What Is the FMCSA Clearinghouse?
The FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse is the federal database of CDL drivers' drug and alcohol program violations — positive tests, refusals, and return-to-duty status. If your fleet employs CDL drivers, you're required to be registered and to query it.
What do employers owe the FMCSA Clearinghouse?
- Pre-employment: a full query before a new CDL driver performs safety-sensitive work.
- Annually: a query on every employed CDL driver (49 CFR 382.701) — this is the recurring obligation fleets forget, and it's checked in audits.
- Reporting: violations that happen on your watch (positives, refusals) must be reported into the database.
Why does the Clearinghouse matter?
Violations follow the driver, not the employer. A chauffeur who failed a test at a previous company shows up in your pre-employment query — and a driver with an unresolved violation cannot legally perform safety-sensitive functions anywhere until completing the return-to-duty process. Skipping queries means you can unknowingly employ a prohibited driver, which is exactly the finding that turns an audit into a fine.
Common questions
What is the FMCSA Clearinghouse?
It is the federal database of CDL drivers' drug and alcohol program violations — positive tests, refusals, and return-to-duty status. Fleets that employ CDL drivers must be registered and query it.
How often must an employer query the FMCSA Clearinghouse?
A full pre-employment query before a new CDL driver performs safety-sensitive work, plus an annual query on every employed CDL driver (49 CFR 382.701). The annual query is the recurring obligation fleets most often forget, and it is checked in audits.
Why does the Clearinghouse matter?
Violations follow the driver, not the employer. A driver with an unresolved violation cannot legally perform safety-sensitive functions anywhere until completing return-to-duty, so skipping queries means you can unknowingly employ a prohibited driver.
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