Order a Drug Test in New Hampshire

Pre-Employment Drug Testing in New Hampshire

New Hampshire employers generally may require pre-employment drug testing when the requirement is disclosed and applied consistently. Use the same selection rules for candidates seeking the same type of position, separate DOT from non-DOT testing, and coordinate positive-result decisions with disability and therapeutic-cannabis obligations.

• Disclose the testing requirement before the applicant tests.
• Use consistent criteria for applicants seeking the same type of position.
• Choose a THC-inclusive or no-THC panel that matches the written policy.
• Use documented collection, chain-of-custody, confirmation, and review procedures.
• Address the employer’s policy for positive, negative, and refusal outcomes.
• Review medical-cannabis, disability, federal, and contractual requirements.

Employer Testing Programs

New Hampshire does not impose one comprehensive private-sector testing code for every substance and testing reason. A clear policy should define covered workers, substances, specimen types, testing reasons, selection methods, refusal rules, confirmation and Medical Review Officer procedures, consequences, confidentiality, and medication or therapeutic-cannabis review. Public employers and federally regulated programs can face additional limits.

• Apply random and event-based testing rules consistently.
• Use documented collection, chain-of-custody, confirmation, and review procedures.
• Evaluate disability and therapeutic-cannabis accommodation requests individually.
• Limit result access to people with a legitimate business need.
• Keep DOT and non-DOT policies, forms, and orders separate.

Select the panel and enter the donor information first. After the case is created, checkout searches available collection sites using the New Hampshire city, ZIP code, or area entered for the donor.

Start a New Hampshire drug-test order →

Private-Employer Testing Is Generally Permitted

New Hampshire does not prescribe one universal private-employer procedure for pre-employment, random, reasonable-suspicion, or post-accident testing. The New Hampshire Human Rights Commission states that employers may conduct initial and random drug testing when they do so for all candidates and employees.

A written policy should identify covered positions, substances, testing reasons, selection methods, notice, specimen collection, laboratory confirmation, medical review, confidentiality, refusals, retesting, and consequences.

Official state source: New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights — Drugs, Alcohol & Addiction

Consistency and Disability Review Matter

Testing rules should be applied consistently to similarly situated applicants and employees. The Human Rights Commission explains that people currently using illegal drugs are not protected because of that use, while alcoholism, addiction history, recovery, and prescribed-medication issues can implicate disability protections.

Use an appropriate confidential review process before acting on a laboratory result that may involve lawful medication or a disability-related accommodation request.

Official state source: New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights — Drugs, Alcohol & Addiction

Confirmation and Medical Review

New Hampshire does not impose a single confirmation or Medical Review Officer procedure on every private non-DOT program. Employers should nevertheless use a laboratory process with documented chain of custody, confirmation of non-negative screens, and qualified medical review before employment action.

The policy should explain how donors can provide legitimate medication information, how results are reported, and whether split-specimen or retest options are available.

Federal DOT programs use mandatory procedures under 49 CFR Part 40; non-DOT employers should document the procedures they choose.

Licensed Health-Care Facilities Have a Special Rule

RSA 151:41 requires covered licensed health-care facilities and providers, except laboratories and collection stations, to adopt controlled-substance misuse and diversion policies for employees, contractors, and agents who provide direct or hands-on care.

The required policy must include education, voluntary self-referral, co-worker reporting, confidentiality, employee assistance, consequences, and drug-testing procedures that include testing when reasonable suspicion exists.

Official state source: New Hampshire RSA 151:41

Public-Sector Programs Need Separate Analysis

Government employers may face constitutional search limits, civil-service rules, agency policies, and collective-bargaining obligations that do not apply in the same way to private employers. Testing should be tied to the position, testing reason, and governing authority.

State procurement records also show separate programs for employees covered by federal DOT testing rules. A generic private non-DOT policy should not be copied into a public or DOT-regulated workplace without review.

Official state source: New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services — Employee Policies and Procedures

Workers’ Compensation and Intoxication

RSA 281-A:14 states that an employer is not liable for an injury caused in whole or in part by a worker’s intoxication, unless the employer knew the employee was intoxicated. RSA 281-A:2 defines intoxication to include alcohol or a controlled drug, but excludes a prescribed controlled drug used according to its instructions.

Post-accident testing should be tied to policy and handled promptly, but a positive laboratory result should not automatically be described as proof that intoxication caused the injury.

Official state sources: New Hampshire RSA 281-A:14 and RSA 281-A:2, XII-a

Therapeutic-Cannabis Protections

RSA 126-X:2 protects qualifying patients from state or municipal arrest, prosecution, penalty, or denial of a right or privilege for therapeutic cannabis use that complies with the chapter. A valid registry identification card creates a presumption that qualifying possession is lawful under the program.

These protections do not make every marijuana-positive employment decision unlawful; workplace limits and disability-accommodation rules must be reviewed separately.

Official state source: New Hampshire RSA 126-X:2

Workplace Use, Possession, and Influence May Be Prohibited

RSA 126-X:3 does not require accommodation of therapeutic cannabis use on an employer’s property. Possession in a workplace requires written employer permission, and the chapter does not limit discipline for ingesting cannabis in the workplace or working while under the influence.

The statute also does not protect being under the influence while operating a vehicle, commercial vehicle, heavy machinery, or dangerous instrumentality.

Official state source: New Hampshire RSA 126-X:3

Accommodation Requests Require Individual Review

In Paine v. Ride-Away, Inc., the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that therapeutic cannabis authorized under RSA chapter 126-X cannot be treated as categorically unreasonable as an accommodation for an employee’s disability under RSA chapter 354-A.

The decision did not require every request to be granted. It requires the reasonableness analysis to be based on the specific facts, including the employee’s disability, job duties, requested off-duty use, safety, federal obligations, and potential hardship.

Official court source: Paine v. Ride-Away, Inc., No. 2020-0470 (N.H. Jan. 14, 2022)

THC Results and DOT Testing

A urine THC result may reflect prior use and does not by itself establish current impairment. For ordinary non-DOT decisions, apply the written policy, laboratory confirmation, medical review, job duties, safety considerations, and any accommodation process.

Federal DOT marijuana testing remains mandatory for covered safety-sensitive work regardless of New Hampshire’s therapeutic-cannabis law. A no-THC non-DOT panel cannot be used for a DOT test.

Federal source: U.S. Department of Transportation — 49 CFR Part 40

DOT Rules Are Separate from Non-DOT Testing

A personal or employer non-DOT drug test should not be substituted for a test that is required under DOT regulations. DOT programs have specific requirements for test reasons, forms, collection procedures, laboratories, Medical Review Officers, refusals, records, and return-to-duty processes.

Federal source: U.S. Department of Transportation — 49 CFR Part 40

Examples of DOT-Regulated Industries

• Commercial motor carriers regulated by FMCSA.
• Aviation employers regulated by FAA.
• Railroad employers regulated by FRA.
• Public transit employers regulated by FTA.
• Pipeline operators regulated by PHMSA.
• Other covered transportation operations under federal rules.