CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse overview

Scope

The DOT Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) applies to any motor carrier subject to 49 CFR Part 382 testing. Drivers operating a commercial motor vehicle requiring a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP) are subject to Part 382 testing. The Clearinghouse stores information on CDL and CLP drivers that violate FMCSA drug or alcohol prohibitions.

Motor carriers, medical review officers, third-party administrators, and substance abuse professionals must provide specific information surrounding a violation and/or rehabilitation. Employers must request queries to learn of any unresolved testing violations.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR 40.3 — What do the terms used in this part mean?
• 49 CFR 383.5 — Definitions
• 49 CFR 382.107 — Definitions
• 49 CFR 382.701 — Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
• 49 CFR 382.705 — Reporting to the Clearinghouse

Key definitions

• Commercial driver’s license (CDL): A license issued to an individual by a state or other jurisdiction of domicile, in accordance with the standards contained in Part 383, which authorizes the individual to operate a class of a commercial motor vehicle.
• Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse): The FMCSA database that Subpart G of Part 382 requires employers and service agents to report information to and to query regarding drivers who are subject to the DOT controlled substance and alcohol testing regulations.
• Commercial learner’s permit (CLP): A permit issued to an individual by a state or other jurisdiction of domicile, in accordance with the standards contained in Part 383, which, when carried with a valid driver’s license issued by the same state or jurisdiction, authorizes the individual to operate a class of commercial motor vehicle when accompanied by a holder of a valid CDL for purposes of behind-the-wheel training.
• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): A motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle is a:
  • Combination Vehicle (Group A) — Having a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), whichever is greater, inclusive of a towed unit(s) with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds), whichever is greater; or
  • Heavy Straight Vehicle (Group B) — Having a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 11,794 or more kilograms (26,001 pounds or more), whichever is greater; or
  • Small Vehicle (Group C) that does not meet Group A or B requirements but that either:
    • Is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or
    • Is of any size and is used in the transportation of placarded quantities of hazardous materials.
• Consortium/Third party administrator (C/TPA): A service agent that provides or coordinates one or more drug and/or alcohol testing services to DOT-regulated employers. C/TPAs typically provide or coordinate the provision of a number of such services and perform administrative tasks concerning the operation of the employers’ drug and alcohol testing programs. This term includes, but is not limited to, groups of employers who join together to administer, as a single entity, the DOT drug and alcohol testing programs of its members (e.g., having a combined random testing pool). C/TPAs are not “employers” for purposes of Part 382.
• Driver: Any person who operates a commercial motor vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Full time, regularly employed drivers;
  • Casual, intermittent or occasional drivers; and
  • Leased drivers and independent owner-operator contractors.
• Medical Review Officer (MRO): A licensed physician responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
• Substance Abuse Professional (SAP): A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

Summary of requirements

The Clearinghouse will aid motor carriers in learning of a driver’s need start or continue with the necessary steps in the DOT return-to-duty process (i.e., Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) program) in order to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV).

It is often difficult to find out about violations occurring under another motor carrier’s program. Examples of violations that would otherwise go undetected include pre-employment tests in which the driver was not hired, and violations occurring under previous or concurrent employment, including those positions a driver may omit from the application.

Reporting to the Clearinghouse. Employers and service providers will be called upon to report DOT drug and alcohol testing program violations. Motor carriers, medical review Officers, third-party administrators, and SAPs must provide information relating to:

• Positive drugs or alcohol tests;
• Refusals to take drug and alcohol tests;
• An employer's actual knowledge of drug use or alcohol misuse; and
• A return-to-duty drug and alcohol rehabilitation process.

Motor carrier employers subject to FMCSA testing must:

• Query the system for information on driver applicants, and
• Search the database annually for current employees.

Driver privacy. The rule has driver privacy built into it. Before a motor carrier may gain access to the information in the Clearinghouse, a driver must grant consent. Without this content, FMCSA is unable to release the driver’s data to the employer. Drivers can review their report at no cost by registering with the Clearinghouse.