WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced that the Congressionally-mandated Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is now operational. To register for the clearinghouse, visit: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/

“The Congressionally-mandated Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is now open and operational. The clearinghouse is a step towards improving safety—ensuring that employers and enforcement personnel have access to the real-time information they need to identify drivers who should not be behind the wheel. We encourage everyone who will be using the clearinghouse to visit the website and register today,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen. 

The clearinghouse is aimed at improving road safety by providing FMCSA and employers the necessary tools to identify drivers who have violated federal drug and alcohol testing program requirements and are prohibited from operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV).  The goal of the clearinghouse is to ensure that such drivers receive the required evaluation and treatment before they have the opportunity to resume driving. 

Those required to register for the clearinghouse include: 

• Employers of commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders, or their designated service agents, and medical review officers who report drug and alcohol program violations that occurred on or after January 6, 2020.
   
• Employers or their designated service agents who conduct required queries which inform them whether prospective or current employees have drug and alcohol program violations in their clearinghouse records. (Employers must purchase a query plan before conducting queries in the clearinghouse—query plans must be purchased from the FMCSA clearinghouse website only.)
   
• Drivers who respond to employer consent requests or would like to view their clearinghouse record when applying for a job. 
   
• Substance abuse professionals who report on the completion of driver initial assessments and driver eligibility for return-to-duty testing for violations committed on or after January 6, 2020.

There is no cost for registration. Commercial drivers are not required to immediately register for the clearinghouse, but will need to register to respond to an employer’s request for consent prior to a pre-employment query or other full query being conducted. 

FMCSA’s clearinghouse website contains important resources, including user brochures and instructional aids with step-by-step registration instructions for all users. Users can visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to access these resources.

The clearinghouse will be a secure online database that will allow FMCSA, employers of CDL drivers, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and law enforcement officials to identify – in real-time – CDL drivers who have violated federal drug and alcohol testing program requirements, and thereby improve safety on our nation’s roads.

Stay connected with FMCSA via:

FMCSA.dot.gov | FMCSA on Facebook | FMCSA on Twitter
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