How long does the SAP program take?
DOT does not set a standard number of days or weeks for the SAP process. Under 49 CFR Part 40, the SAP must evaluate you individually and recommend appropriate education, treatment or both. You then need a follow-up evaluation in which the SAP determines whether you have demonstrated successful compliance.
Because the recommendation is individual, there is no federally defined fast, average or maximum completion time. A case involving a short education program can take less time than one involving counseling or more intensive treatment, but no provider can know your required program before the clinical evaluation.
The steps that make up your timeline
- Clearinghouse account and SAP designation, where applicable. FMCSA-covered drivers use the Clearinghouse to designate the SAP so required return-to-duty information can be reported.
- Initial SAP evaluation. Scheduling depends on provider availability. A qualified SAP may conduct the evaluation in person or, at the SAP's discretion and within applicable credential restrictions, by qualifying real-time audio and video.
- Education or treatment. The SAP determines what is required for your individual case.
- Follow-up SAP evaluation. The SAP reviews your participation and determines whether you have demonstrated successful compliance and are eligible for return-to-duty testing.
- Return-to-duty test. The test cannot take place until the SAP has made the successful-compliance determination. A drug return-to-duty collection is subject to DOT direct-observation requirements. A return-to-duty alcohol test must be below 0.02. A driver cannot simply order a DOT return-to-duty test for themselves.
- Clearinghouse status update for FMCSA drivers. When the authorized employer or C/TPA reports the negative return-to-duty result, the driver's status changes from prohibited to not prohibited.
A driver with no current or prospective Part 382 employer may use FMCSA's limited owner-operator and C/TPA procedure to complete the return-to-duty test. See return to duty without an employer and our full DOT return-to-duty process.
Follow-up testing after you return
Follow-up testing happens after you resume safety-sensitive work. Under 49 CFR 40.307, the SAP must require at least six unannounced follow-up tests during the first 12 months of safety-sensitive duty after your return. The SAP may require follow-up testing during as many as another 48 months of safety-sensitive duty.
The plan follows you through changes of employer and breaks in service. Months in which you are not performing safety-sensitive duties do not simply use up the required safety-sensitive-duty period.
The actual testing dates must remain unannounced. Section 40.307 also prohibits an employer, SAP or other service agent from giving the employee the actual follow-up testing schedule or disclosing the frequency or duration of that individual's prescribed plan. For that reason, this calculator does not generate actual future follow-up test dates. It only explains the general regulatory framework. See follow-up drug testing procedures for more.
What can cause delays
- Waiting to arrange the initial evaluation.
- For FMCSA cases, failing to designate the SAP in the Clearinghouse so the required information can be reported.
- Completing a course or program that was not the education or treatment recommended by your SAP.
- Reaching the follow-up evaluation without the documentation your SAP needs from the education or treatment provider.
- Not arranging who will direct the return-to-duty test once the SAP finds successful compliance.
If you have no employer, read return to duty without an employer. FMCSA's limited no-employer procedure can be used for the return-to-duty test and negative-result reporting, but once you resume DOT safety-sensitive employment, your employer must administer the SAP's follow-up testing plan.