Is it Possible to Save a Urine Sample for Drug Testing?

While there are reasons and ways to save urine for a drug test, this article explains why stored urine may not be reliable for drug testing and may lead to invalid or rejected results.

For many reasons, including a job, you may have to take a urine drug test. That means peeing before the test in specific circumstances, and to get accurate results, you must store your urine correctly. It's crucial to know how to retain your pee properly, whether you need to submit it later or need the test performed while you are abroad.

Collecting Your Urine Sample

The first and most important stage in the procedure is collecting the urine as close to the test date as possible. Urine starts to decompose and oxidize once it exits your body. This makes it darker and smellier.

So, you need to handle the sample with extreme caution when collecting it. If your urine gets infected by bacteria, it could affect the sample and result in unclear results. Then you may have to take a second test.  

Where To Store a Urine Sample

How you store the urine sample will ultimately affect the results of the drug test because it’s the key component of the entire procedure. Depending on how much time you have before the test, you'll choose one of several storage options. The more airtight and secure your storage item must be, the farther away the test is.

The use of a container, as opposed to a bag, is the ideal choice for storing a urine sample in the refrigerator because a bag is more likely to leak. The sample quantity you need to keep depends totally on how much the test calls for. But it's advisable to have more than you require in case of mishaps like spills while handling the sample.

Urine is sometimes kept in glass or plastic containers. But if you wish to save a urine sample for a later time, a glass container will be more effective. This is due to the fact that it provides a more airtight seal than the plastic container. 

Also, plastic containers frequently leak chemicals into urine, which could taint your drug test results. Use a storage method that will ensure that any contamination of the sample is kept to a minimum. 

A quick recap: 

1. Use a re-sealable plastic bag and place the container inside it for better protection
2. Label the urine sample with the date
3. When freezing urine samples, you should remember that glass tends to crack at low or high temperatures. This is why you should insulate it for better protection.
   

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How to store your urine sample

Urine samples must be kept close to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). You can store your urine sample in a few different ways:

For a short amount of time

Keeping your sample warm is a good idea if you intend to take it to the lab within an hour of collecting your urine. Keep the following safety measures in mind:

• Keep the bottle insulated with hand warmers.
• Until you get to the lab, make sure the urine stays warm.
• You can take off the warmer before delivering the sample for the test.
• You can use a rubber band to hold the warmer in place if you are concerned that it will fall off while you are traveling.

For an hour or more after taking the sample

Refrigerate the urine as soon as you can if you intend to send it for testing more than an hour after gathering the sample. The best course of action is to immediately place the urine in the refrigerator after collecting it.

If you put the pee in the fridge within 30 minutes, this approach still works. Make sure to use urine that’s been in the fridge within a day.  

For longer than 24 hours

One thing to keep in mind is that no official lab (employment, pre-employment, probation, etc.) will accept frozen urine. Labs are designed to detect this type of urine sample alteration, and it may lead to sample rejection or retesting. 

Freeze your urine sample if you do not plan to take it to the lab within the first 24 hours. Follow these steps:

• Use a glass container that is airtight and insulated before freezing.
• Make sure your pee is clean before freezing it. The concentration rises if there is THC in the urine.
• When properly frozen, the urine should remain usable for up to a year. Although fresh urine is always preferable, you might one day need to use frozen urine.

Make sure to store the sample away from food and maintain it at 3.8 degrees Celsius to avoid contamination.

Submitting the Urine Sample

In order to pass a drug test and allay any suspicions, you’ll want to keep the urine sample at the temperature mentioned above. As a result, you must warm the sample. You can accomplish this by:

• Unfreezing the sample overnight and leaving it outside. Avoid microwaving the urine because it can ruin the sample. Send the urine to the lab as soon as it reaches room temperature. Do not delay sending the sample to the lab for more than one night.
• Reheating the urine sample using a heating pad after it defrosts. Though it’ll take a bit longer, this approach is much safer. When you deliver the urine sample to the lab for analysis, it should be just a little bit warmer than body temperature. 
• Keeping the urine sample close to your body to maintain its temperature for longer. You can place the container between your thighs to keep it warm. In case you are wondering how to keep the sample warm, just place it between your thighs.

Why Stored Urine Often Fails Official Drug Tests

Most, if not all, official drug testing doesn't accept stored urine. What's more, the whole process is designed to detect all sorts of urine sample tampering. This is what labs look for:

• Temperature mismatches - stored urine almost always misses the temperature between 90 and 100°F
• Bacterial growth and impurities - labs check for cloudiness and odor changes 
• Chemical changes - pH, specific gravity shifts, and creatinine levels are the factors that can indicate sample tampering 

When storing urine, it's quite difficult to keep these factors in check, especially in home environments. 

When is it Appropriate to Save Urine Samples?

While storing urine is not appropriate for drug testing purposes, there are legitimate situations where short-term storage is used:

• Hospitals may store urine samples before analysis (refrigerated)
• Research purposes and documented handling procedures 
• Chain-of-custody tracking
• At-home health testing kits (some allow short urine storage, but same-day use is recommended)

Things That Can Happen After Failing a Drug Test

While there may be valid reasons for saving a urine sample, bear in mind what can happen if you fail a drug test:

• Due to the strong policies against drug use that the majority of workplaces have, if you test positive you can be fired.
• You might not be given the job you applied for if you test positive during a pre-employment drug test.
• You’ll get a final warning if the company decides that you are a valuable asset and they wish to help you. You should be aware that they will closely monitor you and fire you if this happens again.

Even though it's better to abstain from drugs if you know your test will come back negative, make sure to let your employer know. You might reassure them that you intend to mend your ways and that this will be your last offense. Gain the employer's trust by offering to submit to a drug test every month. 

Saving Urine For Drug Testing - FAQ

1. How long is urine valid for a drug test?

In most scenarios (especially official drug tests), urine samples are collected just before the test, on the day of the test. Delays often lead to sample degradation/contamination, and that leads to invalid results.

Some exceptions include urine samples for research purposes and medical scenarios where a sample might be kept in a cool environment for a short while. 

2. Can labs detect old or stored urine?

Yes. Laboratories check for multiple factors to confirm sample validity: temperature, cloudiness, odor change, creatinine drops, and more. 

3. Why is temperature important in urine drug testing?

Labs check for fresh urine temperature shortly after sample collection. If the predetermined temperature ranges (90–100°F) don't match, they may flag it as suspicious or reject it entirely.

If a urine sample is rejected, the person may be asked to provide a fresh sample under stricter supervision. 

4. Can storing urine affect drug test results?

In short - yes. When stored improperly, the chemical markers in urine change through degradation and other chemical reactions. This leads to inaccurate or inconclusive drug test results.  

⚠️ Warning ⚠️ 

• Be aware that it’s illegal to give fake urine for a drug test. 
• Always strive to provide a fresh sample.
• Only submit a frozen sample in dire situations. When doing so, let the lab know about it. However, employment drug test labs do not accept frozen urine. 
• If the lab thinks your sample is fake, they will request a new sample from you and monitor you while collecting it.  

*Disclaimer: This article goes over preventive information and in no way is a form of supporting and/or suggesting that anyone should ever fake a urine exam. If you are on probation, faking a urine exam could result in harsher punishment.

For accurate and valid results, drug tests are designed to use fresh, properly collected samples. Attempting to use stored or altered urine can lead to invalid results or further testing.