---
title: Return-to-duty (drug and alcohol program)
description: The SAP evaluation, negative test, and follow-up plan required before a driver with Clearinghouse violations may perform safety-sensitive work.
date: 2026-10-20
lastReviewed: 2026-10-23
canonical: /glossary/return-to-duty
---
**Return-to-duty** in the Clearinghouse context means completing the substance abuse professional process, achieving a negative return-to-duty test, and finishing the follow-up testing plan—or the employer assuming follow-up responsibility as § 382.701(d) describes—before the driver may perform safety-sensitive functions again.