Understanding the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

The Clearinghouse is improving highway safety by helping employers, FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and State law enforcement to quickly and efficiently identify drivers who are not legally permitted to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) due to drug and alcohol program violations.

This secure online database provides access to real-time information, ensuring that drivers committing these violations complete the necessary steps before getting back behind the wheel, or performing any other safety-sensitive function. Mandate went into effect on January 6, 2020.

All FMCSA safety-sensitive companies must be registered with the Clearinghouse and identify their Consortium/Third-party administrator (C/TPA). There are two different types of searches employers can run on the Clearinghouse. Full queries require the employee’s consent to release their information, and it covers all the information the Clearinghouse has on the driver. Limited queries, on the other hand, allow employers to simply determine if the database contains any information on the driver.

Employers and others who are involved in the FMCSA-mandated drug and alcohol testing programs will be required to report any positive drug and alcohol tests to the Clearinghouse. This includes blood alcohol content of 0.04 or greater, refusals to test for alcohol or drugs, and any other violations of the FMCSA’s drug and alcohol rules.