Updates to Drug & Alcohol Inquiries with Past Employers Under FMCSA Regulations

Employers of CDL drivers are required to conduct background investigations before hiring a driver, including whether the driver has violated the drug and alcohol regulations of any Department of Transportation (DOT) mode within the past three years. From January 6, 2020, FMCSA regulations required employers to conduct both electronic queries in the Clearinghouse and manual inquiries with previous employers to meet the three-year time frame. This time period with overlapping requirements was meant to allow three years of violation information to be uploaded to the Clearinghouse.

Beginning January 6, 2023, FMCSA employers generally will no longer be required to conduct manual inquiries directly with past FMCSA-regulated employers to meet the regulatory requirements and will only be required to request this information using the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.[1]

Please note that the updated regulations do not change the requirements related to Safety Performance History Verifications required under FMCSA regulations (49 CFR § 391.23). GHRR will continue processing Safety & Performance history inquiries for customers, as this requirement has not changed along with D&A History requirements. [2]

What does this mean for GHRR clients?

Starting January 6, before requesting Drug & Alcohol History Verifications from GHRR, you should review the applicant driver’s past employment history to determine whether:

  1. the manual D&A history verification is required under the updated regulations; or
  2. the Clearinghouse inquiry alone will satisfy your company’s regulatory requirements. 

Though the regulations don’t specifically prohibit verifying drug and alcohol history with past FMCSA employers, those who are no longer required by regulation to provide this information may refuse to do so.

Customers that currently order manual Drug & Alcohol History Verifications searches from GHRR are encouraged to contact us at accountmgr@ghrr.com to discuss updating their packages and/or order settings to continue ordering FMCSA verifications without additional hassle or confusion these changes to the regulations could bring.

FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

Good news! GHRR now offers FMCSA Clearinghouse query services. Customers who would like to take advantage of this are encouraged to contact GHRR and request to find out how to get started with this service.

[1] The Clearinghouse contains only information about drivers employed by FMCSA-regulated employers. If a prospective employee was employed by an employer regulated by a DOT agency other than FMCSA (such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) during the three-year time frame, prospective employers will still be required to directly request drug and alcohol violation information from those DOT-regulated employers in accordance with 391.23(e)(4)(ii) and 382.413(c), as this information is not reported to the Clearinghouse.

[2] Customers that will continue to order Safety Performance History Verifications should take steps to modify their consent form to remove the Drug & Alcohol History Verification component.  Click here to download an exemplar Safety Performance History Form for your consideration.  If a customer submits an outdated combined form after January 6, GHRR will not be able to process your Safety Performance History Verification order.