§382.701 Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
§ 382.701 Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
(a) Pre-Employment Query Required
Employers must not employ a driver subject to controlled substances and alcohol testing under this part to perform a safety-sensitive function without first conducting a pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse.
This query must determine whether the driver:
- Has a verified positive, adulterated, or substituted controlled substances test result
- Has an alcohol confirmation test result of 0.04 or higher
- Has refused to submit to a test in violation of § 382.211
- Has been reported by an employer for actual knowledge (as defined in § 382.107) of:
The employer must conduct a full query, which provides detailed Clearinghouse information and requires specific consent from the driver.
(b) Annual Query Required
Employers must conduct a Clearinghouse query at least once per year for each employee subject to drug and alcohol testing under this part.
Instead of a full query, employers may:
- Obtain the driver’s consent to conduct a limited query
- A limited query reveals only whether information exists, not the details
- Driver consent for a limited query may be valid for more than one year
If a limited query indicates that information exists:
- The employer must conduct a full query within 24 hours
- If the full query is not completed within that time, the driver must be removed from safety-sensitive functions until the full query confirms no prohibitions
(c) Employer Notification
If any information described in paragraph (a) is entered into the Clearinghouse within 30 days of a query, FMCSA will notify the employer.
(d) Prohibition
No employer may permit a driver to perform any safety-sensitive function if a Clearinghouse query reveals any of the following:
- Verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug test result
- Alcohol test result of 0.04 or higher
- Refusal to test in violation of § 382.211
- Actual knowledge of violations under § 382.205, § 382.207, § 382.209, or § 382.213
Exceptions apply if either of the following conditions is met:
The driver has:
- Completed the SAP evaluation, referral, and education/treatment process (per Part 40, Subpart O)
- Achieved a negative return-to-duty test result
- Completed the SAP’s follow-up testing plan
OR
The driver has:
- Completed the SAP evaluation, referral, and education/treatment process
- Achieved a negative return-to-duty test result
- Not yet completed all follow-up testing, and the employer agrees to manage the follow-up testing process
(e) Recordkeeping Required
Employers must retain:
- A record of each Clearinghouse query
- All information received from each query for three years
As of January 6, 2023, maintaining a valid Clearinghouse registration satisfies this recordkeeping requirement.