Negative drug test now required for Algerian job applications

Since January, every recruitment file in Algeria, in the public and private sectors, must include a negative drug test, Algérie 360 reported.

The obligation covers applications to administrations, public bodies, bodies of general interest, establishments open to the public and private companies.

Civil servants and employees already in post must also provide the test when they sit professional exams and tests, including internal promotion competitions.

A law on preventing drug use and trafficking, amended in July 2025, created the obligation. An executive decree of 14 January, published in the Official Journal (JO) number eight on 27 January, sets the rules.

The decree aims to prevent drug use and to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. A file without the test is rejected, except in cases of medical treatment.

Where to get tested

Public hospitals, including university hospital centres (CHU), offer the test free or for a symbolic price, depending on the establishment. Algérie 360 advises checking with the department concerned before going, because arrangements vary from one hospital to another.

Many private laboratories also offer the test. Algérie 360 reported that testimonies on social media put prices at about 1,500 to 3,000 dinars (DZD).

These prices are only indicative and vary by city, laboratory and number of substances tested.

The decree allows blood, saliva or other biological samples. Results may carry a QR code that confirms the candidate's identity, the laboratory and the result.

Employers can also check results with the laboratory that issued them. The decree limits the tests to laboratories approved by the Ministry of Health.

An order from the minister must list those laboratories and set the terms of the analyses.

Validity and medicines

The test stays valid for three months from the date it is issued. During that period, one result can serve several recruitment or exam files, so Algérie 360 advises taking the test shortly before applying.

A candidate who takes medicines containing narcotics or psychotropic substances must declare them. He or she must attach a medical certificate proving it, in addition to the test.

In the private sector, the employer may ask for the opinion of the occupational doctor.

Primary school posts

In early September, the General Directorate of the Civil Service adjusted the procedure for one urgent recruitment.

For 21,533 contract staff posts in primary schools, the test was not in the original file. Selected candidates must provide it once the Minister of Health's order on approved laboratories is published.

This arrangement covers that recruitment only. For other competitions, candidates should ask the recruiting body which type of test it accepts.

Algérie 360 reported that this order had not yet been published in the Official Journal (JO).