Two Months In, the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse is Already Paying Off

💡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. 


When the FMCSA announced the launch of the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, there was more than a little bit of concern over this new addition to the recruiting process and how this database would impact carriers, drivers, and recruiters.

In a recent press release, FMCSA announced that the Clearinghouse identified close to 8,000 positive substance abuse tests of commercial drivers since the program launched on Jan. 6. FMCSA also announced that there were over 650,000 registrants now in the Clearinghouse.

With DriverReach, recruiters can seamlessly adapt to the post-Clearinghouse world of CDL driver recruiting without having to implement completely new processes. Here are a few ways DriverReach is helping CDL driver recruiters adapt to this new Clearinghouse world:

1. Easy access to Clearinghouse registration through the mobile-friendly DOT application. This is key because while drivers also have to register for the Clearinghouse they aren’t always as knowledgeable about the requirements as carriers are. The DriverReach mobile DOT application is now updated with an easy link to Clearinghouse registration to give drivers another way to stay on top of registration and yearly updates.
2. Seamless integration with pre-employment queries with the DriverReach platform. Instead of adding a new step into the hiring and recruiting process that might cause delays for drivers, DriverReach adds queries into the process without additional lift. Plus, in DriverReach, all query results can be appended to the driver’s DQ file for easy access.
3. Ongoing post-employment queries that can be easily accessed and updated through DriverReach. The best part? These post-employment queries can be run individually or in bulk, making it easy to accommodate multiple drivers at once.

There is still learning to be done

While the Clearinghouse is clearly doing its job, there is still plenty of learning left to be done. For drivers and recruiters alike, developing a deep understanding of the Clearinghouse, how it operates, and how to streamline Clearinghouse access is critical.

Here are a few resources to kick-start your ongoing education:

• 30 Days In – Status of the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse webinar hosted by industry regulatory expert, Dave Osiecki of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting and David Yessen, Division Chief of Compliance for the FMCSA.
• Brace Yourself: The Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse Brings New Challenges to Recruiting Drivers ebook from DriverReach
• The Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse blog series on the DriverReach blog

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? Take DriverReach for a test drive!