To complete this process, employers must enter their FMCSA Portal User ID and password. Any employer having trouble accessing their Portal account should contact the FMCSA Portal Registration Call Center at 800-724-2811 (hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. ET).

Employers with multiple USDOT Numbers in their Portal account will need to ensure they have the correct Clearinghouse Portal user role for each USDOT Number. For more information, see the Clearinghouse Portal User Roles job aid.

To add a USDOT Number (or USDOT Numbers) to a Clearinghouse employer account:

1. Log in to the Clearinghouse
2. Go to My Dashboard > My Profile
3. Click the button that says Add USDOT# at the top of the My Employer Profile screen.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the Clearinghouse.

Don’t have an FMCSA Portal account?

Each Clearinghouse user whose company has a USDOT Number should have their own personal FMCSA Portal Account. To request an account, visit the FMCSA Portal page

Not all entities registered in the Clearinghouse will have a USDOT Number. For more information visit the Do I need a USDOT Number? page on the FMCSA website.

Add Your CDL Information

Employers who have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) have the option to add their CDL information. This will create an additional “Driver” role in their Clearinghouse account.

To add CDL information to an employer account, click the Add CDL# button at the top of the My Profile page (under My Dashboard) and follow the system instructions. If you have already added a CDL, this button will say “Update CDL#”.

Employers must not use this feature to enter information about CDLs belonging to anyone else, including employees. If you have inadvertently entered incorrect CDL information, click the Update CDL# button on your My Profile page and click Remove CDL.

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What is the new Clearinghouse?

The Clearinghouse will improve 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 will provide 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.

Who will the Clearinghouse affect?

It will affect “all CDL drivers who operate CMVs on public roads, and employers/service agents.”
This includes, but is not limited to:
-Interstate/intrastate motor carriers, includes passenger carriers
-School bus drivers
-Construction equipment operators
-Limousine drivers
-Municipal vehicle drivers (e.g., waste management vehicles)
-Federal and state agencies that employ drivers subject to FMCSA drug and alcohol use testing regulations (e.g., Department of Defense, public transit)

What will be reported to the Clearinghouse?

-A verified positive, adulterated, or substituted controlled substance test
-Refusal to test (includes failure to appear)
-A verified positive alcohol test above .04
-DUI citation in a CMV
-DUI conviction in a CMV
-Actual knowledge of illicit alcohol or dug use (382.107)
-Negative return-to-duty
-Completion of follow-up

What should I do to get started with the Clearinghouse?

To get the process started, here are the steps that we suggest you implement right away:

1. Register your company at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov
   1. If you have a USDOT number, the clearinghouse will pull your company information from other relevant systems. Make sure to double check the accuracy of the information pulled.
   2. Assign others in your company to be assistants to help you manage the information provided through the clearinghouse.
2. Assign Blueline Services as your C/TPA (Consortium/Third Party Administrator).
3. Pre-purchase enough queries to cover your current DOT regulated employees.
   1. Queries never expire and additional can be purchased as needed.
4. Get your drivers to register at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov right away!
   1. A driver must register and give consent for his/her information to be accessible.  If they want to maintain a CDL, they HAVE to register on the clearinghouse site.  
   2. Drivers can monitor their information and dispute reported information directly on the site.

All employers with FMCSA regulated employees must register and use the clearinghouse. If drivers do not register, the consent will be sent by regular mail to the address on their CDL. This will delay employment and potential opportunities for drivers, so is in their best interest to register online.  Employers must query all new drivers before hire and all current drivers must be queried annually. The Clearinghouse is not yet integrated with other screening vendors/platforms, which means the queries need to be performed directly on the clearinghouse site. For the first three years (DOT requires a 3 year employment verification), Blueline can still provide the required employment verifications while the database catches up (year by year) to the requirement.  

We know change can cause heartburn, but this update is one that will be good for employers and overall industry safety. We encourage you to check out the excellent resources on the FAQ and Leaning Center pages of the clearinghouse website https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/ . 

Thank you for your continued business, please reach out to us with any questions or implementation issues.  

Blueline Drug Testing Department
801-575-8378
mail@blueline-services.com

The post FMCSA Employers: Don’t forget to sign up for the Clearinghouse! appeared first on Blueline.

1. Register your company at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov
   1. If you have a USDOT number, the clearinghouse will pull your company information from other relevant systems. Make sure to double check the accuracy of the information pulled.
   2. Assign others in your company to be assistants to help you manage the information provided through the clearinghouse.
2. Assign Blueline Services as your C/TPA (Consortium/Third Party Administrator).
3. Pre-purchase enough queries to cover your current DOT regulated employees.
   1. Queries never expire and additional can be purchased as needed.
4. Get your drivers to register at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov right away!
   1. A driver must register and give consent for his/her information to be accessible.  If they want to maintain a CDL, they HAVE to register on the clearinghouse site.  
   2. Drivers can monitor their information and dispute reported information directly on the site.

 
All employers with FMCSA regulated employees must register and use the clearinghouse. If drivers do not register, the consent will be sent by regular mail to the address on their CDL. This will delay employment and potential opportunities for drivers, so is in their best interest to register online.  Employers must query all new drivers before hire and all current drivers must be queried annually. The Clearinghouse is not yet integrated with other screening vendors/platforms, which means the queries need to be performed directly on the clearinghouse site. For the first three years (DOT requires a 3 year employment verification), Blueline can still provide the required employment verifications while the database catches up (year by year) to the requirement.  
 
We know change can cause heartburn, but this update is one that will be good for employers and overall industry safety. We encourage you to check out the excellent resources on the FAQ and Learning Center pages of the clearinghouse website https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/ . 
 
Thank you for your continued business, please reach out to us with any questions or implementation issues.  
 
Blueline Drug Testing Department
801-575-8378
mail@blueline-services.com 

The post Clearinghouse Information appeared first on Blueline.

Why Do Employers Need A Query Plan?

In order to conduct queries within the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, employers of CDL drivers and owner-operators must purchase a query plan.

The Clearinghouse final rule requires that employers conduct queries both as part of any pre-employment driver investigation and at least annually for every CDL driver they currently employ.

Please note that query purchases are required for designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) to conduct queries on prospective and current drivers in the Clearinghouse and that C/TPAs cannot purchase queries on behalf of employers.

There is a $1.25 flat rate per query – including both limited and full queries. However, options are available for high-volume users.

To see more details about the Clearinghouse query plans, you can visit their website here.

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