Yes. The Clearinghouse is a Federal system of records subject to the Privacy Act. For example, the Agency will verify the driver’s consent for the release of certain information prior to allowing an employer to access the driver’s Clearinghouse record. In addition, drivers may access their own Clearinghouse record. Further, Drivers have the right to request inaccurate information in their Clearinghouse record be corrected. In accordance with the Department of Transportation’s Privacy Act procedures in 49 CFR part 10, subpart E, drivers may submit a written request to the Chief, Drug and Alcohol Programs Division, detailing the correction and the reasons the record should be so corrected. For full instructions on how to submit a request, see the Requests for Record Correction Under the Privacy Act job aid.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) takes the protection of personal information very seriously. The Clearinghouse will meet all relevant Federal security standards and FMCSA will verify the effectiveness of the security protections on a regular basis.
- Clearinghouse information is not available to the public; only authorized users are able to register and access the Clearinghouse for designated purposes.
- The Clearinghouse requires authentication, via a login.gov username and password, to access records. Login.gov, a shared service which offers secure online access to participating government systems, also requires the completion of a user verification process to ensure the proper person is using those credentials.
- Drivers registered in the Clearinghouse can access their Clearinghouse records at any time, and at no cost to them. Drivers may only access their own information, not information about other drivers.
- FMCSA will only share detailed drug and alcohol violation information with a prospective or current employer, and/or their designated consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA), when an employer or designated C/TPA has requested and received specific consent from the driver. Drivers will be able to see the information that would be released to an employer before consenting to the release.
- Driver information will only be used by FMCSA and other enforcement agencies as required to enforce drug and alcohol testing regulations.
No. The final rule requires the driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) number and issuing State must be used when reporting a drug and alcohol program violation in the Clearinghouse.