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On November 4, 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse published information titled “Pre-employment Investigations for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations.” The Clearinghouse notice (see below) is a reminder to certain employers regarding a change requirement that went into effect Jan. 6, 2023.  On that date, three years of violation data will become available in the Clearinghouse and a pre-employment Clearinghouse query will satisfy the requirement to investigate whether a prospective driver had previous drug and alcohol program violations, as required by 49 CFR 391.23(e). This query will also satisfy the requirements of 49 CFR 40.25.

Please be aware the Clearinghouse contains only information about a driver’s drug/alcohol testing history when employed by FMCSA-regulated employers. If an employer is considering an applicant who was employed by an employer regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA (such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.), that applicant’s information would not be reported to the Clearinghouse. In these situations, the employer still is required to directly request drug and alcohol violation information from those DOT-regulated employers in accordance with 391.23(e)(4)(ii) and 40.25.

For any questions, please contact FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse at clearinghouse@dot.gov.

Pre-employment investigations for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations

Beginning January 6, 2023, a pre-employment Clearinghouse query will satisfy the requirement to investigate a prospective driver’s previous drug and alcohol program violations, as set forth in 49 CFR 391.23(e)(4) and 382.413(b). 

Employers of CDL drivers are required to conduct background investigations before hiring a driver. This process includes determining if the driver has violated the drug and alcohol regulations of any Department of Transportation (DOT) mode within the past three years (see 49 CFR 391.23(e)(1)-(3) and 382.413(a)). Currently, this requires employers or their designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) to conduct both electronic queries in the Clearinghouse and manual inquiries with previous employers to meet the three-year time frame.

Beginning January 6, 2023, when three years of violation data is stored in the Clearinghouse, prospective employers must conduct a pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse, as set forth in § 382.701(a), to comply with the inquiry requirement in §§ 382.413(b) and 391.23(e)(4), as it pertains to FMCSA-regulated employers. Inquiries not conducted under § 382.701(a) will not satisfy these inquiry requirements.

NOTE: The Clearinghouse contains only information about drivers employed by FMCSA-regulated employers. If a prospective employee was employed by an employer regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA (such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) during the three-year time frame, prospective employers will still be required to directly request drug and alcohol violation information from those DOT-regulated employers in accordance with 391.23(e)(4)(ii) and 382.413(c), since this information is not reported to the Clearinghouse.

Annual query requirements have not changed.

Employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query in the Clearinghouse at least once a year for each CDL driver they employ (see § 382.701(b)). This annual query requirement applies on a rolling 12-month basis, which means that if you conducted your last annual queries in December 2021, it is time to conduct the next round of annual queries.

Employers must obtain general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information.

Voluntary registration with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is open and available online.
The Clearinghouse was created as part of new CDL employer background check requirements to take effect Jan. 6, 2020. The Clearinghouse is a database maintained by FMCSA that will hold real-time information about any reported violations of drug and alcohol prohibitions in 49 CFR Part 382, Subpart B, including positive drug or alcohol test results and test refusals, for prospective employers to access.
In addition to employers, consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), medical review officers (MROs), substance abuse professionals (SAPs) and law-enforcement personnel all will have access to this database containing operator data.
“Drivers are not required to register for the Clearinghouse,” FMCSA said. “However, a driver will need to be registered to provide electronic consent in the Clearinghouse if a prospective or current employer needs to conduct a full query of the driver’s Clearinghouse record.”
After registration with the Clearinghouse, CDL holders will be able to:

  • View their own driver record electronically.
  • Provide electronic consent to release detailed drug and alcohol program violation information to a current or prospective employer.
  • Identify a substance abuse professional (SAP) so the SAP may enter specific information regarding the driver’s return-to-duty (RTD) activities.

Even if a CDL holder has not registered for access to the Clearinghouse, the Clearinghouse still will associate any alleged drug or alcohol violation that has been reported with a CDL holder’s information. Any changes to the CDL holder’s record in the Clearinghouse will be relayed via the preferred method the holder indicated during registration or, if the holder is not registered to access the database, via mail to the address associated with the CDL.
FMCSA’s final rule for the Clearinghouse was published Dec. 5, 2016.
FMCSA says that implementation of the Clearinghouse “will improve roadway safety by identifying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who have committed drug and alcohol violations that render them ineligible to operate a CMV.”
FMCSA’s guide for CDL holders to the Clearinghouse registration process (PDF)
View Frequently Asked Questions about the Clearinghouse.
For more information or to register, visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov.

FMCSAThe U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a final rule, Friday, Dec. 2, that establishes a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse for commercial truck and bus drivers. The clearinghouse database will serve as a central repository containing records of violations of FMCSA’s drug and alcohol testing program by commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders.
“An overwhelming majority of the nation’s freight travels by truck, and millions of passengers reach their destinations by bus, so creating a central, comprehensive, and searchable database of commercial motor vehicle drivers who violate federal drug and alcohol testing requirements has been a departmental priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This system will be a new technological tool that will make our roads safer.”
Once the clearinghouse is established, motor carrier employers will be required to query the system for information concerning current or prospective employees who have unresolved violations of the federal drug and alcohol testing regulations that prohibit them from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). It also requires employers and medical review officers to report drug and alcohol testing program violations.
The drug and alcohol clearinghouse final rule annual net benefits are an estimated $42 million, with crash reductions resulting from annual and pre-employment queries by FMCSA-regulated motor carriers.
“This is a major safety win for the general public and the entire commercial motor vehicle industry,” said FMCSA Administrator Scott Darling. “The clearinghouse will allow carriers across the country to identify current and prospective drivers who have tested positive for drugs or alcohol, and employ those who drive drug- and alcohol-free. Drivers who test positive for drugs or alcohol will no longer be able to conceal those test results from employers and continue to drive while posing a safety risk to the driving public.”
The final rule requires motor carriers, medical review officers, third-party administrators, and substance abuse professionals to report information about drivers who:

  • Test positive for drugs or alcohol;
  • Refuse drug and alcohol testing; and
  • Undergo the return-to-duty drug and alcohol rehabilitation process.

Additionally, motor carriers will be required to annually search the clearinghouse for current employees, and during the pre-employment process for prospective employees, to determine whether a driver violated drug or alcohol testing requirements with a different employer that would prohibit them from operating a CMV.
Federal safety regulations require employers to conduct pre-employment drug testing and random drug and alcohol testing. Motor carriers are prohibited from allowing employees to perform safety-sensitive functions, which include operating a CMV, if the employee tests positive on a DOT drug or alcohol test.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a), a driver must grant consent before an employer can request access to that driver’s clearinghouse record and before FMCSA can release the driver’s clearinghouse record to an employer. After registering with the clearinghouse a driver can review his or her information at no cost.
Congress directed FMCSA to establish a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse as mandated by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).
The national drug and alcohol clearinghouse Final Rule goes into effect in January 2020, three years after its effective date.
To view the drug and alcohol clearinghouse Final Rule, click this link.
To learn more about the drug and alcohol clearinghouse, click on this link.