How Long Does Pre-Employment Drug Screening Take?

Before hiring candidates, it’s standard practice to screen for a variety of common drugs to assist with workplace safety, compliance with laws and regulations, and risk reduction.

As an HR or recruiting professional, you should be familiar with how pre-employment drug screening works and how it benefits your organization. For example, most employees are given 24-hour notice before being screened for drugs, but some candidates might be subject to random testing based on their workplace agreements.

When creating a drug testing plan for your organization, consider the 5 Most Accurate Practices for Drug Testing to establish an effective workflow. In your plan, you might also wish to consider the cost of these services.

In the drug testing process, you can expect one of two common types of tests: a 5-panel Drug Test or a 10-panel Drug Test. 

The 5-panel Test is the most common type of pre-employment drug screening. It evaluates candidates for metabolites linked to 5 of the most commonly used drugs that can affect workplace safety. These include amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, PCP, and THC.

As the name suggests, the 10-panel Test is slightly more comprehensive. This test includes the detection of metabolites linked to amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, PCP, THC, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, methaqualone, and propoxyphene.

These tests can be performed through a variety of methods, as outlined below.

Urine tests

Urine tests are a popular form of pre-employment drug screening. The detection window for urine drug screening tests is between 1 – 4 days for most substances. 

Advantages include the cost-effectiveness and popularity of this method, making it widely available nationwide. These are also the only types of drug tests that are federally approved.

Though urine tests boast many advantages for employers, there are also concerns over the risk of contamination. This is because most individuals are not observed for the sample collection process. 

Saliva tests

Saliva drug screening tests are also a popular method used by employers. This method provides a detection window of 48 hours after an individual’s drug use. 

This method’s benefits include its ability to be performed under direct observation (reducing the risk of tampering), its cost-effectiveness, and its suitability for high-volume testing. Because of the shorter detection window, saliva tests are often used for random testing.

Hair tests

Drug screening tests conducted on hair follicles have a longer detection window than other methods. Because these tests are also administered by a technician, they reduce the risk of fraud. 

Due to the longer detection window combined with the fact that they are more invasive, they can also be more costly. Plus, it’s important to note that with hair testing, results may not detect recent use within 5-7 days of administering the test. 

Though each testing method has a detection window, the different drug windows can also vary. The following list includes commonly tested substances and their associated detection windows for urine tests, according to the American Addiction Center.

• Amphetamines: Around 3 days
• Cannabinoids: Up to 4 days for casual users and several weeks for chronic users
• Cocaine: Around 3 days
• Opiates: Ranges between 1 to 7 days 
• Phencyclidine: About 1 week
• Benzodiazepines: Between 2 days and 2 weeks
• Barbiturates: Between 3 days and 2 weeks
• Methadone: Around 3 days

For a comprehensive list, review the Detection Time in Urine for Various Drugs chart. 

While many factors go into the drug screening process that might affect the time it takes to receive results, there are two main outcomes: positive and negative results.

Negative drug screening test results typically return from the lab within 24-48 hours.

Positive results, however, might take a little longer. This is because once drugs are detected as present, the sample must undergo another round of testing to determine the type and quantity of drug or drug metabolites in the sample. This process can take a few days (typically 3-4). 

While the time it takes to get your candidate’s test results back might vary, many factors impact the timeline, including:

Testing dates

Your candidate’s testing date will likely depend on their availability. To speed up the process, you might decide to implement a shorter testing window before proceeding with the hiring process.

Lab processing times

Labs can experience a slowdown in their processing times due to high volume, understaffing, or technical issues. 

Positive or inconclusive test results

You might be dealing with a positive or inconclusive test result. These results typically take 3-4 days to return from the lab because they have to undergo several testing rounds.

Lab or sample errors

Errors in sample labeling, form submission, or paperwork could make your test results backlogged.

Unless you have heard of potential delays directly, a follow-up might be necessary if you haven’t heard back from the lab within a week of the test administration date.