Specimen Containers: Cups, Jars and Transport Considerations

Specimen containers are specified on four axes: volume, sterility, closure type, and whether the container has to survive transport. Get those four right and the rest is preference. Get sterility or closure wrong and you have a rejected specimen or a leak in transit.

This guide covers container sizing from 60 mL routine collection through 750 mL and 24-hour volumes, when sterile is actually required, why screw caps beat paper lids for anything that moves, and what DOT rules mean for shipping specimens.

Start with volume

Volume is set by the specimen type, not by what is on the shelf:

• 60–90 mL — routine urinalysis, culture and sensitivity, general microbiology. The 60 mL HDPE screw-cap container is the workhorse here
• 120–150 mL — larger urine volumes, stool collection. 120 mL and 150 mL HDPE
• 200–400 mL — tissue, larger samples. 200–250 mL and 300–400 mL wide-mouth PP
• 500–750 mL — gross specimens and bulk collection. 500 mL and 750 mL wide-mouth PP

Undersizing is the more common error. A container filled to the brim cannot be capped without contaminating the threads, and it will leak. Size for the actual specimen volume plus headroom.

Sterile or non-sterile

Sterile containers are irradiated and individually sealed. They are required whenever the result depends on there being no pre-existing organisms in the container — culture and sensitivity, sterile body fluids, anything microbiological. Non-sterile is appropriate for chemistry, routine urinalysis dipstick and macroscopic work, and drug screening.

Sterile is a meaningfully higher cost per unit, so defaulting the whole lab to sterile is an easy place to overspend. Sterile stock includes 60 mL, 90 mL, 120 mL and 150 mL PPC screw-cap containers.

Closures: screw cap vs paper lid

Screw caps give a leak-resistant seal and are mandatory for anything that leaves the collection room. Paper lids are a dust cover, not a seal — they suit in-clinic containers that go straight to a benchtop analyzer, and they cost considerably less at volume. Never ship or courier a paper-lidded container.

Colored caps are worth using deliberately. Green and red cap options let you code by test type or department, which cuts sorting errors at accessioning without needing another label.

Features that solve specific problems

• Attached thermometer strip — for observed drug screen collections, temperature is the standard validity check on a fresh urine specimen. Containers with an integrated thermometer strip remove a separate step
• Pour spout — molded spouts on graduated PP containers make aliquoting into tubes cleaner and reduce spill
• Graduations — needed any time volume itself is part of the result or where a minimum volume must be verified at collection
• Wide mouth — essential for stool, tissue and any solid or viscous specimen

Standardizing collection supplies? Compare volumes, sterility and closures across the full specimen containers collection.

Transport requirements

Most diagnostic specimens ship as UN 3373, Biological Substance Category B, which requires triple packaging: a leakproof primary container, leakproof secondary packaging with absorbent material, and rigid outer packaging. The requirements are set out at 49 CFR 173.199. Your specimen container is the primary receptacle, which is exactly why the screw cap is not optional for shipped specimens.

Handling practice for the specimens themselves follows the CDC and NIH Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) manual.

Related guides

• Specimen Collection & Transport: Containers, Compliance, Cold Chain — the pillar guide this post sits under
• Urine Collection Systems for Clinical & Reference Labs
• Clinical Lab Supplies Checklist: Essentials for CLIA Labs
• Lab Labeling Systems: Surviving Autoclaves, Freezers & Chemicals

Frequently asked questions

When do I need sterile specimen containers?

Whenever the result depends on there being no pre-existing organisms — culture and sensitivity, sterile body fluids, and microbiology generally. Chemistry, routine urinalysis and drug screening can use non-sterile.

Can I ship a specimen in a paper-lidded container?

No. Paper lids are dust covers, not seals. Shipped specimens need a leakproof primary container with a screw cap under 49 CFR 173.199.

What size container for a routine urine specimen?

60–90 mL covers routine urinalysis and culture. Move to 120–150 mL for larger volumes or stool.

What is the thermometer strip for?

Temperature validity checking on freshly voided urine, used in observed drug screen collections to confirm the specimen is genuine.

Why use colored caps?

To code by test type or department so specimens sort correctly at accessioning without requiring an extra label.

Get your collection supplies specced

Tell us your test menu and whether specimens are couriered, and we will match volume, sterility and closure across the range. Shop specimen containers.

By the LabSupplies.com Technical Team