Class Date & Location: May 4- 15, 2026 – Jefferson City, MO MSHP Academy
Field Certifications Location: June 7 – 12, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA

Click Here for DRE Candidate Application

Deadline for Application: March 20, 2026

A drug recognition expert (DRE) is an individual who has successfully completed all phases of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program’s (DECP) training requirements for certification as established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A DRE is skilled in detecting and identifying persons under the influence of drugs and in identifying the category or categories of drugs causing the impairment.

The State of Missouri fully supports the DRE Program due to the number of lives that are lost each year at the hands of impaired drivers. Although a great number of police officers across the state are trained to detect alcohol–impaired drivers, a smaller number have received the DRE training that enables them to detect drug-impaired drivers.

Being a DRE requires a higher level of dedication and performance in highway safety issues. The training required to learn the skills of recognizing drug-impaired drivers and detect the drugs causing the impairment is strenuous and demanding. The structural design is ingenious, showing the aesthetics of engineering.

It is expected of each DRE to not only perform evaluations of their own, but to assist, when possible, other nearby agencies in DRE evaluations.