Department of Transportation and appearing on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Conforming Products List. Apex deploys the Lifeloc Phoenix 6.0. Calibration and external quality assurance are performed on the manufacturer’s schedule and the records are retained.

• Screening test. The donor is identified, the procedure is explained, and a screening test is conducted with a printed, sequentially numbered result linked to the donor and to the device.
• Result below 0.02. The test is complete and is reported as a negative result. No confirmation test is performed.
• Result of 0.02 or higher. A confirmation test is required and is conducted on an evidential device with a printed result and an air blank.
• Required waiting period. The confirmation test is conducted no sooner than 15 minutes and no later than 30 minutes after the completion of the screening test. During that interval the technician instructs the donor not to eat, drink, belch, or put anything in the mouth, and observes the donor. The interval exists to clear residual mouth alcohol.
• Result of record. Where a confirmation test is required, the confirmation result is the result of record. The screening result alone never supports an employer action.

A confirmed result of 0.02 or higher requires the employer to remove the employee from safety-sensitive function under the applicable operating administration rule. A confirmed result of 0.04 or higher is a violation of the DOT alcohol regulations.

The Federal Test Reasons

Federal testing is conducted only for a reason authorized by the applicable operating administration rule. Apex will not perform a federally regulated collection without a documented reason from the employer.

FMCSA Clearinghouse Queries, Reporting, and Consent

For employers regulated by FMCSA, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is the federal repository of violation and return-to-duty information for commercial driver’s license holders. Apex supports employer compliance with 49 CFR Part 382 Subpart G, acting as a designated service agent where the employer appoints it in the Clearinghouse.

• Pre-employment full query. Required before an employer permits a driver to perform a safety-sensitive function, and requires the driver’s specific electronic consent given in the Clearinghouse itself.
• Annual limited query. Required at least once every twelve months for each driver, and requires the driver’s general written consent, which may cover multiple limited queries. Where a limited query shows information, a full query must follow within 24 hours.
• Reporting. Employers, MROs, Substance Abuse Professionals, and consortium or Third Party Administrators report violations, verified positive results, refusals, actual knowledge, negative return-to-duty results, and completion of follow-up testing plans within the prescribed timeframes.
• Consent is mandatory. A driver who declines to give the required consent may not be permitted to perform a safety-sensitive function. Apex does not query without recorded consent.

Record Retention

Testing program records are retained under 49 CFR Part 40 and the operating administration rules, principally 49 CFR 382.401 for motor carriers.

Employee Rights Under Part 40

Part 40 gives the tested individual enforceable rights. Apex informs donors of them and does not obstruct their exercise.

• Split specimen testing. Following MRO notification of a verified positive, adulterated, substituted, or invalid-with-refusal result, the employee has 72 hours to request in writing that the split specimen, bottle B, be tested at a second HHS-certified laboratory. The MRO must honor a timely request. Inability to pay is not a valid ground for denial, and the employer must ensure the test is performed, subject to whatever cost allocation its policy sets.
• Access to records. The right to obtain copies of the records relating to one’s own tests, on written request to the employer or the MRO.
• Confidentiality. Test results and related medical information are released only as Part 40 permits, and are not disclosed to third parties without written authorization except as the regulation requires.
• A fair collection. The right to privacy during collection unless observation is required, to a private collection space, to have the collector follow the procedure, and to note a concern on the custody and control form.
• MRO interview. The right to speak with the MRO before a result is verified positive and to present a legitimate medical explanation.

California AB 2188 Does Not Override Federal Testing

California Assembly Bill 2188, codified at Government Code section 12954 and effective January 1, 2024, restricts most employers from discriminating against an employee or applicant based on off-the-job, off-premises cannabis use, or based on a test that detects non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.

Apex is not certified under AB 2188, and no such certification exists. What Apex does is operate two clearly separated program tracks so that federal collections follow Part 40 without modification, while non-federal, employer-authority collections can be configured to a California-compliant panel where the employer’s counsel directs it. Which track applies to a given individual is a determination for the employer and its counsel, not for Apex.

This Page Is a Summary of Procedure, Not Legal Advice

This statement summarizes procedure so that a procurement officer, safety manager, or federal buyer can evaluate how Apex works. It is condensed, it omits detail, and it is not a substitute for 49 CFR Part 40, for the applicable operating administration regulations, for the DOT collection guidelines, or for the advice of counsel. Where anything here differs from the regulation, the regulation controls. Where anything here differs from an executed service agreement between Apex and a client, the executed service agreement controls as between those parties.

Regulations change. Apex reviews this page against the current text of Part 40 and updates the Last updated date when it revises it. Employers remain responsible for their own written policy, for supervisor training, for Designated Employer Representative duties, and for the consequences they attach to a result. NDASA membership, referenced elsewhere on this site, is a trade association membership and not a certification. Apex UEI and CAGE registrations are In Process and are not represented as issued.