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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
Is a driver training school required to keep a driver qualification file on each student? FMCSA-DQ-391.51-Q002 Driver qualification files
Would a driver delivering an empty commercial motor vehicle designed or used to carry passengers, from the manufacturer or distributor to a dealer be required to comply with the hours-of-service regulations for passenger-carrying drivers? FMCSA-HOS-395.5-Q01 Hours of Service Maximum Driving Time
May a motor carrier create an accident register of its own, or is there a specified form that must be used? FMCSA-RG-390.15-Q001 Format of accident register
Many small school districts are affiliated through service units which are, in essence, a coalition of individual districts. Can these school districts have one common confidant for purposes of receiving results and keeping records? FMCSA-D&A -382.401-Q01 Drug & Alcohol Testing – Record Retention
(FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.711-FAQ004) FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.711-FAQ004 Guidance on Staffing Agency registration in the Clearinghouse
Which drivers are to be included in a alcohol and controlled substances testing program under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) rule? FMCSA-D&A-382.103-Q07 Applicability of drug and alcohol testing requirements to drivers operating CMVs in commerce
Should a medical review officer (MRO) report a negative-dilute test result in the Clearinghouse? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382.705-FAQ015 Guidance Clarifying that a negative-dilute RTD result should be reported as “negative”
How does an employer or consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA) submit a bulk query? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ022 Guidance on How to submit bulk query
How can I track the progress of my bulk queries? FMCSA-D&A-CLEAR-382-FAQ007 Guidance on Bulk Query Tracking
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