Commercial Driver's License and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

Overview

The Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) recently established the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). This new database contains information pertaining to violations of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) controlled substances (drugs) and alcohol testing program for holders of CDLs.  

The Clearinghouse rule requires FMCSA-regulated employers, Medical Review Officers (MROs), Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs), consortia/third party administrators (C/TPAs), and other service agents to report the Clearinghouse information related to violations of the drug and alcohol regulations in Code 49 of Federal Regulations, parts 40 and 382 by current and prospective employees.

The Clearinghouse also requires the following:

• Employers are required to query the Clearinghouse for current and prospective employees’ drug and alcohol violations before permitting those employees to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on public roads.
• Employers are required to annually query the Clearinghouse for each driver they currently employ.

The Clearinghouse provides FMCSA and employers the necessary tools to identify drivers who are prohibited from operating a CMV based on DOT drug and alcohol program violations and ensure that such drivers receive the required evaluation and treatment before operating a CMV on public roads. Specifically, information maintained in the Clearinghouse enables employers to identify drivers who commit a drug or alcohol program violation while working for one employer but who fail to subsequently inform another employer (as required by current regulations). Records of drug and alcohol program violations will remain in the Clearinghouse for five years or until the driver has completed the return-to-duty process, whichever is later.

Timeline 

Fall 2019 (Now)

• Registration is open so that each employer can create a user account.

January 6, 2020

• This is the implementation date in which mandatory reporting begins.
• Both electronic and manual inquiries are required. The manual inquiries are the inquiries that you now conduct for new drivers.

January 6, 2023

• At this point you will only be required to conduct electronic queries using the Clearinghouse website.