The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is strongly encouraging all commercial motor vehicle stakeholders, including motor carriers and drivers, to register now for access to the agency’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, so you can be ready when it becomes operational on January 6, 2020. Registration, which takes about 15 minutes, is free, and is available at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/register.

The Clearinghouse, which was established by a final rule published in December 2016, is a secure online database that will give employers, the FMCSA, state driver licensing agencies, and state law enforcement personnel real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations.

The Clearinghouse will contain records of violations of drug and alcohol prohibitions in 49 CFR Part 382, Subpart B, including positive drug or alcohol test results and test refusals. The database will also record when a driver completes the return-to-duty (RTD) process and follow-up testing plan.

Registration instructions for employers are available here. While drivers are not required to register for the Clearinghouse, they must complete the registration process before they can respond to prospective or current employer consent requests or access their own Clearinghouse record beginning on January 6, 2020. Registration instructions for a driver who holds either a CDL or CLP can be accessed here.

Suggestions when registering:

Use a secure Wi-Fi connection (not public Wi-Fi)
Have your CDL handy
Have multiple devices close at hand as the registration process requires the completion of a user verification process to ensure the proper person is using those credentials

For more information about the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, visit the Clearinghouse website or download the following resources:

Check out our “Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse” page for a quick overview of FMCSA’s original 2020 Clearinghouse regulation, and visit “FMCSA Clearinghouse-II: What Employers Need to Know” for information about the Clearinghouse-II rule. Lancer policyholders can get further assistance regarding the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse by contacting the Lancer SafetyLink Hotline or calling 800-664-7222.