📋 Step-by-Step: Before the Test Begins

🚫 What the Employee Cannot Do Before or During Testing

• ✗ Eat, drink, or smoke within 15 minutes before a confirmation test
• ✗ Belch or regurgitate within 15 minutes before a confirmation test
• ✗ Refuse to provide identification
• ✗ Leave the testing area without completing the test

🔬 Step-by-Step: The Screening Test

📊 Screening Result Reference Chart

⏱️ The 15-Minute Waiting Period

The 15-minute wait before the confirmation test is not optional. Its purpose is to ensure that mouth alcohol from recent eating, drinking, belching, or regurgitation does not produce a falsely elevated result.

• 1Start the 15-minute timer immediately after the screening result of 0.020 or above is recorded.
• 2During the 15-minute period, observe the employee. They must not eat, drink, smoke, belch, or put anything in their mouth.
• 3If the employee belches, eats, drinks, or puts something in their mouth during the 15 minutes, explain that this could affect the test result. You do not have to restart the 15-minute clock — but you must proceed with the confirmation test and note the circumstance in the remarks section of the ATF.
• 4The 15-minute wait is a single waiting period — Part 40 does not impose a fixed maximum (the 3-hour limit some BATs reference is from drug-testing shy-bladder rules under §40.193 and does not apply to alcohol testing).

🔬 Step-by-Step: The Confirmation Test

📊 Confirmation Result Action Chart

📑 ATF Copy Distribution

✍️ Completing the ATF — Step by Step

⚠️ Common ATF Errors to Avoid

• ✗ Leaving the reason for test blank
• ✗ Recording the screening result in the confirmation result field (or vice versa)
• ✗ Omitting the device serial number
• ✗ Failing to record the date and time of each test
• ✗ Signing Step 3 (BAT certification) before the test is fully complete
• ✗ Giving the employer Copy 1 before the confirmation test is done

🚫 Refusal to Test

A refusal to test carries the same consequences as a positive test result under DOT regulations. The following actions constitute a refusal:

• ✗Employee fails to appear for the test within a reasonable time after being directed to report
• ✗Employee refuses to complete and sign Step 2 of the ATF (this IS a refusal — different from refusing to sign Step 4 after the test)
• ✗Employee fails to provide an adequate amount of breath — and a medical evaluation does not find a legitimate reason
• ✗Employee leaves the testing site before the test is complete
• ✗Employee behaves in a confrontational or disruptive manner that prevents the test from being conducted
• ✗Employee fails to undergo the medical evaluation when directed (e.g., after an inability to provide an adequate breath sample)

💨 Shy Lung (Inability to Provide Adequate Breath)

Shy lung occurs when an employee cannot or will not provide an adequate breath sample. Follow these steps:

🔧 Device Malfunction

If your device malfunctions during a test:

• 1Stop the test. Do not record a result from a malfunctioning device.
• 2Document the malfunction in the remarks section of the ATF — include what the device displayed and when it occurred.
• 3If another approved device is available, use it to complete the test. Begin from the beginning — new air blank, new mouthpiece, new test.
• 4If no alternate device is available, note this on the ATF. Notify the DER. Do not report a result. The test may need to be rescheduled.

📝 Incomplete Tests — What to Record

For any test that cannot be completed — whether due to refusal, shy lung, or malfunction — record the following on the ATF:

• ✓ The reason the test was not completed
• ✓ The time of each attempt
• ✓ What the employee said or did
• ✓ The name and number of the DER you notified
• ✓ The time you notified the DER

📱 ASD vs. EBT — Operating Differences

💨 Air Blanks — What They Are and When to Run Them

An air blank is a test of the EBT device using ambient air — no breath from any person. It verifies that the device is reading clean air as 0.00 and is not contaminated by residual alcohol from a prior test.

• 1Before every screening test on an EBT — the device must read 0.00
• 2Before every confirmation test on an EBT — run a new air blank, even if the EBT was used for the screening test minutes earlier
• 3After each employee test — some EBT devices run air blanks automatically; know whether yours does

📐 External Calibration Checks

EBT devices must be externally calibrated on a regular schedule to ensure accuracy. As a BAT, you need to know:

• ✓ When a calibration check is required — follow the manufacturer's schedule and DOT requirements for your specific device
• ✓ Who performs calibration — typically a qualified technician or the device manufacturer's service program, not the BAT
• ✓ What to do if calibration is overdue — do not use the device until it has been calibrated
• ✓ Where to find the calibration log — you must be able to confirm the device's calibration status if asked by an inspector or employer

⚠️ Error Messages and Device Malfunctions

You must know how to respond to your device's error messages. While specific codes vary by manufacturer, general responses include:

• 🔴Insufficient breath sample — instruct the employee to try again; if it persists, begin shy lung procedures
• 🔴Air blank failure — stop the test; do not use the device; document and switch to an alternate
• 🔴Device out of calibration — stop all testing; do not use the device; contact service
• 🔴Memory full or printing error — document the issue; if the device cannot print a result record, note it on the ATF and continue

🔢 Mock Test Requirements

📋 What You Must Demonstrate in Each Mock Test

• ✓Correct pre-test procedure — identity verification, ATF Step 1, employee explanation
• ✓Correct device setup — air blank (EBT), new mouthpiece, proper instructions to the employee
• ✓Ability to respond to the device's messages, commands, and displays
• ✓Actions to take when an error message or malfunction occurs
• ✓Correct recording of results on the ATF
• ✓Correct determination of next steps based on the result (negative, requires confirmation, refusal)
• ✓Knowledge of when and how to perform an external calibration check
• ✓Completion of ATF Steps 3 and 4 (and Step 4 only when result ≥ 0.02), and correct copy distribution

📄 What TestRight Academy Issues Upon Completion

• ✓ Completion Certificate — documents your full qualification training
• ✓ Signed Proficiency Attestation — written confirmation from your instructor that you completed all required consecutive error-free mock tests
• ✓ Training Record — sufficient detail for any DOT inspector, employer, or C/TPA to verify your qualification

📋 DER Information — What You Must Have Before Testing

Per §40.215, before you conduct an alcohol test you must have the following employer (DER) information available:

• 1The employer's name and address — entered in Step 1 of the ATF
• 2The DER's name and telephone number — you must be able to contact the DER immediately if a problem arises
• 3The reason for the test — pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, or follow-up
• 4The DOT agency — FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, PHMSA, or USCG

🏢 What Makes a Testing Site Acceptable (§40.221)

A testing location is acceptable for DOT alcohol testing only if it meets all of the following requirements:

• ✓ Prevents unauthorized access — only you, the employee, and any authorized observer may be present during the test
• ✓ Allows a private conversation between you and the employee without being overheard
• ✓ Has a suitable flat surface for completing the ATF
• ✓ Has adequate lighting for you to properly read and record results and complete the ATF
• ✓ Is free of items that could interfere with the testing process

🔒 Protecting Privacy and Integrity — Your Responsibilities (§40.223)

As the BAT or STT, you are personally responsible for maintaining the privacy of the employee and the integrity of the test throughout the entire process.

🚫 What You Must NOT Do During Testing

• ✗ Allow anyone other than you and the employee to be present without authorization
• ✗ Leave the testing area before the test is complete
• ✗ Conduct a test in a location that does not provide adequate privacy
• ✗ Report results to unauthorized persons
• ✗ Allow the employee to handle the ATF or the device
• ✗ Conduct any part of the test in a location where it could be overheard by others

🚨 Fatal Flaws — Tests That Must Be Cancelled (§40.267)

A fatal flaw is an error that makes the test result invalid and uncorrectable. The fatal flaws listed in §40.267 are specific. If any of the following apply, the test result must be cancelled — it cannot be reported or used for any purpose:

For a screening test on a saliva or breath ASD:

• ✗The STT or BAT reads the result sooner than or later than the time the manufacturer (and Part 40) allows.
• ✗The saliva ASD does not activate, or the device is used after its expiration date.
• ✗The device does not pass the required quality-control check, or the QC check is not performed as the manufacturer requires.

For a screening or confirmation test on an EBT:

• ✗The EBT fails to print the confirmation test result.
• ✗The sequential test number or alcohol concentration on the printout does not match what was displayed on the EBT.

For either kind of test:

• ✗The test number, testing device name and serial number, time, or result is not recorded on the ATF.
• ✗The BAT's or STT's signature is omitted from the ATF on a test with a result of 0.02 or higher.

🔧 Correctable Flaws — Errors You Can Fix (§40.269)

A correctable flaw is an error that does not automatically invalidate the test — but it must be corrected with a specific written statement before the result can be reported. These errors are correctable within a limited timeframe:

• ⚠️The BAT omitted a required entry on the ATF — such as the device serial number, test date/time, or result (can be corrected if the omission is discovered in time)
• ⚠️The employee did not sign the ATF — the BAT must note this in the remarks section; a refusal to sign is not a refusal to test
• ⚠️The BAT failed to note the time of the screening result when it is required for determining the 15-minute waiting period

✍️ How to Correct a Correctable Flaw (§40.271)

To correct a correctable flaw, you must provide a written statement — signed and dated — explaining:

• ✓ What the error was
• ✓ The correct information that was omitted or entered incorrectly
• ✓ Why the error occurred (if known)

This statement must be attached to the ATF and provided to the employer (DER) along with the corrected form. The statement must be prepared as soon as the error is discovered — you cannot wait until an audit or inspection to fix it.

❌ Cancelled Tests — What They Mean (§40.273)

A cancelled test — whether due to a fatal flaw or an uncorrectable flaw — is treated as follows:

• 1A cancelled test is not a positive test. It cannot be reported as a violation. The employee's record does not reflect a positive result.
• 2A cancelled test is not a negative test either. It cannot be used to clear the employee to perform safety-sensitive functions. If the employer needed a negative result (e.g., for return-to-duty), another test must be conducted.
• 3The DER must be notified. When you cancel a test, you must immediately notify the DER of the cancellation, the reason, and that a new test may be required.
• 4Document everything. Record the reason for cancellation in the ATF remarks, note the time you notified the DER, and retain your copy of the ATF per normal retention rules.

📋 Fatal Flaw vs. Correctable Flaw — Quick Reference

📄 Records You Must Keep

• ✓ Your site copy of every ATF — retention is set by your service agreement with the employer/C/TPA. The federal record-retention floor in §40.333 applies to employers (2 years for collection-process records; 5 years for results ≥ 0.02 and refusals); align your site retention to support those obligations
• ✓ Your completion certificate from TestRight Academy — keep permanently
• ✓ Your signed proficiency attestation — keep permanently
• ✓ Device calibration records — maintain per the manufacturer's schedule

🔄 Refresher Training — Every 5 Years

✅ How TestRight Academy Qualifies You

📋 Approved Devices

Once qualified, you'll need an approved ASD or EBT device. Only devices on the NHTSA conforming products list are accepted for DOT alcohol testing.