How to Fill Out and Submit the DOT MIS Data Collection Form

The DOT MIS data collection form, formally Appendix J to 49 CFR Part 40, is how DOT-regulated employers report their annual drug and alcohol testing results. You fill in your covered-employee count, your six categories of tests, and your verified results for each drug class and alcohol tier, then submit through the DAMIS portal at damis.dot.gov by March 15 of the year following the reporting period. Calendar year 2025 data is due March 15, 2026.¹

Do You Have to File This Year

Not every DOT-regulated employer files every year. Each agency sets its own trigger.

FAA: Part 121 certificate holders and any FAA employer with 50 or more safety-sensitive employees file every year. Smaller FAA employers file only when asked.¹
FMCSA: Motor carriers file only on request. FMCSA randomly selects carriers each year and mails a notification letter with an activation code.²
FRA and FTA: Railroad and transit employers file on request from their agency.¹
PHMSA: Pipeline operators with more than 50 covered employees file annually. Smaller operators file only after receiving written notice.³
USCG: All marine employers file annually.⁴

If more than one DOT agency regulates you, submit a separate form to each. Count each employee only on the form for the agency that regulates more than half of that employee’s safety-sensitive work.⁵

Pull Your Records First

The form covers one full calendar year. Reconcile everything from January 1 through December 31 before you open DAMIS. Discrepancies between what you submit and what’s in your internal logs are the kind of thing that draws an audit.

Three sets of records:

Your covered-employee count. This is everyone who performed safety-sensitive duties during the year, not only those actually tested.
Drug testing results verified by your Medical Review Officer, broken out by marijuana, cocaine, PCP, opiates, and amphetamines, along with counts of refusals (adulterated specimens, substituted specimens, “shy bladder” with no medical explanation, and other refusals) and cancelled tests.⁵
Alcohol testing results grouped into results of 0.02 to 0.039 and results of 0.04 or greater. Alcohol refusals get their own line and count the same as a positive.⁶

All results are organized by the six DOT test types: pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion (reasonable cause on some forms), return-to-duty, and follow-up.

Working Through the Four Sections

The form has four sections. You can download a PDF from FMCSA or your agency, but most filers now enter data directly into DAMIS.⁷

Section I: Employer Information

Enter your company’s legal name and any DBA, address, and email. A company official signs to certify the data is accurate; print their name, phone, and the date. If someone else prepared the form, list that preparer’s name and phone as well. If a consortium or third-party administrator runs your program, enter the C/TPA’s name and phone on the lines provided.⁵

Check the box for your DOT agency and supply its identifying information:

FMCSA: your DOT number, plus checkboxes for owner-operator status and any exemption under 49 CFR 382.103(d).
FAA: certificate number and antidrug plan or registration number.
FRA: the number of observed or documented Part 219 Rule G observations for covered employees.
PHMSA: additional boxes for your type of operation.
USCG: your vessel ID number, listed separately for each vessel.⁵

Section II: Covered Employees

Box II-A: total employees who performed safety-sensitive functions during the year. Box II-B: the number of employee categories that total represents. When you’re filing for more than one agency, count only the employees whose duties fall under this form’s agency.⁵

Section III: Drug Testing Data

The largest section. For each of the six test types, fill in a row with total tests, verified negatives, verified positives broken out by the five drug classes, refusals by type, and cancelled results. Exclude cancelled tests and blind specimens from the total tests count. Every number should trace back to your MIS-year lab reports and MRO records; cross-check before entering.

Section IV: Alcohol Testing Data

The same six test types repeat. For each, report total screening tests, results below 0.02, results between 0.02 and 0.039, results at 0.04 or above, refusals, and cancelled tests. When a screening result of 0.02 or higher was followed by a confirmation test, report the confirmation result.

Submitting Through DAMIS

FAA, FMCSA, FRA, and FTA all prefer electronic submission at damis.dot.gov. PHMSA requires it and offers no paper option.¹

First-time users register like this:

Go to damis.dot.gov and click Register.
Enter the activation code from your agency’s notification letter.
The system redirects to Login.gov, where you create an account or sign in.
Confirm your email within 24 hours, set a password of at least 12 characters, and enable multi-factor authentication.
Once Login.gov is linked, DAMIS returns you to your company’s reporting page to enter the data.⁸

Returning users log in through Login.gov. Electronic submission alone is enough; no hard copy is required.¹ Some agencies still accept paper by mail for employers without reliable internet, but that is the exception now.

The deadline is March 15 of the year following the reporting period. The FTA has stated that it does not grant extensions.⁹

If You Use a C/TPA

A consortium or third-party administrator can prepare and submit the form for you; the form has dedicated lines for the C/TPA’s contact information. Legal responsibility for accuracy stays with the employer, though. The official who signs the certification is personally vouching that the numbers are correct no matter who compiled them.¹⁰ Reconcile the C/TPA’s numbers against your own records before signing.

Pipeline Operators Using Contractors

PHMSA handles contractor data differently. Contractor testing results are not rolled into the operator’s report. Each contractor prepares its own separate MIS form covering all of its employees and results, then provides an identical copy to every operator it performed covered functions for during the year. PHMSA selects one copy as the data of record for that contractor.¹¹

What Late or Inaccurate Filing Costs

Civil penalties apply, and the dollar amounts depend on the regulating agency. For motor carriers under FMCSA, a recordkeeping violation, which includes failing to prepare or maintain a required record, can draw up to $1,584 per day the violation continues, capped at $15,846. Knowingly falsifying records carries a maximum of $15,846. Non-recordkeeping violations of Part 382 can reach $19,246 per violation.¹² A missed or inaccurate submission also tends to invite closer scrutiny during compliance reviews.

What to Keep After You Submit

Keep a copy of the submitted form. Retention rules vary by agency, and DOT directs employers to their specific agency for the exact schedule.¹ The FAA requires employers to hold submitted MIS reports for at least five years, along with positive drug results, alcohol results of 0.02 or greater, refusals, and SAP referrals. Negative drug results and alcohol results below 0.02 need to be kept only one year.¹³ Other agencies have comparable schedules; check the ones that apply to your mode.

1
US Department of Transportation. DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing MIS Data Collection
2
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Annual MIS Requirements
3
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. MIS Reporting
4
U.S. Coast Guard. How to File a Management Information System (MIS) Report
5
U.S. Department of Transportation. Drug and Alcohol Testing MIS Data Collection Form Instruction Sheet
6
U.S. Coast Guard. Appendix H to Part 40 – DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Management Information System (MIS) Data Collection Form
7
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Drug and Alcohol Testing MIS Data Collection Form
8
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. New DAMIS System User Login Guide
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Federal Transit Administration. FTA Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates
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eCFR. 49 CFR 40.26 – What Form Must an Employer Use to Report Management Information System (MIS) Data to a DOT Agency
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Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. DOT Drug and Alcohol Management Information System Reporting PHMSA Supplemental Instructions
12
eCFR. Appendix B to Part 386 – Penalty Schedule
13
Federal Aviation Administration. What Drug and Alcohol Testing Records Am I Required to Keep and for How Long