Evidence may be submitted to the Toxicology Discipline in person or by common carrier such as the US Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS. Please use a shipping service that provides timely delivery,
tracking and delivery confirmation. Track the package until delivered and contact the carrier immediately if not notified within the estimated delivery time window. Required signature on delivery is encouraged. We do have several instances where shipments by United States Postal Service (USPS) was held by the shipping service for up to 30-60 days. In these instances, there was a delay in receiving the evidence submission resulting in a negative impact on case completion turnaround time.
If you have further questions or concerns, please contact
Curt Harper.
The Department distributes two types of biological specimen kits (antemortem and postmortem), each containing appropriate tubes,
needles, seals, documentation, instructions and address labels. Each specimen should be individually labeled with the name of the
subject/suspect, collector, times and dates as indicated on the container labels or seals. Each specimen should be individually sealed.
Submission documentation is in a pouch attached to each kit and should be sufficiently completed to allow the laboratory to determine the nature of the case and the most appropriate analyses to conduct. Completed
documentation should be re-inserted into the pouch. Kits should be sealed and initialed then submitted to the laboratory.
By submitting specimens, the investigating agency
acknowledges that the Toxicology Discipline will conduct examinations at its
discretion pursuant to current policies, procedures and capabilities and the
nature of the case as determined from information provided by the submitter.
The investigating agency further acknowledges that specimen volume, condition
and relevance may limit the number or types of examinations which may be
conducted and that whereas the Toxicology Discipline and the Department will
exercise all due diligence to preserve submitted materials, such are biological
in nature and, therefore, perishable.
Antemortem DUI Kit
The antemortem kit is intended for collection of specimens from live subjects and is appropriate for submission of specimens in DUI investigations. The old kits (prior to July 2019) contain two 10-mL
gray-stopper blood collection tubes and one 100-mL plastic urine cup. The kit also contains a needle, alcohol-free cleansing wipes and seals. The tubes contain sodium fluoride preservative and
potassium oxalate anticoagulant. Two completely-filled tubes are recommended for a complete scope of analyses. Urine collection is optional, but highly recommended, especially when
gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB) is suspected or there is a delay of more than several hours in collecting the specimens. The new kits (post-July 2019) contain two 10-mL gray-stopper blood collection
tubes and one Quantisal oral fluid collection device. Please see more information about the oral fluid drug testing program
at https://www.adfs.alabama.gov/services/tox/toxicology-oral-testing-program. If you have old kits, please use these before ordering the newly designed kits.
Antemortem (DUI) kits bear an expiration date which is intended to relate to the vacuum within the blood collection tubes. Use of expired tubes will not invalidate findings determined with these
specimens; however, vacuum within the tubes may be reduced, which may reduce the volume of specimen collected and, accordingly, limit the scope of analyses which may be conducted. It is recommended
that expired tubes be replaced with similar tubes from hospital stock. Kits are so marked. Additionally, it is good practice to visibly verify the presence of additive (white powder) prior to using
blood tubes.
Antemortem (DUI) kit identification and expiration
Antemortem (DUI) kit expiration explanation
Antemortem (DUI) kit contents
Properly sealed blood tube
Low volume specimen
Properly packaged antemortem (DUI) kit
Properly sealed kit
Submission of Postmortem Specimens (e.g. death cases)
Download Postmortem Specimens Kit Instructions (Form DFS-66)
Download Postmortem Toxicological Analysis Request (Form DFS-59b)
A postmortem kit is intended for Coroners for collection of specimens from deceased subjects. This kit contains two 30-mL
screw-cap containers, one for blood and the other for urine. The kit also contains a collection needle and syringe and seals.
Both containers should be completely filled with the respective specimens for a complete scope of analyses.
Postmortem kit identification
Postmortem kit needle and syringe
Postmortem kit containers
Postmortem kit contents
Properly sealed postmortem specimens
Submission of Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault Cases
Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assaults Fact Sheet
The specimens of choice for toxicology in a suspected DFSA case are urine and blood. It is recommended that a urine sample be collected from the victim if less than 120 hours have elapsed since the incident. If possible, one hundred (100) milliliters of urine should be collected in a specimen cup with the preservative sodium fluoride and stored refrigerated. Although most drugs will be undetectable in the blood more than 24 hours after ingestion, blood may prove useful in a DFSA case if collected less than 24 hours after the incident. At least 12 milliliters of blood should be obtained in a grey-top test tube containing the preservative sodium fluoride and the anticoagulant potassium oxalate. The blood should be stored refrigerated.