The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is FMCSA’s database of drug and alcohol violations by CDL and CLP holders. As a driver you need to register only to do two things: give an employer electronic consent for a full query, and see or correct your own record. A violation stays visible to employers until you have finished the return-to-duty process, completed every follow-up test, and five years have passed since the violation, and since 18 November 2024 an unresolved violation also leads the state to remove the CDL privilege from your license.
This page is written from the driver’s side. The employer’s duties (the pre-employment query, the annual query, the 24-hour rule) are on a separate page for employers, and the testing program itself is covered in the DOT drug and alcohol testing guide.
What goes into your Clearinghouse record
Only violations and the steps that resolve them. Section 382.705 lists who reports what, and the list is short.
| Who reports | What they report | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Medical review officer (MRO) | Verified positive, adulterated or substituted drug test results; refusals that need an MRO determination | Within 2 business days of the verification (382.705(a)(1)) |
| Employer (or its C/TPA) | Alcohol confirmation test of 0.04 or higher; refusals to test that do not need an MRO; a negative return-to-duty test; completion of all follow-up tests | By the close of the third business day after obtaining the information (382.705(b)(1)) |
| Employer | "Actual knowledge" of on-duty alcohol use, alcohol use within four hours before duty, alcohol use after an accident, or controlled substance use | By the close of the third business day after obtaining actual knowledge (382.705(b)(4)) |
| Substance abuse professional (SAP) | The date of your initial assessment, then the date you were found eligible for return-to-duty testing | By the close of the business day after each event (382.705(d)(2)) |
Negative tests are not reported, with one exception: a negative return-to-duty test, because it is one of the steps that clears a violation (382.705(b)(2)(vi)(A)). An alcohol result between 0.02 and 0.039 is not a Clearinghouse violation either; under 382.505(a) it keeps you off safety-sensitive duty until your next regularly scheduled duty period, and not less than 24 hours.
An employer that reports actual knowledge of use must back it up. 382.705(b)(5) requires the date of knowledge, witnesses, a description, supporting evidence and a certificate of service showing that the employer gave you everything it reported. A report of a failure to appear for a test must also carry documentation of when and where you were told to appear (382.705(b)(3)). Those requirements matter later, because a report that lacks them can be removed.
Why a driver has to register
The rules do not require every CDL holder to open an account. They require it in two situations.
1. To give consent for a full query
382.703(a): no employer may query the Clearinghouse about you without your written or electronic consent. For a limited query (which only says whether a record exists), paper consent is enough, and it may cover more than one year (382.701(b)(2)). For a full query, which releases the details, 382.703(b) and (d) require you to submit electronic consent through the Clearinghouse itself. You cannot do that without an account. A full query is required before every new hire (382.701(a)) and within 24 hours of a limited query that finds a record (382.701(b)(3)).
If you refuse, the consequence is set in 382.703(c): no employer may let you perform a safety-sensitive function. In practice, refusing consent for a pre-employment query means you are not hired into a driving job.
2. To see your own record and to designate a SAP
382.709: a driver may review the information about himself or herself, but must register first. 382.715(b): a driver must designate a SAP in the Clearinghouse before that SAP can enter anything about your return-to-duty process. If you have a violation, registering is not optional in practice, because the clearing steps cannot be recorded otherwise.
382.721: FMCSA may charge a fee to entities that query, but no driver may be required to pay to access his or her own information. Registration itself runs on FMCSA’s Clearinghouse website; the rules do not prescribe the login steps, so follow the site’s instructions.
Owner-operators
A driver who employs himself or herself is both driver and employer. 382.705(b)(6) requires such a driver to designate a C/TPA (consortium/third-party administrator) to handle the employer reporting duties about his or her own drug and alcohol use, and under 382.705(c) the owner-operator does not keep responsibility for what that designated C/TPA reports. The query duties in 382.701 still apply to any driver the owner-operator employs, including other drivers hired later. The rest of the program for a one-driver company, including the random pool, is explained in the testing guide and the random testing rates page.
What FMCSA must tell you
382.707 gives drivers three notices: when information about you is added, revised or removed, and when it is released to an employer, with the reason for the release. By default the notice goes by U.S. Mail to the address on your CDL record; you can give the Clearinghouse an email address or another address instead (382.707(c)). If you move and do not update either, notices will go to the old address.
How a violation affects your license: Clearinghouse II
Since 18 November 2024, the Clearinghouse is connected to state licensing in two directions.
- On application. Under 382.725(a)(2) the state licensing official must obtain your Clearinghouse record when you apply for a CDL or CLP. Applying counts as consent (382.725(b)).
- Downgrade. Under 383.73(q), when the state is notified that you are prohibited from operating a CMV under 382.501(a), it must start its downgrade procedure, meaning removal of the CLP or CDL privilege from your license, and complete it on the CDLIS record within 60 days.
- Stopping the downgrade. If the state learns before it finishes that you are no longer prohibited under 382.503(a), it must end the downgrade without removing the privilege, if state law permits (383.73(q)(1)).
- Reinstatement. If the downgrade is already done and FMCSA later reports that you are no longer prohibited, the state must make you eligible for reinstatement, if state law permits (383.73(q)(2)). 382.503(b) is explicit: you may not drive a CMV until the state actually reinstates the privilege.
- Errors. If FMCSA tells the state you were wrongly identified as prohibited, the state must reinstate you as expeditiously as possible and expunge the reference from your records (383.73(q)(3)).
What ends the prohibition is set in 382.503(a): meeting the requirements of Part 40, Subpart O, which is the SAP evaluation, the education or treatment, and a negative return-to-duty test. The whole sequence is on the return-to-duty page.
How long a violation stays visible: the "5-year rule"
The removal rule is 382.719(a). A violation stops being available to querying employers only after all four of these are true:
- the SAP has reported the information required by 382.705(d), including the date you became eligible for return-to-duty testing;
- an employer has reported a negative return-to-duty test;
- your current employer has reported that you completed all follow-up tests in the SAP’s plan; and
- five years have passed since the date of the violation determination.
382.719(b) says it plainly: until all four are met, the violation stays available. Two consequences follow. Five years alone do not clear a violation for a driver who never did the return-to-duty process. And a driver who finishes everything in 18 months still has the violation visible until the five-year date. Even after removal, 382.719(d) lets FMCSA keep using the information for research, audit and enforcement.
Worked example: when does it drop off?
Example, applying 382.719(a). A driver’s random test is verified positive on 10 March 2025. The SAP evaluates him in April, he completes the recommended education, and the SAP reports him eligible on 30 June 2025. His new employer reports a negative return-to-duty test on 8 July 2025. The SAP’s plan calls for follow-up testing for 24 months, and the employer reports completion on 15 July 2027. The first three conditions are all met by July 2027, but the fourth, five years from the March 2025 determination, is not met until March 2030. Employers querying him between July 2027 and March 2030 still see the violation, together with the records showing it was resolved; after that date it is no longer available to them.
Correcting or removing information: the petition
382.717 sets out what a driver can and cannot challenge. The limits come first, because they surprise people.
What you cannot challenge here
382.717(a)(1): the petition covers administrative errors only, such as data entry mistakes or a duplicate report of the same positive test. You may not use it to contest the accuracy of a test result, a refusal, or other violation information. Disputes about the test itself belong to the Part 40 process (split specimen testing, the MRO interview), not to the Clearinghouse petition.
Three exceptions
- DUI citation without a conviction. If an employer reported actual knowledge based on a citation for driving a CMV under the influence, and the citation did not end in a conviction, you may ask FMCSA to add documentary evidence of the non-conviction (382.717(a)(2)(i)). FMCSA must then remove the information within 2 business days of granting the request (382.719(c)(1)).
- Actual-knowledge reports that lack the required evidence. You may ask for removal of an actual-knowledge report that does not comply with 382.705(b)(5) (382.717(a)(2)(ii)).
- Failure-to-appear refusals that lack the required documentation. You may ask for removal of a report under 40.261(a)(1) or 40.191(a)(1) that does not comply with 382.705(b)(3) (382.717(a)(2)(iii)).
How to file and the deadlines
| Step | Rule | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Petition with your name, address, phone, CDL number and state, a detailed description of why the information is wrong, and evidence | 382.717(b) | No filing deadline in the rule; filing without evidence is cause for dismissal |
| FMCSA written decision on a complete petition | 382.717(d) | Within 45 days |
| Expedited treatment if the error is currently keeping you from safety-sensitive work | 382.717(e) | Decision within 14 days of a complete petition, if granted |
| Administrative review if you think the decision was wrong | 382.717(f) | FMCSA decides within 30 days; that is the final agency action |
You may file electronically through the Clearinghouse or in writing to the FMCSA address in 382.717(c). An administrative review request must state at the top "Administrative Review of Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Decision" (382.717(f)(2)). When information is corrected or removed, FMCSA must notify every employer that accessed the incorrect information (382.717(g)).
Who can see your record, and what they may do with it
382.723(a) bars access by anyone the subpart does not authorize, and bars sharing or publishing Clearinghouse information except as the law allows. 382.723(b) limits an employer’s use to deciding whether a prohibition applies to you for safety-sensitive work. A state licensing official may use it only to decide your qualification to operate a CMV (382.725(c)). Violations of these limits carry civil and criminal penalties (382.723(c), 382.727).
Common mistakes drivers make
- Waiting to register until a job offer. The full query needs your electronic consent, and a new hire cannot drive until the query is done (382.701(a)). Registering in advance avoids a delay on the first day.
- Using the petition to dispute a positive test. 382.717(a)(1) excludes it. Raise test disputes with the MRO and through the split specimen process under Part 40.
- Assuming five years clears everything. Under 382.719(a) the five years are only one of four conditions.
- Changing employers during follow-up testing and assuming the plan ends. The plan follows you to the next employer (49 CFR 40.307(e)).
- Ignoring the downgrade notice. Once the state has downgraded the license, driving a CMV before reinstatement breaks 382.503(b), even after the return-to-duty process is finished.
- Not updating the notification address. 382.707(c) sends notices to the licensing address unless you give another.