CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse queries

Scope

The requirement to query the Clearinghouse applies to any motor carrier subject to 49 CFR Part 382 testing. Drivers operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) requiring a CDL or CLP are subject to Part 382 and must consent to a required query in order to continue in a safety-sensitive position.

Motor carriers must register with the Clearinghouse for an account and purchase query bundles for future use. A consortium/third-party administrator is permitted to request the required queries on behalf of the motor carrier as a part of its service. However, the motor carrier must designate the C/TPA through the motor carrier’s account. Each report is attributed to the carrier, and the fee subtracted from their bundle.

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 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 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

FMCSA drug and alcohol testing violations are reported to the (Clearinghouse) by the motor carrier, medical review officer, or consortium/third-party administrator depending on the circumstances.

Motor carriers are required to:

• Check the database at time of hire and at least annually going forward to learn of unresolved FMCSA testing violations.
• Request two types of queries in the Clearinghouse: pre-employment and annual. Each requires consent from the driver.
• Keep a record of each query for three years, along with all information received in response to each query. An employer that maintains a valid registration will fulfill this requirement by storing the records electronically within its Clearinghouse account.

Driver notification. Before the Clearinghouse will release the data to an employer, the company must obtain consent from the driver.

For limited queries, meaning the report states whether information exists with no additional details, the driver may give the employer written or electronic consent. If the limited query shows there is data available, a full query is required within 24 hours of the limited query.

The full query may not be released unless the driver submits an electronic consent in the Clearinghouse, granting permission to access specific records. To provide this authorization, the CDL driver must create an account within the Clearinghouse. A full query provides additional details on a violation or the status of the return-to-duty process and follow-up testing.

Under the rule, the driver must provide consent to the employer for any query. If the driver refuses, the company may not use that driver in a safety-sensitive function.

As of January 6, 2020, before an employer may use a CDL driver in a safety-sensitive function, it must perform a pre-employment query. Pre-employment queries are full queries.

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.

From January 6, 2020, until January 5, 2023, there was some overlap in reporting between the safety performance history (SPH) investigation and the Clearinghouse. Employers subject to Part 382 were required to request DOT testing history via the SPH inquiry sent to former DOT-regulated employers and perform pre-employment queries of the Clearinghouse as a means of verifying all FMCSA testing history for CDL applicants.

As of January 6, 2023:

• Pre-employment queries on CDL applicants are the sole means of learning of any previous FMCSA testing violations.
• The drug and alcohol portion of the SPH inquiry for CDL drivers will no longer be required. Motor carriers would still be responsible for requesting the general employment verification and the DOT crash history.
• When a motor carrier learns of a violation through the Clearinghouse, it must contact the former employers directly if it does not show that the follow-up testing plan was completed.
• If the employee worked under another mode of DOT transportation in which the employee was tested under 49 CFR Part 40, the motor carrier would have to reach out to the former employer since this information will not be housed in the database.

As of January 6, 2020, the FMCSA mandates employers to perform annual queries for existing CDL drivers. This inquiry assists carriers in learning of any violations occurring under another motor carrier’s program, but not reported to the carrier by the driver. The Clearinghouse rules allow for the use of a consent by the driver for a limited query that is effective for more than one year’s annual query. The regulation also allows a motor carrier to request the report on existing drivers more often than annually and run reports on all CDL drivers in a batch.

If the limited query shows data, the employer needs the driver to grant permission to access the data via a full query.