CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse data

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 tested positive or refused a FMCSA-required test or when an employer has actual knowledge of a driver engaging in prohibited behavior.

Motor carriers, medical review officers, third-party administrators, and substance abuse professionals must provide information when a driver:

• Tests positive for drugs or alcohol,
• Refuses drug and alcohol testing, and
• Undergoes the return-to-duty drug and alcohol rehabilitation process.

Parties responsible for communicating a CDL driver’s drug and/or alcohol testing violation and follow-up program must register with the FMCSA for access to the Clearinghouse portal. Some registrations require that the party be designated by a motor carrier or driver as noted below. Clearinghouse registration is valid for five years, unless canceled or revoked.

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 382.705 — 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 this part 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 a 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

Following are the types of information that employers and service agents must provide to the Clearinghouse.

Medical Review Officer. The medical review officer (MRO) receives volumes of information that may otherwise go undetected by employers without a reporting mechanism. Within two business days of determining that a driver has violated DOT testing rules in Part 382, MROs must report to the Clearinghouse all:

• Verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test results;
• Refusals to test (drugs), including situations of inadequate specimens without a valid medical explanation; and
• Driver admissions to the MRO of adulterated and substituted specimens.

Within one business day of making any changes to a test result, MROs must report them to the Clearinghouse.

Motor carrier. Motor carriers have specific reporting obligations for the Clearinghouse. This may be accomplished directly or through a designated consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA) contracted to perform the task.

Employers must:

• Submit any specific information they learned to the database by the end of the third business day after learning of it.
• Report any information that the MRO is not privy to, such as alcohol test results with a confirmed alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater and certain refusal-to-test scenarios for drug or alcohol tests. Examples of refusals-to-test under Part 382 that the employer must report include:
  • Refusing to go to the testing site once notified,
  • Not showing up for a test,
  • Arriving late for a scheduled test,
  • Leaving the collection site without providing an adequate specimen,
  • Failing to cooperate with the testing procedures, and
  • Admitting to the collector of an adulterated or substituted drug test specimen.
• Report any refusals associated with alcohol testing, including inadequate amounts of saliva without valid medical reason, and “shy lung” episodes, also without a valid medical explanation.
• Report actual knowledge of violations (as defined in 382.107) within three days, including:
  • Alcohol use before and during on-duty time,
  • Alcohol use following an accident, and
  • Controlled substance use.
• Report the violation to the Clearinghouse when they learn of a traffic citation issued indicating either:
  • Use of a controlled substance, and/or
  • An alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater while operating a commercial motor vehicle requiring a CDL.

Employers are required to report negative return-to-duty tests and when the follow-up testing program is completed. Employers do not report each individual follow-up test.

SAPs. In order to enter information into the Clearinghouse on behalf of a driver, the driver must designate the SAP.

The SAP must:

• Notify the Clearinghouse within one business day when the initial assessment following a DOT drug and/or alcohol violation has been completed.
• Within one business day, report if the determination that the driver has successfully completed the return-to-duty process (assessments, treatment, and education) has been made. At this stage, the SAP would issue a letter indicating the driver is ready for return-to-duty testing and the prescribed follow-up testing.

Consortium/Third-Party Administrators. Authorized C/TPAs may enter information on an employer’s drivers if designated to do so. While logged into the Clearinghouse, the employer would select the service provider from a list of C/TPAs that have registered with the site. The employer would have to designate what administrative functions it is authorizing the C/TPA to assume (submitting data and/or requesting queries). As with any services provided by a third-party, the employer is still held responsible for compliance with the requirements. When a business relationship ends with a C/TPA, the employer must log into its Clearinghouse dashboard to remove the designated party from its profile.

Employers who designate themselves as drivers must designate a C/TPA to comply with their submissions of data as it relates to their alcohol or drug use.