Breath Alcohol

NEW BREATH ALCOHOL REGULATIONS (Effective December 30, 2012)
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has new rules that were published in the Code of State Regulations November 30, 2012. The new rules can be found here.  Any breath alcohol test, operational checklist, maintenance report, permit application, blood or urine sample collected, etc., completed on or after December 30 shall not be considered valid if such tests were not completed in compliance with the rules published in the Code of State Regulations November 30, 2012.

A short document highlighting the major updates to the rules is now available, as well as a short presentation highlighting the major updates to the rules that can be downloaded and viewed by all permit holders. However, these are just summaries of the changes, and all agencies need to review the updated rules in their entirety.

• Related Links
• Laws & Regulations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Applications & Forms
• Maintenance Reports

The State Public Health Laboratory is responsible for providing scientific and technical oversight to our state’s operators, supervisors, training and technical instructors for the approximate 473 breath alcohol (BA) analyzers. These instruments are used to analyze the breath sample from an individual suspected of alcohol consumption.

The regulations cover the following:

• Determination of alcohol or drugs from a sample of blood, breath, urine or saliva.
• Approve satisfactory techniques.
• Evaluate and approve breath analyzer instruments used in our state.
• Approve equipment or methods to be considered valid.
• Establish standards to ascertain the qualifications and competence of individuals to conduct analyses.
• Issue permits to conduct analyses, which shall be subject to termination or revocation.
• Provide scientific and technical testimony and consultation for DWI cases.