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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

Starting January 6, 2020 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)'s new database, Clearinghouse will be fully operational and use of it will be mandatory for employers reporting drug and alcohol violations. According the the FMCSA's official Clearinghouse website: "The Clearinghouse is a secure online database that will give employers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs), and State law enforcement personnel real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations."

The Clearinghouse will contain records of drug and alcohol violations, including positive drug or alcohol test results and test refusals. When a driver completes the return-to-duty (RTD) process and follow-up testing plan.

How does this impact MMC and our customers?

- All MMC customers who require Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing will have to update their substance abuse policy to indicate that data will be uploaded to the Clearinghouse.

- MMC's Medical Review Officer (MRO) must report any drug and alcohol violations to the Clearinghouse when DOT testing is conducted.

- There will be a change to the Chain of Custody and Control Form (CCF), currently the forms allow for the use of either the driver’s social security number (SSN) or employee identification number (EIN). However, under
the new Clearinghouse rules, the FMCSA will now require the CDL number and state of issuance to be reported to the Clearinghouse if there is a violation. These will be included on the CCF.

- Customers who have employees that operate a commercial vehicle will be required to check the Clearinghouse annually for violations.

- Registration is now open to use the Clearinghouse. MMC has registered and recommends that any customers who do DOT testing have a designated representative register to view employee records.

For more information on the Clearinghouse, visit the FMCSA's Clearinghouse site HERE or view a informative PDF HERE.

Have more questions? Call MMC today at 888-662-8358!

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