💡The Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse became fully implemented on January 6, 2023. Per the FMCSA, employers of CDL drivers will no longer need to include drug and alcohol requests in the scope of the safety performance history process of hiring a driver—the employer’s query of the Clearinghouse will satisfy that requirement. Other previous employment verification processes remain unchanged—check out VOE+ to make some of these processes easier on your team!
The information on this page is historical, educational material on this change as part of DriverReach industry content offerings. For more information on the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, please visit its FAQ page.
Starting in January 2020, the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse online database will make it easier for recruiters and carriers to identify drug and/or alcohol violations when recruiting drivers. This will make roads safer and eliminate up to 900 crashes every year, according to FMCSA.
The Clearinghouse will soon become a staple of every recruiter’s pre-hire verification process but educating drivers on why and how they need to register might be a bit of an uphill climb. Within just a few weeks, drivers who aren’t registered with the Clearinghouse won’t be able to respond to employer query requests, which, if a widespread number of drivers do not register, will contribute to a significant roadblock to the hiring process.
In order to stay on top of and get ahead of Clearinghouse regulations and registration, carriers and recruiters should start working directly with prospective drivers to encourage them to register with the Clearinghouse as soon as possible.
Here are your driver’s step-by-step instructions to register for the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse:
Creating a login.gov account: Login.gov is a shared service to gain access to government systems. You will need to create a login to continue registering for the Clearinghouse.
- Go to the login.gov page from the FMCSA Clearinghouse registration page.
- Click “Create an account” at the bottom of the page. If you already have an account, sign in now.
- Enter your personal email address. Once this email is registered, it cannot be changed.
- You will receive an email from no-reply@login.gov with instructions to confirm your email address.
- Once you click on the link in your email, you will be prompted to create a password for your account.
- You will now need to select a mandatory security option to secure your account, including text messages, security keys, etc.
- Once you select a security option, you will receive a security code through this channel. Enter your code and click Submit.
- You will need to repeat steps 7 and 8 to set up two-factor authentication.
- You have successfully registered for login.gov! Click Continue to go back to the Clearinghouse website.
Registering for the Clearinghouse: Now it is time to register for the Clearinghouse using your login.gov information. If you are unsure what your role is or if you are covered by the Clearinghouse rule, click Find Out on the registration page.
- Select your role and click Next. Drivers who are self-employed should identify themselves as Employers, not drivers.
- Enter all of your contact details, including your preferred method of contact, and click Next.
- If you select U.S. Mail as your preferred contact method, you will be prompted to acknowledge that this selection may result in delayed information.
- Now you will be asked to enter your current CDL or CLP information. This will be automatically verified.
- Once your CDL or CLP information is verified, you won’t be able to change or edit it.
- Review the Clearinghouse Terms and Conditions and agree. You are now officially registered for the Clearinghouse!
Free WEBINAR For Your Drivers | “CDL Drivers: What the Clearinghouse Means for You”
DriverReach is hosting a webinar with our friends at Drive My Way on December 12, 2019, specifically for drivers who want to learn more about the Clearinghouse and how this new regulatory addition to the recruiting and hiring process will impact their time spent on the road. Drivers can register for “CDL Drivers: What the Clearinghouse Means for You” here.
During this brief webinar, experts from Drive My Way and DriverReach will share:
- Why registering is important
- When and how to register
- And more
Additional resources:
- eBook: Brace Yourself: The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Brings New Challenges to Recruiting Drivers
- FAQ Page: Everything you need to know about the Clearinghouse
- FMCSA Learning Page: Resources, news, and information straight from the source.
Stay up to date on CDL trucking trends! Be sure to check out the DriverReach blog or follow us on LinkedIn for other relevant articles and head over to our webinars page for an up-to-date list of upcoming events and on-demand recordings.
Interested in seeing DriverReach’s modern Recruiting and Compliance Management System in action? Request a demo!
