Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse Effective January 6, 2020. The Clearinghouse is a secure online database that will give employers, FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and State law enforcement personnel real-time access to important information about CDL driver drug and alcohol program violations, thereby enhancing safety on our Nation’s roadways. An act of Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to establish the Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse contains information about drivers with commercial driver’s licenses (CDL drivers) who are covered by FMCSA’s drug and alcohol program. This also includes drivers with commercial earner’s permits (CLPs).
Who will the Clearinghouse affect?
All CDL drivers who operate CMVs on public roads, and their employers and service agents. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Interstate and intrastate motor carriers, including passenger carriers.
- School bus Drivers
- Construction equipment operators
- Limousine drivers
- Municipal vehicle drivers (e.g., waste management vehicles)
- Federal and State agencies that employ drivers subject to FMCSA drug and alcohol use testing regulations (e.g., Department of Defense, public transit)
JANUARY 6, 2020: Authorized users will be required to complete the actions described in the Clearinghouse final rule. At this time, employers will be required to conduct both electronic queries and traditional manual inquiries with previous employers to meet the three-year timeframe, required by FMCSA’s drug and alcohol use testing program, for checking CDL driver violation histories. Drivers may also view their own records for information recorded on or after January 6, 2020.
JANUARY 6, 2023: Once three years of violation data are stored in the Clearinghouse, employers are no longer required to also request information from the driver’s previous FMCSA-regulated employers under 391.23(e); an employer’s query of the Clearinghouse will satisfy that requirement.
