Employers with drivers subject to the Department of Transportation (DOT) Drug and Alcohol testing requirements found in CFR 49 part 382 must participate in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse, which has been in effect since January 6th of 2020, requires that Employers conduct at least one query per year for each regulated driver. There are two types of queries which can be performed: the limited query and the full query. For more information on these two queries, please click here. Performing a limited query WILL satisfy the annual query requirement. However, if the limited query shows results in the Clearinghouse for any driver, a full query must be conducted within 24 hours.
As the year is quickly coming to a close, this is your reminder to make sure you have performed an annual query for each of your regulated drivers this year.
Don’t forget that before any queries are performed, you will need to have employee consent. For limited queries, employees must give consent either in writing or electronically but if a full query must be done, the driver must give electronic consent by logging on to the Clearinghouse website.
If you are unsure how to conduct a query, please click here to find a guide by the FMCSA that includes the steps required to successfully conduct these queries. On the aforementioned page, there is a separate link that provides instructions on how a consortium/third party administrator (C/TPA) can conduct these queries on your behalf. To find more information about the Clearinghouse, queries, and consent forms, please click here to access a general guide, created by PRISM that may help answer your questions. As always, if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Risk Control staff.