Saliva Alcohol Screening Devices: Are They DOT Approved?

A supervisor asks whether a saliva swab can replace the breath machine for an alcohol screening test, usually because it looks faster and less awkward than handing an employee a mouthpiece in front of coworkers. The answer is yes, for part of the process, and that partial yes is exactly where employers get the rule wrong.

Does DOT allow saliva alcohol screening devices?

Yes. Under 49 CFR 40.3, an Alcohol Screening Device, or ASD, is defined as a breath or saliva device, other than an evidential breath testing device (EBT), that is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and appears on ODAPC's published list of approved screening devices. A saliva ASD that meets those requirements can be used for the initial alcohol screening test under a DOT testing program, the same as a non-evidential breath ASD can. The device has to be on the current approved list and used within whatever expiration date and single-use packaging the manufacturer sets, which the technician checks and shows the employee before the test starts. This approval covers the screening step only, not what happens once a result comes back at or above the 0.02 cutoff. An employer buying saliva ASDs should confirm the specific model is still on ODAPC's current approved list, not rely on a vendor's marketing claim alone.

Can a saliva device be used for the confirmation test?

No. 49 CFR 40.231 limits alcohol confirmation testing to EBTs that appear on ODAPC's list of approved evidential breath measurement devices and that distinguish alcohol from acetone, print a triplicate result, and perform the other listed functions. A saliva ASD, no matter how it performed on the screening test, cannot be substituted for that EBT step. So a saliva device can start the process but never finish it: any screening result of 0.02 or higher moves straight to a breath-only confirmation test, which means an employer running saliva screening still needs a calibrated EBT and a trained BAT available at every site where screening happens, not just at a central confirmation location. Employers who deploy saliva ASDs at remote or satellite locations specifically to avoid stationing a breath device there have built a program that cannot finish what it starts; the moment a screening result crosses 0.02, that employee has to reach an EBT and a qualified BAT within the confirmation timeframe, wherever that device physically sits.

What does the saliva ASD procedure actually require?

49 CFR 40.245 sets a specific sequence for the saliva ASD test: the STT or BAT checks the device's expiration date and shows it to the employee, opens the individually wrapped package in front of the employee, offers the employee the chance to self-administer it, and wears single-use gloves if the technician has to insert the device instead. If the device fails to activate or breaks, the technician discards it, documents the reason on the Alcohol Testing Form, and starts over with a new device that was under the employer's or technician's control before the test. None of these steps are optional add-ons; a saliva screening test performed without them is a procedural defect the same as skipping a step on a breath test, and a defect at the screening stage can give an employee grounds to challenge whatever followed, including a confirmation test result that was otherwise correct.

Device type	Can be used for screening	Can be used for confirmation	Governing section
EBT (evidential breath)	Yes	Yes, required	40.231, 40.233
Non-evidential breath ASD	Yes	No	40.243
Saliva ASD	Yes	No	40.245
Breath tube ASD	Yes	No	40.245

Does a positive saliva screen still need the 15-minute wait before confirmation?

Yes. 49 CFR 40.251 requires a waiting period of at least 15 minutes, and not more than 30 minutes, between the completion of the screening test and the start of the EBT confirmation test, regardless of which screening device produced the 0.02-or-higher result. The employee has to be told not to eat, drink, smoke, or put anything in the mouth during that window, because the point of the wait is to let residual mouth alcohol clear before the confirmation reading. A saliva screening result does not shorten or waive that waiting period; it runs the same whether the screening device used breath or saliva. If the confirmation test happens at a different location than the screening test, travel time between the two sites can count toward the 15-minute minimum, but only if the technician who ran the screening test documented that the waiting-period instructions were given before the employee left; without that documentation, the receiving BAT restarts the waiting period once the employee arrives.

How Foster handles this

Foster's BAT training and certification program trains technicians on the full screening-to-confirmation sequence, including the saliva ASD procedure under 40.245, so a site using saliva screening is never one missing EBT away from a confirmation delay. We maintain calibration and external check records for every EBT in service through instrument calibration, and for clients running breath alcohol testing across multiple locations, Foster's on-site testing service can staff a trained BAT with a confirmation-ready EBT at any site that wants to screen with saliva devices.

For the devices DOT accepts across the whole program, see our comparison of EBT vs ASD approved screening devices, and for what happens once a confirmation result comes back, see DOT alcohol test results and zero-tolerance consequences. Foster also builds full breath alcohol testing and hearing conservation programs for fleets and plants; request a quote for your site.

FAQ

Is every saliva alcohol test device automatically DOT approved?

No. Only devices that appear on ODAPC's current published list of approved screening devices qualify as an ASD under 49 CFR 40.3. An off-the-shelf saliva alcohol strip that is not on that list cannot be used for a DOT alcohol test.

Can an employer use saliva screening for a post-accident or reasonable suspicion test?

Yes, a saliva ASD can be used for any screening test regardless of the testing category, but a result of 0.02 or higher still has to go through a breath-only EBT confirmation test before any consequence attaches.

What happens if the saliva device doesn't activate during the test?

The technician discards the device, documents the reason in the Remarks section of the Alcohol Testing Form, and conducts a new test with a replacement device that was under the employer's or technician's control before the test began.

Does using saliva screening remove the need for a trained BAT on-site?

No. The confirmation test always requires an EBT operated by a trained Breath Alcohol Technician, so a site that screens with saliva still needs a qualified BAT and a calibrated EBT available whenever screening happens.

Sources

• 49 CFR 40.3 - Definitions, Alcohol Screening Device (ASD) (Cornell LII, e-CFR)
• 49 CFR 40.231 - What devices are used to conduct alcohol confirmation tests? (Cornell LII, e-CFR)
• 49 CFR 40.245 - What is the procedure for an alcohol screening test using a saliva ASD or a breath tube ASD? (Cornell LII, e-CFR)