Thousands of commercial drivers could have their CDL or CLP revoked under new rule

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reminding drivers about an upcoming compliance date that would result in over 178,000 commercial driver’s license and commercial learner’s permit holders having their commercial driving privileges revoked.

Beginning Nov. 18, state driver licensing agencies will be required to “remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the driver’s license of an individual” carrying a “prohibited” status in the agency’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Once downgraded, those privileges can be reinstated only after the “driver complies with return-to-duty requirements.”

The agency’s modifications to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse regulations came in two parts. The first rule, which took effect in 2020, required employers to query the Clearinghouse for violations from current and prospective employees prior to allowing them to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The rule also required employers to run a query on all current employees annually.

Under the second phase, state driver licensing agencies will be required to:

• Query the Clearinghouse before issuing, renewing, upgrading or transferring CDLs and issuing, renewing and upgrading commercial learner’s permits
• Review a driver’s information when notified by FMCSA of a driver’s Clearinghouse status change

According to FMCSA, the second Clearinghouse rule “will improve the enforcement of the current driving prohibition by requiring that states refrain from issuing, renewing, transferring or upgrading the CLP or CDL of affected drivers.”

Data from the September 2024 Clearinghouse Report shows a total of 178,839 CLP and CDL holders currently carry a prohibited status. Of those drivers, 136,224 have not begun the return-to-duty process.

After the Nov. 18 compliance date, drivers who still carry a prohibited status could be subject to fines or other requirements implemented by the state their CDL was issued from prior to having their commercial vehicle privileges reinstated.

It should be noted that the compliance date is when states will be required to comply with the new regulation, rather than when states will begin to downgrade drivers. State licensing agencies with the legislative authority can voluntarily query the Clearinghouse and downgrade CDLs and CLPs of prohibited drivers ahead of the compliance date.

According to CMCI, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s drug and alcohol consortium, a number of states – including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas – have already begun the process. LL