• Employers must purchase Clearinghouse records for drivers before employment and annually.

Employers must purchase each commercial driver’s license (CDL) employee’s Clearinghouse record (if any) at the following times:

• Pre-employment (full) query — A company cannot employ a driver to perform a safety-sensitive function without first doing a full pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse to find out if the driver’s status is “prohibited,” indicating the driver committed a violation. If prohibited — or if the driver refuses to grant consent for the query — the driver cannot be used to perform a safety-sensitive function as defined in 382.107 (including driving and many other activities). A driver will remain prohibited until successfully completing the referral, evaluation, treatment, and return-to-duty testing process described in Part 40 Subpart O. After employers request a pre-employment query, the driver-applicant will be notified and asked to log in to the Clearinghouse website to grant consent for the query, and the request will then be processed.
• Annual (limited) query — Employers must query the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver who is subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)-mandated drug and alcohol testing. If a Clearinghouse record exists and it indicates that the driver has not completed the return-to-duty process, the driver can no longer perform safety-sensitive functions. The annual query may begin with a “limited” query that reveals whether there is information in the Clearinghouse for that driver. Before performing a limited query, employers must get the driver’s written or electronic consent.
  • If a limited query indicates that the Clearinghouse has no information about the driver, no further action is required.
  • If the Clearinghouse does contain information about the driver, the company must follow up with a “full” query within 24 hours.

As of March 8, 2023, the FMCSA will notify a motor carrier via email if a driver they’ve queried in the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse has new information (such as an update in return-to-duty status, a removed violation, or a new violation) added to their Clearinghouse record within 12 months of the last query (whether that was a pre-employment or annual query). This closes a loophole that resulted in employers waiting for up to a year (between queries) to learn of a change in a driver’s Clearinghouse record.

Drivers will be:

• Notified when information about them is added to, revised, or removed from the Clearinghouse (this notification will be made via U.S. Mail unless the driver has registered and provided an email address to the Clearinghouse);
• Able to obtain free copies of individual records; and
• Able to petition the FMCSA to remove inaccurate data from the Clearinghouse.