Compliance FAQ
What is the FMCSA Clearinghouse?
The FMCSA Clearinghouse is a federal database of CDL drug and alcohol testing violations under 49 CFR Part 382. Employers must run a query before hiring any CDL driver and run an annual query for every existing CDL employee. Drivers must register and consent to queries before any pre-employment search.
Reviewed by Korey Sharp-Paar · Updated
Why does it matter?
The Clearinghouse came online January 6, 2020. It centralized what used to be a patchwork of previous-employer phone calls - every CDL drug positive, refusal-to-test, or alcohol violation now flows into a single FMCSA-controlled record.
For owner-operators, you are both the employer AND the driver. You must designate a consortium / third-party administrator (C/TPA) to query on your behalf, since the employer-of-self construction is forbidden.