Collector Errors & Affidavits

Designated Employer Representatives (DERs) who review drug and alcohol paperwork will occasionally notice errors on Custody and Control Forms (CCFs) and Alcohol Testing Forms (ATFs). Some need to be corrected by affidavit from the collector or technician who committed the error, or the test must be cancelled, per §40.203 and §40.269. 

The following errors require correction by affidavit. 

1. The collector’s signature is omitted on Step 4 of the CCF. 

2. The technician does not sign the ATF. 

3. The employee’s signature is omitted on Step 5 of the CCF, unless the reason for the missing signature is noted on the remarks line of the CCF. 

4. The employee’s signature is omitted from Step 4 of the ATF for an alcohol test with a confirmed result of 0.02 or greater, and the technician did not make a remark to explain why the signature is missing. 

5. A Non-Federal or expired form is used. 

For the first four items above, the person responsible for omitting the required information must correct the error by supplying the missing information in writing, along with a statement affirming it is true and accurate. In cases where the collector’s or technician’s signature is omitted, and the individual is unavailable, a supervisor may supply the affidavit. 

If the problem is the use of a non-Federal or expired form, the collector (or a supervisor, if the collector is unavailable) must submit a signed statement affirming the incorrect form contains all information needed for a valid DOT test. It must state the incorrect form was used inadvertently, or it was used as the only means of conducting a test. The statement must also list the steps taken to prevent future use of incorrect forms. For a drug test to be successfully corrected, the specimen must have been tested at an HHScertified laboratory following Part 40’s procedures. 

Affidavits must be maintained along with the testing forms. The faces of the forms must be marked to ensure it is obvious correction has occurred, such as by stamping and initialing a form to note the correction. In all instances, collection sites must issue corrections on the same business day they become aware of the problem.