• Due to the Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration, CDL and CLP drivers’ medical certificates will be sent to state licensing agencies automatically.

By June 23, 2025, the medical certification process will change due to the “Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration” final rule published on April 23, 2015. The biggest change is that commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders will no longer have to provide their medical certificates to the state licensing agencies because that information will be transmitted automatically. The following is an overview of the changes related to the integration:

• After an exam, medical examiners(ME) are required to upload exam results to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) by midnight of the next calendar day. This process has been in place and will continue.
• By June 23,2025, FMCSA must upload these results to the driver’s licensing agency, which then must post the information to the CDL/CLP driver’s motor vehicle record (MVR) within one business day.
• For CDL/CLP drivers, the MVR will be the only official proof of medical certification. Based on the regulations in 391.43(g) on and after June 23,2025, drivers and their employers will not need the paper medical card because the 15-day window will no longer exist, employers must promptly obtain a new MVR after each new medical exam.
  • WATCHOUT: CDL/CLP drivers should still ask the examiner for a medical card before they leave the exam. The new information could take 2-5 days after the date of the exam to reflect on the MVR and the driver will need proof with them if they are in a roadside inspection or pulled over. The employer should have a copy of the new medical card until the MVR updates with the new certification information.
• Because the CDL/CLP driver exam results will be transmitted through the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, employers are no longer required to place in the DQ file, proof that the MEs were listed on the National Registry on the date of the exam.
• Non-CDL drivers will need to continue always carrying their paper medical cards, and their employers must keep a copy file and verify the National Registry listing of their MEs.
• Examiners must inform drivers when they are deemed medically unqualified, and that this information will be reported to the FMCSA. When the FMCSA receives the report, it will invalidate any medical cards previously issued to the driver and will electronically transmit this report to the CDL/CLP driver’s state licensing agency.