FMCSA Clearinghouse

Employers who employ school bus drivers subject to the CDL /CLP licensing requirements in 49 CFR Part 383 and the drug and alcohol testing requirements in 49 CFR Part 382 are required to query or report information in the Clearinghouse.  The FMSCA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse provides employers a centralized location to query driver information and report drug and alcohol program violations incurred by their current and prospective employees holding CDLs and CLPs.

The employer must use the Clearinghouse:

• Pre-employment:   Conduct a full query of the Clearinghouse as part of each pre-employment driver investigation process to determine if they have any violations that would prohibit them from driving.

• Annually:  Conduct limited queries at least annually for every driver they employ.  The timeframe for conducting the annual query is not specified.
• Request electronic consent from the driver for a full query, including pre-employment queries.
• Report drug and alcohol program violations.
• Record the negative return-to-duty (RTD) test results and the date of successful completion of a follow-up testing plan for any driver they employ with unresolved drug and alcohol program violations.

The employer must obtain a general driver consent, which is done outside the Clearinghouse. The consent may be effective for more than one year but must specify the timeframe for which the driver is providing consent. A sample limited consent form is available at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resource/Index/Sample-Limited-Consent-Form.

Information, including a FAQ on the Clearinghouse is available on the FMCSA website.

 

Last Modified: 10/22/2024 8:41:58 AM

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