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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
If I registered as an employer without a Portal account, can I now link my Portal account with my Clearinghouse account? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ023 Guidance on Linking Portal Account to Clearinghouse Account
How are bulk queries processed? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ006 Guidance on Bulk Query Processing
Can an employer, consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA), or medical review officer (MRO) modify or delete violation information they have reported? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.705-FAQ006 Clearinghouse FAQ
What actions should an employer take if unable to conduct required pre-employment queries? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.701-FAQ007 Guidance for employers unable to perform a preemployment query due to intermittent Clearinghouse outages on January 6, 2020.
How is driver data protected in the Clearinghouse? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ013 Guidance on Clearinghouse security
Can there be more than one Clearinghouse user per company? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ025 Guidance on Multiple User Account
If a driver violated the drug and alcohol program prior to January 6, 2020, but the employer did not obtain actual knowledge (as defined in § 382.107) of the violation until January 6, 2020 or later, is the employer required to report the violation to the FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ009 Guidance on reporting actual knowledge violations to the Clearinghouse before January 6, 2020
What are the repercussions if an employer does not meet the required timeframe for reporting a violation? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.705-FAQ004 Guidance on Repercussions of an Employer Not Meeting the Required Timeframe for Reporting a Violation to the Clearinghouse
What records should employers maintain in a driver qualification file to meet the requirements of section § 382.701(e)? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.701-FAQ004 Guidance on Maintaining Employer Records
Are there plans to support an employer interface allowing for automated uploads via a web service, or similar? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ033 Guidance on Clearinghouse Webservice interface