What Is the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse? When NEMT Companies Must Use It

What the Clearinghouse is

The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is an online database run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). It holds drug and alcohol program violations by people who hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or a commercial learner’s permit. Employers, testing service agents, state licensing agencies, and enforcement officers use it. It has recorded violations since January 6, 2020.

A record in the Clearinghouse is one of these, under the testing rules in 49 CFR part 382:

• A verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test.
• An alcohol test result of 0.04 or more.
• A refusal to test.
• An employer’s report that it has actual knowledge of drug use or of drinking on duty, before duty, or after an accident.
• The steps back: a negative return-to-duty test and the finished follow-up testing plan.

A driver with an open violation is in “prohibited” status and may not drive a CDL vehicle. Since November 18, 2024, the state licensing agency must also take the commercial privileges off the license within 60 days of being notified (49 CFR 383.73(q)). The driver can get them back only after finishing the return-to-duty process.

FMCSA’s Clearinghouse reports show more than 50,000 violations reported each year. As of February 1, 2026, nearly 80 percent of drivers in prohibited status had not started the return-to-duty process, so they still could not drive a CDL vehicle for anyone.

Which NEMT drivers the Clearinghouse covers

The Clearinghouse follows the CDL, not the kind of trip. Part 382 applies to every driver who operates a commercial motor vehicle in commerce and must hold a CDL, and to that driver’s employer (49 CFR 382.103). For these rules, a passenger vehicle needs a CDL when it is designed to carry 16 or more people including the driver, or rated at 26,001 pounds or more (49 CFR 382.107).

“Commerce” here reaches trips that stay in one state. FMCSA’s FAQs say the Clearinghouse affects all CDL drivers who operate on public roads, at interstate and intrastate carriers, passenger carriers included. The federal safety rules set aside the transportation of sick and injured persons, but that exception does not apply to drug and alcohol testing (49 CFR 382.103(c)).

Your vehicle	Does the driver need a CDL?	Clearinghouse duties
Sedan, minivan, or wheelchair van under 26,001 pounds, built for 15 or fewer including the driver, on in-state trips	No	None. Any drug screens a broker or state requires are never reported to the Clearinghouse.
The same vehicles on paid interstate trips, when built or used for 9 to 15 people including the driver, or rated 10,001 pounds or more	No	None in the Clearinghouse. These are commercial motor vehicles under the general safety rules (49 CFR 390.5T), so the driver hiring rules may apply, including asking earlier DOT employers about violations (49 CFR 391.23(e)).
Bus designed for 16 or more people including the driver	Yes, even on in-state trips	Pre-employment and yearly queries, and reporting
Any vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more	Yes	Pre-employment and yearly queries, and reporting

Two setups change the answer:

• Transit contracts only. Part 382 does not apply to employers and drivers who must follow only the Federal Transit Administration testing rules in 49 CFR part 655 (49 CFR 382.103(d)). Those tests are never reported to the Clearinghouse. FMCSA’s FAQs add that once a driver also does work FMCSA regulates, such as driving a CDL vehicle outside the transit contract, you query that driver before hire and every year.
• You are the only CDL driver. An owner who drives is both employer and driver. You must name a consortium or third-party administrator (C/TPA) in the Clearinghouse to handle your reporting (49 CFR 382.705(b)(6)), and you must be tested from a random pool of two or more drivers (49 CFR 382.103(b)).

Not sure which side of the line your fleet is on? Check each vehicle’s seating design and weight rating in do NEMT drivers need a CDL.

When you must query the Clearinghouse

A query checks whether a driver has a violation on file. There are two kinds. A limited query only says whether a record exists. A full query shows the details and needs the driver’s consent inside the Clearinghouse.

Query	When	Consent	Rule
Pre-employment	Before the driver performs any safety-sensitive function, such as driving a CDL vehicle	Full query. The driver registers and consents electronically.	49 CFR 382.701(a)
Annual	At least once every 12 months for every CDL driver, counted from the last query	A limited query is enough, with the driver’s written consent, which may cover more than one year	49 CFR 382.701(b)
Follow-up to a limited query	Within 24 hours when a limited query shows a record	Full query	49 CFR 382.701(b)(3)
Follow-on after an FMCSA notice	FMCSA advises one within 24 hours of its email saying a driver you queried in the last 12 months has new information. It also restarts that driver’s 12-month clock.	Full query	FMCSA FAQ, notices since March 8, 2023

If you miss the 24-hour follow-up, the driver stays off safety-sensitive work until a full query comes back clear. A driver who refuses consent cannot work in a safety-sensitive job at all (49 CFR 382.703(c)).

The pre-employment query also replaces most of your checks with past employers. Since January 6, 2023, FMCSA’s FAQs say, employers covered by the Clearinghouse must use it for the drug and alcohol history of drivers from other FMCSA-regulated employers, under 49 CFR 382.413 and 391.23(e)(4). Other DOT agencies do not report to it. If a new hire drove for a transit agency under FTA rules, request that history from the agency directly, and keep its answer.

What queries cost and what to keep

As of September 2026, every query costs a flat $1.25, limited or full. Only the employer can buy query plans, on the Clearinghouse site, and unused queries never expire. When a limited query finds a record and you follow up with a full query, you pay once for both.

Keep each driver’s limited query consent for 3 years from the date of the last query (49 CFR 382.703(a)). The Clearinghouse keeps your query history, and since January 6, 2023 a valid registration meets the rule to keep a record of each query for 3 years (49 CFR 382.701(e)). For drivers who came from other DOT modes, keep copies of those employers’ answers in the driver’s file. The driver file checklist shows what else goes in each file.

What you must report

Several people report to the Clearinghouse, each with its own clock (49 CFR 382.705):

Who	What they report	Deadline
Medical review officer	Verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug tests, and refusals the officer determines	Within 2 business days
You, the employer	Alcohol results of 0.04 or more, refusals, actual knowledge of drug or alcohol use, negative return-to-duty results, and finished follow-up testing	By the close of the third business day after you learn of it
Substance abuse professional	The initial assessment date, and the date the driver becomes eligible for return-to-duty testing	By the close of the business day after each one

Actual knowledge has a narrow meaning. It covers what you directly see, what a previous employer tells you, a ticket for driving a CDL vehicle under the influence, or the driver’s own admission (49 CFR 382.107). Behavior that only makes you suspicious calls for a reasonable suspicion test, not a report. An actual knowledge report needs supporting evidence, such as witness statements or photos, and proof that you gave the driver a copy of everything you reported.

Only DOT tests go in. FMCSA bars reporting results of non-DOT tests, such as a pre-hire screen a broker requires for van drivers. Knowingly reporting false information can bring civil and criminal penalties.

How a small NEMT company sets up the Clearinghouse

1. List which drivers need a CDL. Only those drivers, and anyone you plan to hire for those vehicles, go into the program.
2. Join a DOT testing program. A consortium or third-party administrator can run the random pool and paperwork for you, and an owner-operator must use one.
3. Register your company in the Clearinghouse. Each user needs their own Login.gov account. A company with a USDOT number can register with its FMCSA Portal login, and others register as an employer without a Portal account. Since April 27, 2026, new employer accounts without a Portal account, and new C/TPA accounts, must pass an identity check.
4. Name your C/TPA in your account if it will run queries or report for you.
5. Buy a query plan big enough for this year’s hires and your current CDL drivers.
6. Get written consent for limited queries from each CDL driver. FMCSA posts a sample form, and one consent can cover several years if it states the period.
7. Ask each driver to register so pre-employment and follow-up consents can be given right away.
8. Run the pre-employment full query before the first trip, then set a reminder for each driver’s yearly query.
9. Keep the account active. A registration lasts 5 years, but FMCSA cancels it if you make no query or report for 2 years (49 CFR 382.713). If you change your C/TPA, update the account within 10 days (49 CFR 382.711(b)(3)).

Put the Clearinghouse steps into your written testing policy with the free NEMT drug and alcohol policy. For the testing rules themselves, random rates, and what brokers require from drivers who need no CDL, see NEMT driver drug testing.