How Long Do Hair Drug Test Results Take to Come Back?
Hair test results take 5–7 business days from the laboratory receiving the sample. When that clock starts, what a postal kit adds, and how to expedite one.
Published
Hair drug, alcohol and steroid test results take 5 to 7 business days from the point the laboratory receives the sample. Results are emailed to you as a certificate of analysis listing every substance on your panel and the concentration of anything detected.
That is the whole answer for most people. The rest of this page is about the two things that move the date: when the clock actually starts, and whether it can be shortened.
When the clock starts
Not when you book, and not when your hair is cut. The turnaround runs from the laboratory receiving the sample.
For a collection at our Melbourne clinic that distinction rarely matters — the sample goes to the laboratory the same day or the next. For a remote collection kit it matters a great deal, because two postal legs sit outside the 5–7 days: the kit travelling to you, and the sealed sample travelling back.
| How the sample is collected | What sits outside the 5–7 business days |
|---|---|
| Clinic collection | Effectively nothing — the sample reaches the laboratory the same day or the next |
| Remote collection kit | Post to you, plus your return post to the laboratory |
If you are working to a court date, count backwards from the hearing and include both postal legs. Interstate and regional post is the single most common reason a result arrives later than someone expected — see the service areas page for what that means where you are.
Business days, not calendar days
Five to seven business days excludes weekends and public holidays. A sample reaching the laboratory on a Friday afternoon does not begin its week until Monday. In practice:
- collected Monday, results usually the following week
- collected Thursday or Friday, expect the week after
- a public holiday in between pushes everything by a day
When results can be expedited
Where the collection happens at the clinic, we can take the sample to the laboratory the same day it is collected and ask for it to be prioritised. This carries an additional fee.
Three conditions, and they are firm:
- Not available for postal kits. The acceleration only begins once the sample is physically with us, so it cannot apply to a kit still in the mail.
- Not after 5pm on weekdays, or on weekends and public holidays.
- Not guaranteed. We can put the sample in front of the laboratory and make the request; we cannot control the laboratory’s queue. Where a deadline genuinely cannot be met, you will be told before you commit rather than after.
The honest advice is that planning ahead beats expediting. If you have a date, tell us when you book or call (03) 9380 5434 — it costs nothing and it works more reliably than paying to rush at the end.
Written forensic reports take longer, and start later
A laboratory certificate tells you what was found. A written forensic report explains what that means for your case, and is prepared separately by an independent forensic toxicologist — on hair, blood, urine, saliva or breath results, whoever carried out the testing.
These reports take 10 to 14 business days, and the clock starts once instructions, documents and payment are all in, not from the day you order. It also runs after a laboratory result exists. A report is a second stage, not a longer version of the first, so budget for both if your matter needs the interpretation as well as the number.
Where Dr Robertson is given seven days or less, the booking is treated as urgent and priced accordingly. Where a hearing falls inside the standard window, say so when you order — the report is prioritised against your date at no extra charge.
Why not faster?
Because a hair test is not a screening device.
A roadside or workplace kit reacts chemically and gives an answer in minutes — and, as anyone who has had a false positive on a roadside swab knows, it can be wrong. A hair analysis washes the sample, separates and identifies each substance and its metabolites by mass spectrometry, quantifies the concentration against international cutoffs, and documents a chain of custody from the moment the hair is cut.
That is what the days are for, and it is the reason the result stands up when a screening result would not.
Waiting on a result?
If your sample is with the laboratory and you need to check where it sits, call (03) 9380 5434 — the clinic can chase it directly.
If you have not booked yet and you are working to a deadline, book a test and tell us the date. If it cannot be met, we would rather say so now.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a hair follicle test take to come back?
Five to seven business days from the point the laboratory receives your sample. Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, so a sample collected on a Monday is typically reported the following week. Results are emailed to you as a certificate of analysis.
Does the clock start when I book, or when my hair is collected?
Neither — it starts when the laboratory receives the sample. For a clinic collection those are usually the same day or the next one. For a postal collection kit, the turnaround runs from the day the laboratory receives your return post, so the postal legs sit on top of the 5–7 business days.
Can I get hair test results faster?
Sometimes. Where the sample is collected at the clinic we can deliver it to the laboratory the same day and ask for it to be prioritised, for an additional fee. It is not available for postal kits, not after 5pm on weekdays, and not on weekends or public holidays — and because the laboratory controls its own queue, a specific deadline cannot be guaranteed. Tell us your date before you book rather than after.
How long does a written forensic report take?
Ten to fourteen business days, and that clock starts once instructions, documents and payment are all in — not from the day you order. It runs after the laboratory result exists, so a report is a second stage rather than a longer version of the first. If your hearing falls sooner, say so when you order.
Why do results take days rather than hours?
Because the analysis is mass spectrometry rather than a screening device. A roadside or workplace screening kit reacts in minutes and can be wrong; a hair test separates and identifies each substance and its metabolites, quantifies the concentration, and documents a chain of custody that will hold up in court. That is what the days buy.
