Medical certification requirements

Starting January 30, 2012, and no later than January 30, 2014, all CDL holders must provide information to their SDLA about the type of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operation they engage in or expect to engage in with their CDL.

Drivers operating in certain types of commerce must submit a current medical examiner’s certificate to their SDLA to obtain a certified medical status as part of their driving record.

CDL holders who are required to have a certified medical status but fail to provide and keep their medical examiner’s certificate up to date with their SDLA will become not-certified and may lose their CDL.

How to determine your CMV operation type

To comply with the medical certification requirements, it is important to understand how you use your CMV.

Step 1: Determine whether you operate in interstate or intrastate commerce

Interstate commerce occurs when you drive a CMV:

• From one state to another or to a foreign country
• Between two places within a state, but the CMV crosses into another state or foreign country during part of the trip
• Between two places within a state, but the cargo or passengers are part of a trip that began or will end in another state or foreign country

Intrastate commerce occurs when you drive a CMV only within one state, and none of the above conditions apply.

Note: If you operate in both interstate and intrastate commerce, you must choose interstate commerce.

Step 2: Determine whether you operate in excepted or non-excepted status

Interstate commerce:

You operate in excepted interstate commerce if you drive a CMV in interstate commerce only for the following activities:

• Transporting school children and/or school staff between home and school
• As a Federal, State, or local government employee
• Transporting human corpses or sick or injured persons
• Driving fire trucks or rescue vehicles during emergencies or related activities
• Transporting propane for winter heating fuel during emergency conditions
• Responding to a pipeline emergency, such as a leak or rupture
• Performing custom harvesting or transporting farm machinery or supplies for custom harvesting
• Transporting bees seasonally as a beekeeper
• Operating a CMV controlled by a farmer (not a combination vehicle) within 150 air miles of the farm
• As a private motor carrier of passengers for non-business purposes
• Transporting migrant workers

If you only perform the activities above, you operate in excepted interstate commerce and do not need a federal medical examiner’s certificate. If you perform additional activities, you operate in non-excepted interstate commerce and must provide a current medical examiner’s certificate (49 CFR 391.45), also known as a medical certificate or DOT card.

If you operate in both excepted and non-excepted interstate commerce, you must choose non-excepted interstate commerce.

Intrastate commerce:

You operate in excepted intrastate commerce when your activities are limited to intrastate operations that your state has determined do not require medical certification.

You operate in non-excepted intrastate commerce when you are required by your state to meet its medical certification requirements.

If you operate in both excepted and non-excepted intrastate commerce, you must choose non-excepted intrastate commerce.

Step 3: Provide your self-certification to your SDLA

If you self-certify to non-excepted interstate commerce on or after January 30, 2012, you must provide your SDLA with the original or a copy of your current medical examiner’s certificate.

If your certificate is only valid with a vision, diabetes, or skills performance evaluation (SPE) variance granted by the FMCSA, your SDLA may also require a copy of that variance document.