Chain of custody drug testing

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Scrupulous care to document legality

Trustworthy testing for forensic cases

In circumstances where a patient’s drug testing results are presented as an exhibit of evidence in forensic or legal proceedings, maintaining the chain of custody is critical. Chain of custody, or chain of evidence, refers to the documentation process required for physical evidence to be accepted in court. This process protects the rights of the individual contributing the specimen and minimizes specimen tampering by demonstrating who handles the specimen and the location of the specimen at all times.

Test menu

Meconium

Serum

Urine

The chain of custody documentation process provides:

Clear and unique identification of the subject being tested.
Clear and unique labeling of the specimen.
Identification of all persons who handle the specimen — legible signature required.
A historical record of events, with action dates clearly stated.
Security of the specimen using a sealed, tamper-evident process.

Scenarios that may require chain of custody testing include¹:

Crime scene investigations
Civil litigation
Drug of abuse testing
Drug testing of athletes
In clinical trials
In violence and abuse cases
Please note, Mayo Clinic Laboratories does not perform workplace drug testing. Any specimens submitted for workplace drug testing purposes will be canceled immediately.

A Test in Focus

Loralie Langman, Ph.D., explains the difference between chain of custody and clinical toxicology testing. Chain of custody is a process used for toxicology testing when the results might have legal implications for the individual tested. Clinical toxicology testing is used for routine medical care. Mayo Clinic Laboratories offers a full range of clinical and forensic toxicology testing.

Learn more

Secure forensic results

At Mayo Clinic Laboratories, chain of custody drug testing is performed under controlled conditions at our CLIA-certified Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory in Rochester, Minnesota. We offer the chain of custody process documentation for many of our clinical drug tests. Per regulatory requirements, all chain of custody urine samples submitted receive adulterants testing and confirmation of all presumptive positive screening results.

Our laboratory experts adhere to the highest quality standards to ensure chain of custody drug test results are documented correctly, providing clients the confidence to support forensic patient care.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories does not perform workplace drug testing. Any specimens submitted for workplace drug testing purposes will be canceled immediately.

Key testing

To simplify the chain of custody ordering process, Mayo Clinic Laboratories offers a convenient Chain of Custody test kit (T282), which includes the Chain of Custody request form, appropriate specimen containers, seals, and required documentation.

Urine screening panels