by Employers regulated by the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) must conduct background checks of driver-applicants per the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA requirements include obtaining information about the driver-applicant’s drug and alcohol violations that occurred in the previous three years. Until now, employers were required to directly contact all DOT-regulated employers that employed the driver-applicant in the past three years to collect and document this information. Effective January 6, 2023, employers may satisfy this requirement by conducting searches in the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
The FMCSA established the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse three years ago. It contains information pertaining to violations of the DOT controlled substances and alcohol testing program for CDL holders. Regulations require that FMCSA-regulated employers, medical review officers, substance abuse professionals, and other service agents report information related to violations of FMCSA drug and alcohol regulations by CDL holders to the Clearinghouse.
There are some limitations in relying on the FMCSA Clearinghouse to support the required background checks. The Clearinghouse contains only information reported by FMCSA-regulated employers. There are other DOT agencies (e.g., the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, etc.) that could regulate former employers of potential applicants. If the driver-applicant worked for an employer regulated by one of non-FMCSA agencies, direct contact with the previous employer will still be necessary to obtain the needed information. It should also be noted that direct contact with the driver-applicant’s previous FMCSA-regulated employer may be needed to obtain other information required by FMCSA regulations such as accident history.
For more information on the required background checks and the Clearinghouse:
