Drug test panel selector by role and state
Which panel a role needs, what each one actually screens for, and the state marijuana rules that decide whether you can act on the result.
Short answer
The 5-panel is the federal standard for safety-sensitive roles; healthcare and medication-access roles need a 10-panel with expanded opiates; office roles in cannabis-protective states are usually better served by a panel without THC.
DOT-regulated roles must use the 5-panel — marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and PCP — by urine, at a certified lab, with Medical Review Officer review, under 49 C.F.R. Part 40. Clinical and pharmacy roles should add benzodiazepines, methadone, and fentanyl, which standard opiate testing misses. For roles that are not safety-sensitive, states including California, Washington, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Connecticut restrict acting on lawful off-duty cannabis use or on non-psychoactive metabolites, so many employers drop THC from those panels. A positive result is only an automatic consequence under DOT rules; everywhere else it is your written policy's decision.
How to choose a panel
Three questions settle it. Is the role federally regulated? If it is DOT safety-sensitive, the panel, the specimen, the lab, and the review process are all fixed and there is nothing to decide. Does the role touch medication or patients? If so, the prescription classes and synthetic opioids belong on the panel. Is the role safety-sensitive at all? If not, testing for THC is the part of the program most likely to create a claim in a protective state, and the least likely to be defensible as job-related.
Panel selector
Choose the role and the state you hire in
Recommended: 5-panel (DOT standard)
Federal law fixes the panel, the collection method, the lab, and the MRO process. State cannabis protections do not apply, and a Clearinghouse query is required.
The federally mandated panel under 49 C.F.R. Part 40. Urine only for DOT purposes.
Substances screened
- • Marijuana (THC)
- • Cocaine
- • Amphetamines (incl. methamphetamine, MDMA)
- • Opiates (incl. codeine, morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone)
- • Phencyclidine (PCP)
Safety-sensitive designation: Normally yes — which usually preserves the ability to test for THC even in protective states.
Select a state to see the cannabis rules that limit what you can act on.
Every panel, side by side
5-panel (DOT standard)
Best for: Every DOT-regulated safety-sensitive role, and most general hourly hiring.
The federally mandated panel under 49 C.F.R. Part 40. Urine only for DOT purposes.
- Marijuana (THC)
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines (incl. methamphetamine, MDMA)
- Opiates (incl. codeine, morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone)
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
5-panel without THC
Best for: Non-safety-sensitive roles in states or cities that restrict pre-employment marijuana testing.
Keeps a testing program in place where testing for THC alone would create legal exposure.
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines
- Opiates
- PCP
- Barbiturates
10-panel
Best for: Healthcare, direct patient care, and roles with medication access.
Adds the prescription classes most often diverted. Pair with an MRO review so valid prescriptions are cleared correctly.
- Marijuana (THC)
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines
- Opiates
- PCP
- Barbiturates
- Benzodiazepines
- Methadone
- Propoxyphene
- Methaqualone
10-panel + expanded opiates & fentanyl
Best for: Nursing, pharmacy, anesthesia support, hospice, and long-term care.
Standard opiate immunoassays miss fentanyl and most synthetics; they must be added explicitly.
- All 10-panel substances
- Fentanyl
- Tramadol
- Meperidine
- Buprenorphine
Oral fluid (saliva) panel
Best for: Post-accident and reasonable-suspicion testing, and states whose cannabis laws point employers toward tests that indicate recent use.
Detects recent use — roughly the last 24 to 48 hours — rather than weeks of history. Observed collection, no separate facility needed.
- Same substance menu as 5- or 10-panel, collected by swab
Hair follicle panel
Best for: Executive, financial, and high-trust roles where a longer history matters and no state restriction applies.
Roughly a 90-day window. Not accepted for DOT testing, and restricted or disfavored in several jurisdictions.
- 5- or 10-panel substance menu
Acting on a result
A positive test is a screening result, not a verdict. A Medical Review Officer reviews every non-negative before it is reported so a valid prescription is cleared rather than recorded as a positive. Outside DOT, what happens next is entirely your policy's call — and the same reasoning that governs criminal records applies here. Ask whether the substance, the recency, and the role's actual duties connect. That analysis is laid out on the disqualifying offenses page.
If a result contributes to a decision not to hire, and the test was reported as part of a consumer report, the adverse action sequence applies the same way it does for a criminal record: pre-adverse notice with a copy, a reasonable period for the candidate to respond or dispute, and then the final notice.
Frequently asked questions
What is on a 5-panel drug test?
Marijuana (THC), cocaine, amphetamines including methamphetamine and MDMA, opiates including codeine, morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone and oxymorphone, and phencyclidine (PCP). It is the federally mandated panel for DOT safety-sensitive employees under 49 C.F.R. Part 40.
What is the difference between a 5-panel and a 10-panel?
A 10-panel adds barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, propoxyphene, and methaqualone. The additions are mostly prescription classes, which is why a 10-panel is common in healthcare and why a Medical Review Officer step matters — a valid prescription has to be cleared rather than reported as a positive.
Can an employer still test for marijuana?
In most states yes, but a growing number — California, Washington, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, and the District of Columbia among them — restrict acting on lawful off-duty use or on a test that only shows non-psychoactive metabolites. Nearly all of them carve out safety-sensitive and federally regulated roles. DOT testing is never affected.
Which panel does DOT require?
The 5-panel, by urine, at a HHS-certified lab, with a Medical Review Officer review. Employers cannot add substances to a DOT test — additional testing must run as a separate non-DOT specimen.
Should the panel include fentanyl?
For clinical and medication-access roles, yes. Standard opiate immunoassays do not detect fentanyl or most synthetic opioids; it has to be added to the order explicitly.
Is a positive drug test a legal disqualifier?
Only in DOT-regulated roles, where federal rules remove the employee from safety-sensitive functions until the return-to-duty process is complete. Everywhere else the consequence is set by the employer's written policy, subject to state off-duty-use protections and disability accommodation obligations.