REMINDERS FOR OWNER-OPERATORS

How do I register for the Clearinghouse?

If you are an owner-operator—an employer that employs himself or herself as a CDL driver—and have not yet registered in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, you may be wondering which role to choose.

If you operate under another motor carrier’s USDOT Number, register as a driver.

Download Driver Registration Job Aid

If you operate under your own authority/USDOT Number, register as an employer. You will be able to add your CDL information to your account after your registration is complete.

Download Employer (With Portal Account) Registration Job Aid

As part of your Clearinghouse registration, you will be prompted to log in to your Portal account. This will tie your Clearinghouse activity to your USDOT Number. To do this, make sure you have requested the correct Clearinghouse Portal user role.

Download the Portal User Role Job Aid

If you do not have an FMCSA Portal Account

Every motor carrier should have an account in the FMCSA Portal. If you do not have one, request one today.

If you are having trouble creating or accessing your Portal account, you can follow the instructions to register as an employer without a Portal account. You will be able to merge your Clearinghouse and Portal accounts at a later date.

Register in the Clearinghouse →

Why designate a C/TPA?

Per § 382.705(b)(6), an owner-operator must designate a consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA) in the Clearinghouse (this applies only to owner-operators that are registered as employers). The C/TPA is responsible for reporting violations of the drug and alcohol program incurred by the owner-operator. If the owner-operator chooses, they can also contract with the C/TPA to have them perform other required actions in the Clearinghouse on the owner-operator’s behalf, including conducting queries and reporting violations incurred by other drivers the owner-operator may employ.

Per § 382.305(j)(2), an employer may also work with a C/TPA to help them perform random selections for drug and alcohol testing. Working with a C/TPA in this way does not meet the requirement for designating a C/TPA in the Clearinghouse. If a C/TPA performs random selections for you, you will still need to talk to this C/TPA, or a different C/TPA, about serving as your designated C/TPA in the Clearinghouse.

After you have selected the C/TPA who will serve as your designated C/TPA in the Clearinghouse, and spoken with this C/TPA about serving in this role, you must log in to the Clearinghouse and designate them as your C/TPA. Instructions for this process are in the job aid below.

Download the Designate Your C/TPA Job Aid

Note that a C/TPA must be registered in the Clearinghouse before you can send them a designation request.

Visit the Enhanced Clearinghouse Learning Center In January, the Clearinghouse Learning Center was updated with additional job aids and instructional resources. Select “Owner-Operators” to access information tailored to your role.

Visit the Learning Center →

Email sent: 3/27/2020