Compliance FAQ
What disqualifies a driver from getting a CDL?
Federal disqualifications under 49 CFR §383.51 include a DUI/OUI conviction in any vehicle (one-year ban; lifetime if it occurred while operating a CMV transporting hazmat), refusal to submit to a chemical test (one-year minimum), leaving the scene of a CMV accident, using a CMV in commission of a felony (lifetime if drug-trafficking-related), and three serious traffic violations within three years (excessive speed, reckless driving, improper lane change, following too close, driving without a CDL or appropriate class). Medical disqualifiers under 49 CFR §391.41 include uncontrolled epilepsy, vision worse than 20/40 in either eye uncorrected for the corrected eye standard, hearing loss below the 5-foot whisper test, and uncontrolled diabetes without an exemption. State-level disqualifiers vary - most states reject applicants under 18 (intrastate) or 21 (interstate), with felony convictions in past five years, or with active warrants or unpaid child support.
Reviewed by Korey Sharp-Paar · Updated
Why does it matter?
Disqualifiers travel with the driver across state lines via CDLIS - the Commercial Driver License Information System operated by AAMVA. A DUI in any state surfaces instantly when a driver applies in another. The same is true for refusal to submit; a refusal in any state attaches to the CDLIS record permanently.
Carriers must run pre-employment MVRs from every state the driver has been licensed in over the past three years (49 CFR §391.23) plus an FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse query (49 CFR Part 382 Subpart G). The Clearinghouse query catches drug-and-alcohol disqualifications that are not yet on the MVR - violations that stay on record until return-to-duty and follow-up testing are complete and five years have passed since the violation (§382.719(a)).
Felony exemption pathways exist for some applicants through state-level rehabilitation certificates and FMCSA hardship exemptions, but the case must be made on a per-driver basis with documentation.