A consortium price is two prices: what you pay to join, and what the tests cost once the pool starts drawing names. Most comparisons quote the first. This one adds them up.
◆ The short answer
- One owner-operator: $172.50 with us in the first year with code CONSORTIUM20, open to every enrollment — the lowest published year, by $5 over American Drug Testing Consortium's $177.50. At our regular membership the same pool is $192.50, and American Drug Testing Consortium is $15 lower. The rest run $200.05 to $258.97.
- Two drivers or more: Trucking Comply has the lowest published price with or without the code — $265 for two ($285 regular) against $295 at American Drug Testing Consortium; $1,005 for ten ($1,025 regular) against $1,109 at DOTConsortium.com.
- Memberships: $49.95 Labworks USA, $60 American Drug Testing Consortium, $89.99 Excel Screen, $99.99 Accredited Drug Testing, $129 Express Labs, $149 DOTConsortium.com, and $100 for ours; Simplex Group publishes none. Four of them are cheaper than ours before a single test.
- Per test: our $57 DOT drug test is the lowest published price of the seven; the others charge $60 to $99.99.
- Randoms: at the 2026 minimum rates (50% drug, 10% alcohol), budget about 0.5 drug and 0.1 alcohol random tests per driver per year.
Prices as published by each provider on Oct 12, 2026. Sources linked below.
We are one of the seven providers compared, so check every figure against the source link beside it. Each price is the provider's own page as it read on Oct 12, 2026; “not published” means the page doesn't say. Our row is the first year with our CONSORTIUM20 code, the regular-membership figure beside it. How the formula works, what each page lists and what a low price may leave out come after the tables.
The cost, compared.
First-year totals, lowest first — one driver, then fleets of two, five, ten and twenty-five. One formula for everyone.
◆ Expected yearly cost
membership + (drivers × pre-employment test) + (drivers × 0.5 × drug test) + (drivers × 0.1 × alcohol test)
0.5 and 0.1 are FMCSA's calendar-year 2026 minimum random rates — 50% drug, 10% alcohol (§ 382.305(b)) — expressed per driver. Worked for us at one driver: $100 + $57 + $28.50 + $7 = $172.50.
One driver — the owner-operator year
| Provider | How it adds up | Expected year | Assumptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trucking Comply | $100 membership − $20 CONSORTIUM20 + $57 pre-employment + $28.50 random drug + $7 random alcohol | $172.50$192.50 at the regular membership | First year with code CONSORTIUM20, which is open to every enrollment and takes $20 off the $100 membership; add it back for the regular-price year. Membership covers unlimited drivers; tests billed only when a driver is tested; MRO fees included. |
| American Drug Testing Consortium | $60 membership + $75 pre-employment + $37.50 random drug + $5 random alcohol · $60 tier | $177.50 | $60 tier up to four drivers, $250 from five; drug $75, alcohol $50 "when you need a test completed". No test prices published at 25 or more. |
| Labworks USA | $67.95 membership + $83 pre-employment + $41 random drug + $8.10 random alcohol · $49.95 + 1 × $18 driver files | $200.05 | $49.95 registration plus an $18 file for every driver; pre-employment $83, random drug $82, random breath alcohol $81, at in-network sites (a third-party site adds $40). |
| Excel Screen | $89.99 membership + $75 pre-employment + $37.50 random drug + $7.50 random alcohol | $209.99 | Every test $75. |
| DOTConsortium.com | $149 membership + $60 pre-employment + $30 random drug + $6 random alcohol | $245 | Every drug or alcohol test $60; MRO review included. |
| Express Labs | $129 membership + $80 pre-employment + $40 random drug + $8 random alcohol | $257 | Every test counted at the listed $80; collection fee included only at in-network sites. |
| Accredited Drug Testing | $99.99 membership + $99.99 pre-employment + $50 random drug + $9 random alcohol · $99.99 basic plan | $258.97 | Whichever of its two plans is cheaper for the pool: $99.99 basic plus every test, or $249.99 all-inclusive with random-test fees included. Drug test $99.99, alcohol $89.99 on both. |
Fleets — two, five, ten and twenty-five drivers
| Provider | 2 drivers | 5 drivers | 10 drivers | 25 drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trucking Comply | $265$100 membership − $20 CONSORTIUM20 + $114 pre-employment + $57 random drug + $14 random alcohol | $542.50$100 membership − $20 CONSORTIUM20 + $285 pre-employment + $142.50 random drug + $35 random alcohol | $1,005$100 membership − $20 CONSORTIUM20 + $570 pre-employment + $285 random drug + $70 random alcohol | $2,392.50$100 membership − $20 CONSORTIUM20 + $1,425 pre-employment + $712.50 random drug + $175 random alcohol |
| DOTConsortium.com | $341$149 membership + $120 pre-employment + $60 random drug + $12 random alcohol | $629$149 membership + $300 pre-employment + $150 random drug + $30 random alcohol | $1,109$149 membership + $600 pre-employment + $300 random drug + $60 random alcohol | $2,549$149 membership + $1,500 pre-employment + $750 random drug + $150 random alcohol |
| Accredited Drug Testing | $417.96$99.99 membership + $199.98 pre-employment + $99.99 random drug + $18 random alcohol · $99.99 basic plan | $749.94$249.99 membership + $499.95 pre-employment + randoms included · $249.99 all-inclusive plan | $1,249.89$249.99 membership + $999.90 pre-employment + randoms included · $249.99 all-inclusive plan | $2,749.74$249.99 membership + $2,499.75 pre-employment + randoms included · $249.99 all-inclusive plan |
| Excel Screen | $329.99$89.99 membership + $150 pre-employment + $75 random drug + $15 random alcohol | $689.99$89.99 membership + $375 pre-employment + $187.50 random drug + $37.50 random alcohol | $1,289.99$89.99 membership + $750 pre-employment + $375 random drug + $75 random alcohol | $3,089.99$89.99 membership + $1,875 pre-employment + $937.50 random drug + $187.50 random alcohol |
| Express Labs | $385$129 membership + $160 pre-employment + $80 random drug + $16 random alcohol | $769$129 membership + $400 pre-employment + $200 random drug + $40 random alcohol | $1,409$129 membership + $800 pre-employment + $400 random drug + $80 random alcohol | $3,329$129 membership + $2,000 pre-employment + $1,000 random drug + $200 random alcohol |
| American Drug Testing Consortium | $295$60 membership + $150 pre-employment + $75 random drug + $10 random alcohol · $60 tier | $837.50$250 membership + $375 pre-employment + $187.50 random drug + $25 random alcohol · $250 tier (5–24) | $1,425$250 membership + $750 pre-employment + $375 random drug + $50 random alcohol · $250 tier (5–24) | Not published |
| Labworks USA | $350.15$85.95 membership + $166 pre-employment + $82 random drug + $16.20 random alcohol · $49.95 + 2 × $18 driver files | $800.45$139.95 membership + $415 pre-employment + $205 random drug + $40.50 random alcohol · $49.95 + 5 × $18 driver files | $1,550.95$229.95 membership + $830 pre-employment + $410 random drug + $81 random alcohol · $49.95 + 10 × $18 driver files | $3,802.45$499.95 membership + $2,075 pre-employment + $1,025 random drug + $202.50 random alcohol · $49.95 + 25 × $18 driver files |
◆ American Drug Testing Consortium charges no membership at 25 or more drivers and quotes test prices privately at that size, so its 25-driver year is not published. Simplex Group publishes no price at any size.
Where a plan already includes the random tests, we don't add them again. This is the first year — in a year with no new hires, drop the pre-employment line from every row, and add $20 back to ours, because the CONSORTIUM20 code is a first-year price.
So for a single driver, our first year with the code is $172.50, $5 under American Drug Testing Consortium's $177.50, the lowest other published year. The code is a first-year price, so weigh it as one: at the regular $100 membership the same pool costs $192.50 with us, and American Drug Testing Consortium is $15 lower — its membership is $40 less than ours and its alcohol test $20 less, while its drug test is $18 more. If you are one truck and expect to stay one truck, that is the honest gap from year two; set it against what each price includes (Section V).
At ten drivers our expected first year is $1,005 with the code, or $1,025 at the regular membership — about $100.50 a driver — against $1,109 at DOTConsortium.com, the next-lowest. The gap is the per-test price: ten drivers mean about 16 clinic visits in the first year, and ours cost $57 where the others cost $60 to $99.99. The cheaper-looking memberships lose the same way: by ten drivers Labworks USA's $18 files and $82–$83 tests put it at $1,550.95, and American Drug Testing Consortium's $250 tier and $75 tests put it at $1,425.
◆ If you prepay several years
DOTConsortium.com's $299 for 3 years works out to $99.67 a year; run the formula with that and one driver costs $195.67 and ten cost $1,059.67. Express Labs's $199 for 2 years works out to $99.50 a year; run the formula with that and one driver costs $227.50 and ten cost $1,379.50. Accredited Drug Testing's $419.99 for 3 years (basic plan) works out to $140 a year; run the formula with that and one driver costs $298.98 and ten cost $1,729.84. Ours are $172.50 and $1,005 in the first year with the code, and $192.50 and $1,025 after, with no prepayment. The gap narrows to the per-test prices — but you pay two or three years up front.
Which is cheapest for you.
It turns on one number: how many drivers you put in the pool.
1 driver
Trucking Comply with CONSORTIUM20 — by $5; American Drug Testing Consortium from year two
$172.50 in the first year with the code against $177.50 at American Drug Testing Consortium. At the regular $100 membership ours is $192.50 and American Drug Testing Consortium is $15 lower. Everyone else is $200.05 to $258.97.
2–9 drivers
Trucking Comply
Lowest published price from two drivers up, with or without the code — $265 for two ($285 at the regular membership) against $295 at American Drug Testing Consortium, and $542.50 for five ($562.50) against $629 at DOTConsortium.com. One flat membership, so each added driver adds only tests.
10+ drivers
Trucking Comply
$1,005 for ten and $2,392.50 for twenty-five with the code ($1,025 and $2,412.50 at the regular membership), against $1,109 and $2,549 at DOTConsortium.com. Two unknowns at this size: American Drug Testing Consortium quotes 25+ privately, and Simplex Group quotes everything — ask both for the three numbers and run the formula.
The reason the order flips at two drivers is structural. A per-driver file or a headcount tier charges again for every name; a flat unlimited-driver membership charges once. And among the flat memberships, ours has the lowest published per-test prices ($57 drug, $70 alcohol), so it stays lowest at every fleet size we ran — including against the multi-year prepay rates above.
What each provider publishes.
Seven consortiums, in their own words, as published on Oct 12, 2026.
Each row below is what the provider's own page said on Oct 12, 2026. Where a page doesn't state a figure, the table says so rather than guessing. Trade associations such as OOIDA also run consortiums for their members; we found no current published price to compare, so they are not in the table.
| Provider | Pricing model | Membership | Per-test prices | What the page lists | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trucking Comply | Flat fee, unlimited drivers | $100 / year, unlimited drivers · $80 first year with code CONSORTIUM20 | Drug $57 · Alcohol $70, any DOT reason, billed when a driver is tested | Unlimited drivers, MRO fees, written D&A policy and certificate, annual MIS report, online roster and test ordering, the Essential platform plan.Also on the page: Code CONSORTIUM20 is open to every enrollment and takes $20 off the first year. Clearinghouse queries are not included. | truckingcomply.com |
| DOTConsortium.com | Flat fee, unlimited drivers | $149 / year · $299 for 3 years | Drug $60 (pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion) · Alcohol $60 | Unlimited drivers, random pool management, C/TPA administration, 24,000+ collection sites, drug & alcohol policy, Clearinghouse compliance, supervisor training, compliance handbook, enrollment certificate; MRO review included with drug tests.Also on the page: Observed test add-on $40 · return-to-duty and follow-up tests (observed) $100 · Clearinghouse query $5 · SAP follow-up administration $100 / driver / year. | dotconsortium.com |
| Excel Screen | Flat fee, unlimited drivers | $89.99 / year, unlimited drivers | DOT drug test $75 · DOT alcohol test $75 · non-DOT drug test $75 | Unlimited drivers with no per-driver fees, online account, online test scheduling, randoms management, enrollment certificate, annual MIS report.Also on the page: None listed on the page. | xcelscreen.com |
| American Drug Testing Consortium | Tiered by headcount | $60 / year owner-operator & small business · $250 / year for 5–24 · $0 for 25+ | Drug $75 · Alcohol $50, "when you need a test completed" | Membership tiers and per-test prices only; no inclusion list on the page.Also on the page: Fleets of 25 or more pay no membership and get "competitive pricing for drug/alcohol testing" on a custom quote, so their year cannot be computed. | drugtestingconsortium.com |
| Express Labs | Flat fee, unlimited drivers | $129 for 1 year · $199 for 2 years, unlimited drivers | "Drug & Alcohol Testing – $80"; DOT and non-DOT drug tests $80 | Unlimited drivers, quarterly random selections, enrollment certificate, online account, test tracking, 20,000+ collection sites, drug & alcohol policy, audit support, online supervisor training, Quest Diagnostics laboratory.Also on the page: Collection fees included only at in-network sites · observed return-to-duty and follow-up tests $125 · supervisor training course $100. | expresslabs.com |
| Labworks USA | Registration plus a fee per driver | $49.95 / year company registration + $18 per driver file | Pre-employment drug test $83 · random drug test $82 · post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty and follow-up $107 · breath alcohol $85 non-random, $81 random, $84 return-to-duty | Random consortium membership and MRO review are listed as services; the rates page prices everything else separately.Also on the page: $40 more for a third-party collection site · Clearinghouse queries $21 / driver / year · DOT company policy $78 · alternate random selection $35 · split-specimen test $400. | labworksusa.com |
| Accredited Drug Testing | Flat fee, two plans | $99.99 / year basic (random testing fees not included) · $249.99 / year all-inclusive (random testing fees included) · 2 years $329.99 · 3 years $419.99 | 5-panel DOT drug test $99.99 ("online discount applied") · DOT breath alcohol test $89.99 · both together $169.99 · return-to-duty $119.99 | Consortium enrollment, random pool administration, enrollment certificate and MIS reporting support; test fees include laboratory analysis and MRO review; no account needed to order a single test online.Also on the page: Observed test $20 · Clearinghouse annual queries $9.99 · DOT employer drug & alcohol policy $399.99. | accrediteddrugtesting.com |
| Simplex Group | Quote only | Not published | Not published | Consortium enrollment, random pools, testing logistics and Clearinghouse coordination are described; no price appears anywhere on the site.Also on the page: Call for a quote. | simplexgroup.net |
◆ Express Labs: The fee line reads "Drug & Alcohol Testing – $80" and the instructions page prices drug tests at $80; this comparison treats an alcohol test as $80 too.
◆ Two figures cannot be compared from the page: American Drug Testing Consortium's test prices for fleets of 25 or more (quoted privately), and anything at Simplex Group.
How consortium pricing works.
Four ways to charge for the same pool — and the random tests decide which one is cheap.
Every consortium does the same core job: it puts your drivers in a shared random pool, draws names at the federal rate, and routes results through a Medical Review Officer. What differs is how the bill is built. Among these seven there are four shapes:
Trucking Comply · DOTConsortium.com · Express Labs · Excel Screen
One membership price for the whole roster. Tests are billed per test, when a driver is actually sent. Adding a driver adds tests, not membership.
Labworks USA · American Drug Testing Consortium
Labworks adds an $18 file for every driver to a $49.95 registration. American Drug Testing Consortium steps the membership by headcount — $60, then $250 from five drivers, then nothing at 25, where it stops publishing test prices.
Accredited Drug Testing
A $249.99 plan with random testing fees included, sold beside a $99.99 plan without them. The pre-employment test is extra on both, and the per-test price is the highest of the seven.
Simplex Group
Describes the program — enrollment, random pools, testing logistics, Clearinghouse coordination — and publishes no price. Call, get the three numbers, and run the formula in Section I.
The random tests are why the per-test price matters. FMCSA's minimum rates for calendar year 2026 are 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol (§ 382.305(b)). The rate applies to the pool, not the person, so across a year each driver you enroll adds, on average, half a random drug test and a tenth of a random alcohol test to the bill. On a flat-fee plan those tests are the part that grows with your roster; the membership doesn't.
The other cost every new driver carries is the pre-employment drug test. § 382.301 requires a verified negative result before a driver's first safety-sensitive duty, and membership does not replace it. Every provider here prices it per driver. Pre-employment alcohol testing is optional under § 382.301(d), so we leave it out of the math for everyone.
◆ Watch the test price, not just the membership
Some consortiums keep the membership low and make it back on every test. Published DOT drug-test prices run from $57 (ours) and $60 (DOTConsortium.com) to $75 (Excel Screen, American Drug Testing Consortium), $80 (Express Labs), $83 (Labworks USA for a pre-employment test; $107 for a post-accident one) and $99.99 (Accredited Drug Testing). A ten-driver fleet sends about 16 drivers to a clinic a year (10 pre-employment, 5 random drug, 1 random alcohol), so every extra $10 per test adds $160 a year — more than the gap between most memberships. Before you join, get the per-test price for drug, alcohol, post-accident and return-to-duty tests in writing.
What the lowest price may not include.
Six questions to ask any provider — ours included — before price decides it.
A lower number is only cheaper if it buys the same things. These are the items that separate a membership from a certificate. We only state what each provider's published page lists; if a page doesn't mention something, that doesn't mean the provider doesn't offer it — ask.
01 · Ask
Who prepares the MIS report?
If FMCSA asks for your annual summary in January, it is due March 15 (§ 382.403). Our membership lists the annual MIS report; Excel Screen lists an annual MIS report and Accredited Drug Testing lists MIS reporting support. Ask any provider whether its price covers preparing and filing it.
02 · Ask
Will you report to the Clearinghouse as my C/TPA?
A self-employed driver must designate a C/TPA for Clearinghouse reporting (§ 382.705(b)(6)). Trucking Comply is a registered C/TPA. DOTConsortium.com lists C/TPA administration and Clearinghouse compliance, Labworks USA says owner-operators must have a C/TPA like it, and Express Labs tells members to designate "Express Labs Consortium" in the Clearinghouse. Confirm the provider registers the designation, not just tells you to.
03 · Ask
Is a written policy in the price?
Every driver needs the written policy and you keep a signed receipt (§ 382.601). Our membership, DOTConsortium.com and Express Labs list a drug and alcohol policy as included; Labworks USA sells a DOT company policy for $78 and Accredited Drug Testing for $399.99.
04 · Ask
Are MRO fees included?
Every result goes through a Medical Review Officer. Our membership lists MRO fees as included; DOTConsortium.com says MRO review is included with drug tests, and Accredited Drug Testing says test fees include laboratory analysis and MRO review. The other pages do not say either way.
05 · Ask
Are Clearinghouse queries included?
You owe a pre-employment full query and an annual query per driver (§ 382.701). Our membership does not include them. DOTConsortium.com prices a query at $5, Labworks USA manages queries for $21 per driver per year, and Accredited Drug Testing lists annual queries at $9.99.
06 · Ask
Is the collection fee in the test price?
The clinic that collects the specimen charges a fee. Ours is in the test price at every site in our network. Express Labs includes it only at in-network sites, Labworks USA adds $40 for a third-party site, and Accredited Drug Testing prices its tests for its own testing centers. Ask what a test costs at the site your driver will actually use.
Our $100 membership also includes the Essential plan on our compliance platform — roster, drug & alcohol dashboard, document vault. If you aren't sure whether you need a consortium at all, start with that question; for the whole program around it, see what Part 382 requires of a small fleet.
What carriers ask about price.
How much does a DOT consortium cost in 2026?
As published on Oct 12, 2026, membership in a DOT drug and alcohol consortium runs from $49.95 a year (Labworks USA, plus $18 per driver) to $149 (DOTConsortium.com), with ours at $100 for unlimited drivers, or $80 in the first year with code CONSORTIUM20; one provider, Simplex Group, publishes no price. Tests are billed on top: DOT drug tests from $57 (ours) to $99.99. Counting one pre-employment test per driver and the random tests the federal 50% / 10% rates imply, the first year for one owner-operator runs from $172.50 (Trucking Comply with the code; $192.50 at the regular membership) and $177.50 (American Drug Testing Consortium) to $258.97 (Accredited Drug Testing); for ten drivers it runs from $1,005 (Trucking Comply; $1,025 at the regular membership) to $1,550.95 (Labworks USA).
What is the cheapest DOT consortium for an owner-operator?
For a single driver, the lowest expected first year among published prices on Oct 12, 2026 was Trucking Comply at $172.50 with code CONSORTIUM20, which is open to every enrollment: an $80 first-year membership, a $57 pre-employment test and the random tests the federal rates imply. The lowest other published year was American Drug Testing Consortium at $177.50: a $60 membership, a $75 drug test and a $50 alcohol test. The code is a first-year price: at our regular $100 membership the same pool is $192.50, and American Drug Testing Consortium is $15 lower. From two drivers up ours is lowest at either membership price, because our drug test is $57 against $75 and our membership covers every driver.
What is the cheapest DOT consortium for a small fleet?
Among the providers that publish every price needed to work out a fleet's year, Trucking Comply was the lowest from two drivers up on Oct 12, 2026, with or without its first-year code: $265 for two drivers with code CONSORTIUM20 and $285 at the regular membership (next-lowest $295 at American Drug Testing Consortium), $542.50 or $562.50 for five ($629 at DOTConsortium.com) and $1,005 or $1,025 for ten ($1,109 at DOTConsortium.com) in the first year. Trucking Comply charges one flat $100 a year for unlimited drivers plus $57 per drug test and $70 per alcohol test. American Drug Testing Consortium waives its membership at 25 or more drivers but quotes test prices privately, so that size cannot be compared from its page.
Are random tests included in consortium fees?
Usually not. Six of the seven providers compared bill each random test when a driver is selected: $57 drug / $70 alcohol with us, $60 at DOTConsortium.com, $75 at Excel Screen, $75 drug / $50 alcohol at American Drug Testing Consortium, $80 at Express Labs, and $82 random drug / $81 random breath alcohol at Labworks USA. The exception is Accredited Drug Testing, whose $249.99 all-inclusive plan includes random testing fees (its $99.99 basic plan does not). Because the federal minimum rates are 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol, a pool can expect about half a random drug test and a tenth of a random alcohol test per driver each year.
Do I have to join a consortium if I only have one truck?
Yes, if the truck requires a CDL and you run under your own authority as the only driver. 49 CFR 382.103(b) says an employer who employs only himself or herself as a driver must run a random testing program with two or more covered employees in the selection pool, and 382.305 lets that pool be a larger one run by a service agent such as a C/TPA. One person cannot be a pool, so a one-truck carrier joins a consortium.
How often will my driver be randomly tested?
FMCSA’s minimum random testing rates for calendar year 2026 are 50 percent for drugs and 10 percent for alcohol, under 49 CFR 382.305. The rates apply to the pool, not to each person, so on average a driver can expect about 0.5 random drug tests and 0.1 random alcohol tests a year. Any one driver might be selected more than once, once, or not at all in a given year.
One truck, and the cheapest page wins? With our first-year code it's ours, by $5; at the regular membership it isn't, by $15. Two drivers or more — run the formula. That's where a flat fee earns its keep, code or no code.
$100 a year. However many you run.
Enroll your whole roster in our consortium for $100 a year — unlimited drivers, MRO fees included, written policy and certificate, annual MIS report, and the Essential platform plan. Drug tests are $57 and alcohol tests $70, billed only when a driver is tested. $80 for the first year with code CONSORTIUM20.
Disclaimer
For informational purposes only — not legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Always verify requirements with FMCSA, your state agency, and qualified compliance professionals. Regulations and fees change; verify current requirements on official .gov sources before filing.