LAST REMINDER

Employers must conduct annual queries by January 5, 2021

If an employer has already conducted a query on all currently-employed CDL drivers, that employer has met the annual query requirement, and is not required to conduct a query for one year from the query date.

Employers may also designate a consortium/third-part administrator (C/TPA) to conduct these queries on their behalf. Employers can log in to their Clearinghouse accounts and access their Query History page (under My Dashboard > Queries) to verify which drivers have been queried, and when each completed query was conducted.

If an employer has not yet conducted a query on each currently-employed CDL driver, the employer must conduct this annual check to meet the compliance requirement.

What do employers need to do to satisfy the annual query requirement?

Per § 382.701, employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query of the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver they employ. A limited query satisfies the annual query requirement.

Employers must obtain a general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information (you can download a sample limited query consent form).

You can log in to the Clearinghouse and conduct your annual queries today.

What if an employer conducted a pre-employment query this year?

The pre-employment query will satisfy the annual query requirement for that driver. You are not required to query that driver until one year after that pre-employment query.

To learn more about queries and consent requests, download the Queries and Consent Requests Factsheet.

What is a query plan?

Before an employer can conduct queries in the Clearinghouse, the employer must purchase a query plan. Download the How to Purchase a Query Plan job aid for full instructions.

Log in to the Clearinghouse →

If you don’t have a Clearinghouse account, register today.

Return-To-Duty Follow-Up Testing Plans

If a CDL driver has incurred a drug and alcohol program violation, he or she must complete the return-to-duty (RTD) process established in 49 CFR part 40 before being permitted to return to safety-sensitive functions. A driver’s employer enters the following RTD information in the Clearinghouse: (1) date of the negative RTD test, and (2) date of the successful completion of follow-up testing program.

While a driver is eligible to perform safety-sensitive functions once he or she obtains a negative RTD test result, the driver is still required to complete the follow-up testing plan. This follow-up testing program must, at a minimum, include six unannounced tests within the first 12 months of returning to safety-sensitive functions.

Employers cannot enter the date of successful completion until the entire follow-up testing plan, including all prescribed follow-up tests, has been completed. If an employer enters this date in error, the employer should contact FMCSA to correct the error.

Learn More about Part 40 →

Email sent: 12/10/2020