ETG Urine Test Calculator
How long does ETG show in a urine test? Enter your drinks and timing — this urine ETG calculator estimates 24-48 hour detection windows at 500 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL cutoffs.
Calculate Your ETG Level
Enter your drinking details for an instant estimate
Estimated ETG Level
until the model is below this line
Common workplace line
until the model is below this line
Common probation / court line
Estimates only. Individual metabolism varies significantly. This is not medical or legal advice.
What this number means
The tool opens on 3 standard drinks and 12 hours. That run is about 938 ng/mL. In this model that sits above both the 500 and the 100 ng/mL lines.
- 500 ng/mL is the line many workplace programs use.
- 100 ng/mL is the stricter probation / court line.
- A number between them can sit under 500 and still sit over 100.
When this calculator does not apply
- This is a model estimate, not a lab printout. It cannot say what a program will do with a real sample.
- The 100 and 500 lines here are common cutoffs, not your paperwork. If the form lists another number, that number wins.
- The hours under each cutoff are when this formula drops below that line. They are not a time to go get tested.
Same numbers as the default run: 3 drinks, 12 hours
- 3 standard drinks. Peak: 3 × 5,000 = 15,000 ng/mL
- 12 hours later is 4 half-lives. 15,000 × 0.5⁴ = 938 ng/mL
- 938 sits above 500 and above 100
- The model falls below 500 about 3 hours after this point, and below 100 about 10 hours after this point
ETG(t) = Peak × 0.5^(t / half-life)Peak is 5,000 ng/mL per standard drink. Half-life is 3 hours. Those are this site's model assumptions, taken from published ETG half-life work and common SAMHSA cutoff numbers, not your lab's method.
Where the estimate sits
Estimated ETG level is below even the strictest 100 ng/mL cutoff (used in probation and court-ordered programs)
Could fall below a 500 ng/mL cutoff while still exceeding stricter monitoring cutoffs
Estimated ETG level is above the 500 ng/mL cutoff used by many workplace and pre-employment drug screenings
Estimated ETG level is well above common cutoffs, often associated with heavier or more recent drinking
Research Sources
- Wurst FM et al. (2006) 'Ethyl glucuronide — update' Forensic Science International
- SAMHSA Guidelines for ETG/ETS Testing
- Helander A, Beck O (2005) 'Ethyl sulfate: a metabolite of ethanol' Clinical Chemistry
Other runs with the same formula
These use the same 5,000 ng/mL peak and 3-hour half-life as the tool. Change the sliders to the same drinks and hours if you want to see the number appear above.
Sunday BBQ, Monday 8am
4 standard beers, last drink around 6pm Sunday.
Above 500 ng/mL in the model
Friday dinner, Monday morning
2 glasses of wine Friday night, nothing else all weekend.
Below both common cutoffs in the model
Saturday wedding, Sunday night
About 8 standard drinks, stopped around midnight.
Below 500 ng/mL, still above 100
Thursday drinks, Monday 9am
3 standard drinks Thursday evening.
Below both common cutoffs in the model
These numbers come from the formula on this page. Real samples move with metabolism, cutoff, and lab method.
If you need something this page does not do
How to Use
- 1
Count your drinks honestly. A 'standard drink' is 12oz regular beer, 5oz wine, or 1.5oz liquor. That big IPA? Probably counts as 2.
- 2
Enter hours since your last sip. Not when you started — when you stopped drinking.
- 3
Check your estimate. Red means the model is over 500 ng/mL. Green means the model is below 100 ng/mL.
- 4
Read both lines. 500 ng/mL is the common workplace line. 100 ng/mL is the stricter probation / court line.
- 5
Read the result as educational context. Individual metabolism and lab rules can change real-world interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions
80 hours is a worst-case warning: heavy binge drinking plus a very sensitive lab. It is not what this formula gives for 2 to 4 drinks. In this model, moderate drinking usually sits under a 500 ng/mL line in about a day to a day and a half. The 80-hour claim and this calculator are not the same number.
Water does not make the liver process ETG faster. It can dilute a sample, which some labs flag as dilute or invalid. In this model, the estimate falls with time, not with extra glasses of water.
One standard drink has a 5,000 ng/mL peak in this model. That run falls below 500 ng/mL in about 10 hours, and below 100 ng/mL in about 17 hours. Your program's cutoff and your metabolism still sit outside this page.
Alcohol in sanitizer, some mouthwash, and a few foods can show up as low ETG. Many programs pick 500 ng/mL so incidental exposure is less likely to matter. A 100 ng/mL line is more sensitive. This calculator does not model those products.
This calculator is for educational purposes only — it's not medical or legal advice. Everyone's body processes alcohol differently, and real test results can vary based on factors we can't measure here. Don't make important decisions based only on this calculator. For probation, court-ordered, employment, or treatment testing, talk to a testing administrator, healthcare provider, or lawyer.