DOT Compliance and Transportation Safety

CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse portal accounts

By: Kathy Close

Publication: Transportation Security & Risk Management Today

Date Posted: Oct 11, 2019

Implementation of the CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is scheduled for January 6, 2020.

In readiness of the launch date, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently opened registration to its site, leaving some to wonder who is subject to the rule and needs an account.

Kathy Close, J. J. Keller® subject matter expert on DOT drug and alcohol testing, appears in a two-minute video explaining who needs a portal account and why.

https://youtu.be/OkI7SZIdZCg

You may have heard that FMCSA opened enrollment to its Clearinghouse database.

Do you need an account? Well, if you're a motor carrier subject Part 382, you'll need to register, as will your service providers and possibly your drivers.

Well, as a motor carrier, you need that account to submit certain information to the portal, such as:

• Alcohol testing violations,
• Refusals to test that the MRO does not report, and
• Reports of actual knowledge.

You also need your portal account to request queries.

• There are two types of queries: Pre-employment queries, which you do on CDL applicants, and
• Annual queries, on anybody that you have in your part 382 program.

Well, what about your drivers? Do they need an account? Maybe, it depends.

A driver is required to have an account if they have to go in and authorize the motor carrier permission to access what they call a full report. A full report is pursued for pre-employment queries, so any applicants need an account.

Existing drivers would have to give you a full report if they have data in the Clearinghouse that shows that they have a violation, there a certain steps in the DOT return-to-duty process, or they have completed the follow-up programming. So, it depends.

Your driver may need an account if they're applying for a job or they have something in the system. So between now and January 6th, 2020 -- when the website’s launched -- it's important that:

• Your drivers know their roles,
• You touch base with your service providers, and
• You update your DOT testing policy.

You may also enjoy the following articles:

Your driver wants what? Reasonable accommodations in trucking

Use this consent form for limited Clearinghouse queries

Yes, D & A inquiries will come with a fee (and other Clearinghouse FAQs)

View all transportation-related articles...

The Everyday Drug & Alcohol Program Management manual goes beyond DOT compliance to help you proactively manage workplace drug and alcohol issues for drivers and other employees. It delivers best practices to help protect your employees, freight, facility, vehicles, data and reputation as well as your customers and the general public. View our full library of transportation compliance publications.

START YOUR FREE TRIAL