Return of FMCSA Certified Medical Examiner website short-lived

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners website is down – again.

The site, which allows commercial drivers to confirm which doctors are on the national registry to perform Department of Transportation physicals, went down on the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 30 and didn’t resume its functionality until the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 14. However, the site stopped working on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 15, and still wasn’t working as of Monday, Dec. 18.

“FMCSA IT Support is aware of the issue and is working on a solution to remedy the situation,” the website stated. “Once the site returns to service, a notification will be sent to all Certified Medical Examiners. We suggest driver and carriers continue to visit the site periodically to determine availability.”

As of Monday afternoon, the FMCSA had provided no explanation for what has been causing the site to go down, and the agency didn’t give any estimates for when the site should be working.

The functionality of the site will become even more important in June when the process will change from a driver receiving a medical card from the examiner after passing the exam to where the information will be submitted electronically to the FMCSA and then to the state licensing agency. The final rule takes effect June 22.

Truck drivers, who are preparing for a DOT physical, can use the OOIDA website to read reviews on certified medical examiners. Drivers should contact healthcare professionals directly to verify that they certified and on the national registry until the FMCSA website is working again.