An Evidential Breath Tester (EBT) is a device that measures alcohol concentration in a breath sample, which correlates to the level of of alcohol in a person’s blood. The term EBT is used by the Dept. of Transportation workplace testing regulations. EBTs that are submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) and which meet their specifications for precision and accuracy are placed on the NHTSA Conforming Products List (CPL) of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices. For this reason, test results produced by an Evidential Breath Tester are legally admissible in a court of law and are able to withstand scrutiny in court or regulatory proceedings.
Not every EBT on the CPL of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices may be used for DOT alcohol testing. Devices on the CPL marked with an asterisk are not permitted for DOT alcohol testing. These devices are appropriate only for use by law enforcement agencies.
NHTSA updates the CPL of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices as new instruments are submitted for evaluation. Currently there are over a dozen EBTs that meet DOT requirements.
DOT regulations do not allow the use of blood or urine alcohol testing. Only evidential breath alcohol testing devices may be used to perform a DOT confirmation test.