FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

Query Plan Details

Query plans will be available for purchase on the Clearinghouse website in fall 2019.

FMCSA has released the query plan options for employers of CDL drivers. The query plan information is in the attached factsheet, it is also available for download on the Clearinghouse website. Query plans will be available for purchase fall 2019.

Learn more about Query Plans

What are Clearinghouse queries?

Beginning January 6, 2020, employers subject to the Clearinghouse final rule will be required to take certain actions in the Clearinghouse, such as querying the Clearinghouse for information on current and prospective employees to verify they are not prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions due to an unresolved drug and alcohol program violation. Employers will be required to query the Clearinghouse as part of every pre-employment driver investigation, and at least annually for drivers they employ. All queries require driver consent.

Learn more about queries and consent requests

Why does an employer need to purchase a query plan?

Employers will be charged a fee for conducting queries in the Clearinghouse. If an employer works with a consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA), they must purchase a query plan before the C/TPA can conduct queries in the Clearinghouse on their behalf. C/TPAs cannot purchase a query plan on behalf of an employer.

Learn more about how employers will work with C/TPAs

Download the Query Plan Factsheet

Expanded Clearinghouse FAQs from FMCSA

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has enhanced and expanded the FAQs on the Clearinghouse website. Visit the new FMCSA FAQs page to access more than 50 questions and answers. You can search or filter to find specific information.

Some topics include General Information, Registration, Security, Queries and Consent Requests, Reporting Violations, Return-to-Duty, and Cross-Border Transportation.

DOT Publishes Drug Testing Rule

Today, April 23, 2019, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule that makes minor technical corrections to the OST, FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations governing drug testing for safety-sensitive employees to ensure consistency with the recent amendments made to the Department of Transportation’s regulation, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,” which added requirements to test for oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone to DOT-regulated drug testing programs. The changes to the Department’s regulation make it necessary to refer to these substances, as well as the previously covered drugs morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, and codeine, by the more inclusive term “opioids,” rather than “opiates.” This rule amends the term in the FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations to ensure that all DOT drug testing rules are consistent with one another and with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. In addition, this rule makes a conforming amendment to include the term “opioids” in the wording of the Department’s annual information collection requirement and clarifications to section 40.26 and Appendix H regarding the requirement for employers to follow the Department’s instructions for the annual information collection.

To learn more about this final rule, visit www.transportation.gov.

Federal Transit Administration Announcement

November 9, 2018 - Federal Transit Administration

A special edition of FTA’s Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates newsletter, including information about the upcoming random drug testing rate increase, is now available. The newsletter provides guidance for multi-modal employers on how to test at the higher rate, including how to calculate the number of required random drug test.

Links:

FTA Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates October 2018 Special Edition
Drug & Alcohol Regulation Updates Newsletters
FTA Dear Colleague Letter: 2019 Random Drug Testing Rate Increase

Fly Safe: Prevent Loss of Control Accidents

October 22, 2018 - www.faa.gov

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the general aviation (GA) community’s national #FlySafe campaign helps educate GA pilots about the best practices to calculate and predict aircraft performance and to operate within established aircraft limitations.

A Loss of Control (LOC) accident involves an unintended departure of an aircraft from controlled flight. LOC can happen when the aircraft enters a flight regime that is outside its normal flight envelope and quickly develops into a stall or spin. It can introduce an element of surprise for the pilot.