What it is
The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is a federal database of drug and alcohol program violations by CDL and CLP holders. Employers, medical review officers, substance abuse professionals and consortia report into it, and employers query it before hiring and annually thereafter.
Before it existed, a driver who failed a test could resign and be hired down the road by a carrier who would never learn about it unless a previous employer volunteered the information. That gap is closed.
What employers have to do
Register as an employer, or designate your consortium to query on your behalf. Run a full query before a driver first performs a safety-sensitive function, which requires the driver's specific electronic consent given inside the Clearinghouse itself. Run a limited query at least once every 12 months on every CDL driver you employ, which requires general consent you collect and retain yourself.
Report violations you become aware of, including refusals and actual knowledge. Track return-to-duty and follow-up testing through to completion for any driver in prohibited status.
The annual limited query is the one that slips. It is not tied to a hire date or a birthday, it is a rolling twelve months per driver, and with thirty drivers on staggered dates it becomes a calendar problem rather than a compliance problem. Which is precisely why it gets missed.
Prohibited status
A driver in prohibited status may not perform safety-sensitive functions. Not reduced duty, not yard moves, not one load. If a query comes back prohibited and the driver keeps driving, you have a violation that is both serious and trivially easy for an investigator to prove, because the query record and your dispatch records are both timestamped.
Getting out of prohibited status runs through a substance abuse professional: evaluation, the SAP's prescribed education or treatment, a follow-up evaluation, a negative return-to-duty test, and then a follow-up testing plan the employer must execute.
Employer Clearinghouse obligations
| Obligation | When | Consent required |
|---|---|---|
| Employer registration | Before your first query | n/a |
| Full query | Before the driver first performs a safety-sensitive function | Driver's electronic consent inside the Clearinghouse |
| Limited query | At least every 12 months per CDL driver | General consent collected and retained by the employer |
| Violation reporting | By the close of the third business day after you learn of it | n/a |
| Return-to-duty and follow-up tracking | Through completion of the SAP's plan | n/a |
Questions
Can my consortium run Clearinghouse queries for me?+
Yes. Employers may designate a consortium or third-party administrator to query on their behalf, which is how most carriers handle it. You remain responsible for the obligation being met.
What is the difference between a full and a limited query?+
A limited query tells you only whether information exists on the driver. A full query returns the detail. Full queries require the driver's specific electronic consent given inside the Clearinghouse; limited queries run on general consent you collect and keep.
What happens if I miss an annual limited query?+
It is a violation of 49 CFR Part 382 Subpart G and it is easy to detect, because the Clearinghouse keeps a timestamped record of every query you ran. Missing queries across multiple drivers reads as a program failure rather than an oversight.
Does a driver in prohibited status have to be fired?+
No. They may not perform safety-sensitive functions, which is different. Non-driving work is permitted, and many carriers keep the driver employed through the return-to-duty process.
This page summarizes federal regulations for general information. It is not legal advice, and the regulations change. Verify current requirements against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations or ask us.