Drug cutoff levels are the minimum concentrations of drugs or metabolites that must be present in specimens, before labs will report the drug testing results as positive. How much of a drug labs can detect depends on drug detection times, frequency of use, type of specimen, drug testing method, metabolism, and other factors.

Labs that follow the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), first conduct one or more initial screens followed by confirmatory tests. The approved methods for urine analysis are one or more types of immunoassay screens, confirmed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. If you test below the drug cutoff levels on the initial screens, the lab cannot report it as positive or continue with the confirmatory tests. If you test above them on the initial screens, but below them on the confirmatory test, the lab still cannot report it as positive.

The tables below are compiled from public-domain information in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. They are for urine analysis of the commonly-abused types of drugs known as the "SAMHSA Five."

ote: As of September 3, 2001, SAMHSA last revised these cutoff levels in 1998 and considers them sound. Other government entities might have their own specifications that differ from those above.