Final rule · 2026-04337

Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Substance Abuse Professional and the Return-to-Duty Process

The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is the `gatekeeper' for the Department of Transportation's return-to-duty process (RTD). As the `gatekeeper', the SAP has a crucial role to play in recommending the level of treatment an employee may need in their path to returning to performing a safety-sensitive function after violating the DOT's drug and alcohol testing regulations. Given this critical role, the Department is publishing this notification in response to several SAP/ RTD-related issues that the Department has recently become aware of, to remind DOT-qualified SAPs to follow all the RTD process procedures in the drug and alcohol testing regulation (49 CFR part 40) and to remind DOT-regulated employers of the SAP responsibilities and RTD process.