The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced that registration is now open for the Congressionally mandated Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders, employers, medical review officers, and substance abuse professionals can now visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov and register to create a secure online user account.
ABA congratulate the FMCSA for navigating this process to develop a tool that will help the industry in vetting drivers. As a reminder to all operators, you cannot hire drivers after January 6, 2020, unless both you and driver are registered...so sign up now!
To access the clearinghouse, authorized users must register. These users include:
- Drivers who hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP).
- Employers of CDL drivers. This includes those who employ themselves as CDL drivers (owner-operators), typically a single-driver operation.
- Consortia/Third-Party Administrators (C/TPAs).
- Medical Review Officers (MROs).
- Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs).
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 and to start the registration process.
The clearinghouse will be a secure online database that will allow FMCSA, CMV employers, 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.
Note: ABA’s Bus Industry Safety Council will be including a presentation on this topic at both its BISC West (Oct. 15) in Carlsbad, Calif. during the California Bus Association’s Annual Meeting, as well as at the BISC Winter Meeting (Jan. 12-13) in Omaha, Neb., during ABA’s 2020 Marketplace. Have you registered? Register today!
How do I register for the Clearinghouse?
Download instructions to register as a:
CDL driver (includes CLP drivers)
Employer
Consortium/third-party administrator
Medical review officer
Substance abuse professional
If you employ yourself as a CDL driver, register as an employer and, when asked, indicate that you are an owner-operator (that is, an employer who employs himself or herself as a CDL driver, typically a single-driver operation).