Medical staff will often measure the temperature of urine samples that are submitted to them. The appearance of a sample specimen is not nearly enough to verify that the sample submitted is authentic and unadulterated. Though the sample may look authentic, donor’s potentially could have used another persons urine that they snuck into the testing facility. The appearance of the sample may also not indicate whether the donor put soap, water, or other substances into the specimen to create an invalid result. Therefore, the medical staff makes use of an adulterant test using temperature to determine if the samples have been tampered with.

Even when using adulterant tests to determine authenticity, no one can be certain if the sample was merely a “good-quality” fake urine or was obtained from another person. Measuring the temperature is an effective way to verify that the sample came from the person being tested.

When obtained fresh, human urine is typically at 94-96°F. However, the temperature may change as soon as it is exposed to either warm or cool environment. For drug screening, a urine temperature that is within the range of 90-100°F is usually acceptable. Ensuring that the sample is in this temperature range is the best way to tell whether the sample actually came from the donor at the time of testing. If the specimen temperatures go lower or higher than this range, the urine test was likely tampered with or contaminated. If this is the case, the sample will be rejected and the donor may be subject to consequences and another drug test.