CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse registration begins
Registration is open for the congressionally mandated Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
Commercial driver’s license holders, employers, medical review officers, and substance abuse professionals can now visit Clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov and register to create a secure online user account, according to a news release from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The clearinghouse is intended to be a secure online database allowing FMCSA, commercial motor vehicle employers, state driver licensing agencies, and law enforcement officials to quickly identify CDL drivers who have violated federal drug and alcohol testing program requirements.
Beginning Jan. 6, employers of CDL drivers must check the clearinghouse to verify that a current or prospective driver is not prohibited from operating commercial motor vehicles. 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 record. This will include all pre-employment queries.
Commercial drivers are not required to immediately register for the clearinghouse unless they are looking for a job. They may want to register, however, in order to review their clearinghouse record and initiate the process to revise it or remove incorrect information.
There is no cost for registration.
“As this congressional mandate is enacted, FMCSA’s goal is to ensure drivers, employers, and everyone who will be using the clearinghouse are registered as efficiently and effectively as possible,” FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez said in a news release.
Registration is required to access the clearinghouse once it is implemented on Jan. 6. To access the clearinghouse, authorized users must register. These users include:
- Drivers who hold a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit.
- Employers of CDL drivers. This includes those who employ themselves as CDL drivers (owner-operators), typically a single-driver operation.
- Consortia/third-party administrators.
- Medical review officers.
- Substance abuse professionals.
FMCSA’s clearinghouse website contains user brochures and instructional aids with step-by-step registration instructions for all users. LL