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Regulatory Guidance

Welcome to the FMCSA Guidance Portal. This web portal is a searchable, indexed database that contains and links to all guidance documents in effect from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract.

To comment on any guidance document, or to request issuance, reconsideration, modification, or rescission of any guidance document, please identify the guidance document in your request and send it to: FMCSAguidance@dot.gov. NOTE: The FMCSAguidance mailbox is not intended to serve as a mailbox for general inquiries. For inquiries that go beyond the limited purpose of the FMCSAguidance mailbox, please call FMCSA's Information Line (800-832-5660) or visit FMCSA's "Contact Us" page to send your inquiry to the appropriate mailbox.

Subject Agency Identifier Topic Issued Date
Are driver positions that are vacant for a testing cycle to be included in the determination of how many random tests must be conducted? FMCSA-D&A-382.305-Q04 Guidance on impact of vacant driver positions on the random pool
Must school bus drivers be pre-employment tested after they return to work after summer vacation in each year in which they do not drive for 30 consecutive days? FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q02 Pre-employment testing requirement for school bus drivers after they return to work after summer vacation
Is a pre-employment controlled substances test required if a driver returns to a previous employer after his/her employment had been terminated? FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q03 Guidance on whether a preemployment test is required when a driver returns to a previous employer after his/her employment had been terminated
May an employer use the results of another program in which a driver participates to satisfy random testing requirements if the driver is used by the employer only occasionally? FMCSA-D&A-382.305-Q05 Using another’s program to satisfy random testing requirements
Must all drivers who do not work for an extended period of time (such as layoffs over the winter or summer months) be pre-employment drug tested each season when they return to work? FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q04 Pre-employment testing requirement for drivers who do not work for an extended period of time
What must an employer do to avail itself of the exceptions to pre-employment testing listed under §382.301(c)? FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q05 What an employer must do to avail itself of the exceptions to pre-employment testing listed under §382.301(c)
May a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) driving skills test examiner conduct a driving skills test administered in accordance with 49 CFR part 383 before a person subject to part 382 is tested for alcohol and controlled substances? FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q06 Guidance on whether a CDL driving skills test examiner may administer a driving skills test to a person subject to part 382 without first testing him/her for alcohol and controlled substances
A driver has tested positive and completed the referral and evaluation process up to the point of being released by the SAP for a return-to-duty test. The driver no longer works for the employer where he/she tested positive. The driver applies for work wi FMCSA-D&A-382.301-Q07 Guidance on whether a single a single test will suffice to meet the requirements of §382.301 and §382.309 testing
Once an employee is randomly tested during a calendar year, is his/her name removed from the pool of names for the calendar year? FMCSA-D&A-382.305-Q06 Guidance that the names of drivers tested earlier in the year must be returned to the pool for each new selection
Question 1: What is the fine or penalty for employers who refuse or fail to provide Part 382 testing information to a subsequent employer? FMCSA-D&A-382.507-Q01 Drug & Alcohol Testing – Failure to Comply with Request for Testing Information