Employers of CDL Drivers Can Now Purchase Query Plans on the FMCSA Clearinghouse
posted in Alerts by Brian Gray
Employers of CDL Drivers Can Now Purchase Query Plans on the FMCSA Clearinghouse
According to the FMCSA Clearinghouse website, “all employers of CDL drivers must purchase a query plan in the Clearinghouse. This query plan enables employers, and their consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), to conduct queries of driver Clearinghouse records.”
CleanFleet Consortium/TPA can now see a “Query Balance” column for the employers we help with Clearinghouse queries and reporting. Employers that are registered with the Clearinghouse can now log into their Clearinghouse accounts to purchase their query plan.
**Note: Working with a C/TPA to manage a drug and alcohol testing program is a requirement of all owner-operators (employers who employ themselves as CDL drivers).
Query plans may be purchased from the FMCSA Clearinghouse only. Third party sites or C/TPAs cannot purchase these query plans for the employer.
About the Query Process and Query Plans
Employers are charged a fee for conducting queries in the Clearinghouse, and for queries conducted by their designated C/TPAs. Employers will need to purchase a query plan before the employer or their Consortium/TPA can conduct queries on their behalf.
The Clearinghouse will give employers and Consortoium/TPAs the ability to conduct multiple queries at one time by submitting multiple drivers’ information at one time when uploading a delimited file.
Queries on drivers must be conducted:
- As part of any pre-employment driver investigation, and
- Annually for every CDL driver currently employed
The query bundle you purchase will depend on the number of queries you will need to conduct. Owner-operators should purchase around 5 queries as this should last 5 years for each annual query that must be performed.
If you plan on hiring many drivers, an employer should select a query bundle large enough to cover the amount of drivers you currently employ and any additional forecasted new hires for the pre-employment queries. You can purchase additional query plans as needed anytime.
It is important for employers and all owner-operators to register to the FMCSA CDL Clearinghouse.
The next phase of the Clearinghouse is coming JANUARY 6, 2020 — Clearinghouse will be fully operational.
The Clearinghouse will then be able to be used to:
- Conduct queries on behalf of an employer to check the Clearinghouse for driver violation records
- Request driver consent (required for full queries) on behalf of an employer
- Report drug and alcohol violations (alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater, refusals to take alcohol or drug tests, and actual knowledge of violations), as well as negative return-to-duty test results and successful completion of driver follow-up testing plans, on behalf of an employer
