Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a DOT drug or alcohol violation, you cannot return to safety-sensitive work until you complete the return-to-duty process. A Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) evaluates you, recommends any education or treatment you need, re-evaluates you once you have completed it, and sets your follow-up testing plan.

Our phones are answered 7 days a week, 8 AM to 6 PM Central. Every driver is guaranteed an appointment within 5 days. Same-day appointments are often available Monday to Friday; call and ask about our same-day SAP services and today's openings.

Yes. Since DOT's 2023 rule change, SAP evaluations may be conducted remotely by live video. Most of our evaluations are done over Microsoft Teams, so there is no office to travel to. If you prefer to meet in person, in-person evaluations are available by appointment in Dallas.

Yes. Our evaluations are virtual, and our qualifying SAP credential is a national certification rather than a Texas license, so we can work with drivers anywhere in the U.S.

Only $250 to get started: $250 by Zelle ($258 by card) for your initial evaluation, then $350 ($361 by card) for your follow-up evaluation, each paid before that appointment, with an appointment guaranteed within 5 days. Clearinghouse reporting is included. Need to be seen today? Call and ask about our same-day SAP services.

It matters a great deal. Your evaluation, SAP reports and Clearinghouse entries are reviewed by your employer and, during audits, by DOT. If the SAP is not qualified, the evaluation was not done properly or the paperwork is wrong, you can be delayed or have to start over and pay again, and DOT rules do not let you get a second evaluation because you want a different recommendation. DFW SAP has nearly 20 years of DOT SAP experience and has never failed an audit over process, procedure or compliance.

No. It's only $250 to get started ($258 by card). You pay the remaining $350 ($361 by card) before your follow-up evaluation.

Send your payment by Zelle to [email protected] and put your full name in the memo. Double-check the address before you send; if anything looks off, call us first.

No. The evaluation fee covers your SAP evaluations. If you are recommended education or treatment, you complete it with a separate provider, who charges for it separately. We will explain your options before you commit to anything.

Licensed, credentialed clinicians with more than 20 years of experience in substance abuse services, including Licensed Professional Counselors, Certified Employee Assistance Professionals and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors, trained by leading experts in the field.

Usually less than 2 hours.

It depends mostly on what your SAP recommends. The evaluation itself usually takes less than 2 hours, and on weekdays you can often be seen the same day. After that, the timeline is set by the education or treatment you are asked to complete, then your follow-up evaluation and your employer's return-to-duty test. Starting promptly is the one part you control. Be wary of any program that tells you how long it will take before you have been evaluated: nobody can know that until a SAP has assessed you.

The same day as your evaluation, guaranteed. Your recommendation is specific to you, not a one-size-fits-all package, and in most of our cases it is education rather than a drug or alcohol treatment program.

Your violation date; the name, address and phone number of the company you were driving for when the violation happened; and your supervisor's name and phone number.

On a phone or tablet, yes: download the free Microsoft Teams app before your appointment. Teams meetings cannot be joined from a phone's web browser, so waiting until appointment time can make you late. On a computer, you can use the Teams app or join in Chrome or Edge. Either way, test your camera and microphone ahead of time. You do not need a Microsoft account; tap the meeting link we send you and choose Join as guest. One-tap download buttons are on our five-steps page.

Yes. You register yourself, then designate us as your SAP. Speak to us before you designate: once a SAP accepts your request, you cannot switch to a different one.

You complete any education or treatment that was recommended, then we re-evaluate you. If you have complied, your employer sends you for a return-to-duty test. After a negative result you begin a follow-up testing plan: at least six tests in your first 12 months back, and it can run for up to five years.

No SAP can honestly promise that, because a SAP's evaluation has to be impartial. What we can promise is a fair, individual evaluation, a clear plan, and straight answers about exactly what is required of you.

DOT rules require the SAP to send its reports to your employer's Designated Employer Representative (DER). We do not share your evaluation beyond what those rules require.

Since November 18, 2024, a prohibited Clearinghouse status leads your state to downgrade your CDL or CLP. Completing the return-to-duty process is how you clear the prohibited status, so the sooner you start, the sooner it is behind you.

Yes. We provide substance abuse evaluations of any kind, starting at $250: court-ordered, probation, employer, licensing board and personal. The organization asking for the evaluation may have its own requirements, so tell us who it is for and we will confirm we can meet them before you pay. Details at dfwsap.com/substance-abuse-evaluation.

Our phones are answered seven days a week, including weekends, from 8 AM to 6 PM Central Time. Same-day appointments are available Monday to Friday.

Remove the driver from all safety-sensitive duties right away. Give the driver a list of DOT-qualified SAPs; you must do this even if you are letting the driver go (49 CFR 40.287). If you are an FMCSA-regulated employer, report the violation in the Clearinghouse as required. The driver cannot return to safety-sensitive work until the SAP process is complete and a return-to-duty test is negative.

No. DOT rules do not require you to provide or pay for SAP services or treatment, or to hold the job open (49 CFR 40.289). That is up to your company policy and any labor agreement. If you do offer the driver a chance to return, the driver must complete the SAP process first.

Yes. You can include DFW SAP on the list of qualified SAPs you give drivers. We evaluate drivers by live video anywhere in the U.S. or in person in Dallas, and our phones are answered 7 days a week.

The SAP sends reports directly to your Designated Employer Representative (DER): an initial report with the education and/or treatment recommendation, and a follow-up report stating whether the driver complied. If the driver complied, the follow-up report includes the follow-up testing plan.

You do. The SAP's follow-up report is not a fitness-for-duty decision. Once the SAP reports successful compliance, the driver must have a negative, directly observed return-to-duty test, and then the decision is yours (49 CFR 40.305).

The SAP sets the plan: at least six unannounced, directly observed tests in the first 12 months back, and it can last up to 60 months. The plan goes to the DER only, never to the driver. Keep the driver in your random pool as well; random tests do not count toward follow-up tests. The plan follows the driver if they move to another DOT employer.

Yes, for FMCSA-regulated employers. Supervisors who make reasonable suspicion decisions need at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and 60 minutes on controlled substances (49 CFR 382.603). We offer this training live by video or on-site in Dallas-Fort Worth, with certificates for your files. See dfwsap.com/employer-info.

A written drug and alcohol policy, a DER, a consortium or third-party administrator for random testing, pre-employment testing, Clearinghouse registration and queries, supervisor training and a records system. Our DOT Compliance 101 training walks you through all of it before your New Entrant safety audit. See dfwsap.com/employer-info.

Yes. If you are not sure how the process works or where to start, call 214-901-7079 for a free 10-minute consultation. We work with DOT-regulated and non-regulated employers of every size, and we send your Designated Employer Representative the reports the rules require at each stage.