FMCSA Changes Clearinghouse Inquiry Requirements

Pre-employment Investigations for Drugs and Alcohol 

Motor carriers will no longer be required to reach out to previous employers for drug-and-alcohol-related information about prospective drivers. As of January 6, 2023, conducting a pre-employment Clearinghouse query will satisfy the requirement to investigate a prospective driver’s previous drug and alcohol program violations.

Official update from FMCSA

Clearinghouse Requirements:

Clearinghouse query results should be kept in the Driver’s Qualification File for review during an audit. If non-compliance surfaces during a safety audit, carriers face a $5,833 fine per offense.

Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due.

Download the Clearinghouse Fact Sheet

Pre-employment Investigations for Driving Records

Please note the pre-employment Clearinghouse query is mandatory and reports a driver’s 3-year drug and alcohol record.

Carriers may wish to conduct an additional query using FMCSA’s Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP) to request a potential driver’s driving record, which includes the driver’s 5-year crash record and 3-year roadside inspection history. While the PSP query is optional, we recommended that carriers obtain these records and keep them in the Driver’s Qualification File.

 

Please contact RiskWise Safety Consulting for all DOT and safety needs.

Chris Conti / 225-413-7542 / chris@riskwise.biz

Ricky Roberts / 225-341-0409 / ricky@riskwise.biz