The Clearinghouse is a federal database of CDL drug & alcohol violations. Mandatory since January 6, 2020 — and you can’t hire a CDL driver, or pass an audit, without a properly configured employer account.
Established under 49 CFR Part 382, the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse records CDL driver violations in real time and gives employers, state licensing agencies, and enforcement officers immediate access to a driver’s history. Employers must query before every CDL hire and once a year for every active driver. Drivers must register before they can grant consent. C/TPAs must be designated before they can act on your behalf. Without a configured account, every hire and every audit is a potential violation — and FMCSA penalties are assessed per violation, not per incident.
FMCSA Clearinghouse — four roles, each one separate.
Registration is not optional and not transitive — every role registers individually, even when they sit in the same person or the same company.
Motor carriers with CDL drivers
Any company employing CDL drivers in FMCSA-regulated operations registers as an Employer in the Clearinghouse — regardless of fleet size. The obligation applies even to a single-truck operation.
Mandatory since Jan 6, 2020
Owner-operators (self-employed)
Owner-operators who are both driver and employer register in both capacities. Leased owner-operators coordinate registration with their leasing motor carrier so authority sits in the right place.
Both driver & employer
C/TPAs (testing administrators)
Your consortium or third-party administrator must be formally designated in your Clearinghouse account before they can act on your behalf — for example, reporting drug & alcohol program violations. Without designation, they are legally blocked from your account.
Designation, not delegation
CDL drivers (covered employees)
Drivers subject to DOT drug & alcohol testing register individually so they can grant electronic consent — the consent that must exist before any pre-employment full query can be run.
Pre-hire consent gate
Six ways an un-configured account shows up.
Penalty · per violation
FMCSA fines up to $7,155 per violation
Each missed query is its own violation. A carrier who hired five drivers without querying faces five separate penalty counts, not one.
49 CFR · 382.701
Driver hired without a pre-employment query
Hiring a CDL driver without the required pre-employment full query is a Part 382 violation. If that driver had a disqualifying record, your liability exposure compounds.
49 CFR · 382.711
Annual queries missed
Employers run a limited query for every current CDL driver once per calendar year. Missing even one driver is a separate violation. Without a configured account, tracking this is nearly impossible.
C/TPA designation
C/TPA blocked from acting on your account
Without formal designation in your account, your testing administrator has no access — and no ability to report drug & alcohol program violations on your behalf, even if they’re a designated C/TPA elsewhere.
Driver registration
Drivers cannot grant consent
A driver who has not registered in the Clearinghouse cannot give electronic consent — which blocks your pre-employment process and delays every CDL hire until the driver registers.
Audit scope expansion
Audit findings broaden the review
FMCSA auditors check Clearinghouse query history during compliance reviews. A finding here often expands the audit into adjacent parts of your safety program — driver files, drug & alcohol policy, recordkeeping.
Six things we configure for you.
01
Employer account registration
We create your employer account in the FMCSA Clearinghouse portal, configured with the correct Employer role and tied to your company information.
02
DOT number linking
Your DOT number is properly linked to the Clearinghouse account so query history and driver records associate correctly — errors here cause queries to fail or go unrecorded.
03
C/TPA & consortium designation
If you use a third-party administrator for drug & alcohol testing, we formally designate them in your account so required queries can run on your behalf.
04
Driver consent workflow
We configure your account so drivers can grant consent for pre-employment and annual queries through the portal — the prerequisite for every full query.
05
FMCSA Portal access verification
The Clearinghouse is accessed via the FMCSA Portal. We verify your Portal credentials and permissions are correct — the most commonly missed step that blocks Clearinghouse access entirely.
06
Credentials & quick guide delivered
Once configured, you receive your login, a quick reference card on annual query obligations, and clear instructions for the next CDL hire.
Five steps. One to two days.
01
Order & intake
You place the order; we send a short intake form to collect your DOT number, company details, and any existing testing-administrator information. No account access required at this stage.
02
FMCSA Portal verification
We verify your DOT number is active and confirm your FMCSA Portal account is in order. Portal access is the most common setup blocker — we identify it before it becomes a problem.
03
Clearinghouse account setup
We create or update your employer account in the FMCSA Clearinghouse, link the DOT number, and configure the correct Employer role.
04
C/TPA designation & consent flow
If you have a testing administrator, we designate them in your account. We configure the driver consent workflow and prepare the instructions you’ll share with incoming drivers.
05
Delivery & quick guide
You receive your login credentials, a quick reference on ongoing query obligations, and a one-page checklist for what to do at every new CDL hire.
Unregistered vs. properly configured.
Cannot run pre-employment queries on new hires
Account configured so you can run pre-employment queries before any new CDL hire
Drivers cannot grant electronic consent — every hire delayed
Drivers register and grant consent electronically — no delays
C/TPA blocked from your account — cannot report violations on your behalf
C/TPA properly designated — can report drug & alcohol violations on your behalf
Missing query records flagged in every audit
Query history documented in your account — audit-ready from day one
Exposed to $7,155-per-violation FMCSA civil penalties (49 CFR § 386 App B(b))
Compliance path clear — penalty exposure removed once you run your required queries
Disqualified driver may slip through and operate your vehicle
Disqualified drivers identified before they ever operate a truck
Bottom line —the difference is one configured account.
One-time setup, lifetime of queries.
1–2
business days
Standard turnaround
Same
business day
For orders before 2 PM EST
$150
flat fee
One-time, no recurring
∞
queries enabled
After setup, query at will
Flat $150. One-time. All-inclusive.
No recurring fees, no hidden charges, no setup tier shenanigans. Need a full DOT drug & alcohol program managed for you? Bundle with our consortium service — we run the random testing program, coordinate MROs, and act as your designated C/TPA for violation reporting.
Clearinghouse setup
$150
flat · one-time
Complete FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse registration and account configuration — every step end-to-end.
- ✓Employer account created in the FMCSA Clearinghouse
- ✓DOT number linked to your Clearinghouse profile
- ✓C/TPA & testing consortium designated
- ✓Driver consent workflow configured
- ✓Login credentials & compliance quick guide
- ✓Guidance on ongoing annual query obligations
Need a full DOT testing program managed?
Setup is a one-time configuration that lets you run the required queries. If you want us to handle the broader testing program — random selection, MRO coordination, drug & alcohol violation reporting to the Clearinghouse, recordkeeping, and the annual MIS filing — enroll in our DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing Consortium. You designate us as your C/TPA on enrollment; pre-employment and annual queries still remain the employer's responsibility.
See DOT Consortium service→What carriers ask before they register.
I already have a DOT number. Do I still need to register in the Clearinghouse separately?
Yes. Your DOT number does not automatically create a Clearinghouse account. Registration requires a separate login, account creation, and role configuration in the FMCSA Clearinghouse portal — tied to but distinct from your FMCSA Portal account. Many carriers assume they are registered simply because they have an active DOT number. They are not.
What is the difference between a limited query and a full query?
A full query reveals the details of any drug or alcohol program violations in a driver’s Clearinghouse record and requires the driver’s specific electronic consent before it can be run. A limited query only confirms whether a record exists — without showing the details — and requires a general annual consent. FMCSA requires a full pre-employment query before hiring and a limited query annually for every current driver. If a limited query returns a result, you must then run a full query.
Does my C/TPA handle the queries, or do I have to run them myself?
Your C/TPA can act on your behalf — for example, reporting drug & alcohol program violations — but only if formally designated in your Clearinghouse account. Without that designation, your C/TPA has no access to your account at all. One core step in our setup is configuring this designation correctly so your testing administrator is legally authorized to act on your behalf. Note: Trucking Comply does not run pre-employment or annual queries for you — those remain the employer's responsibility.
My driver does not have a Clearinghouse account yet. Can I still run a query?
No. Before you can run a pre-employment full query on a driver, that driver must register in the Clearinghouse and grant you specific electronic consent. This is one of the most common hiring bottlenecks — a driver shows up ready to start and the query cannot be run because they never registered. We provide the registration walkthrough to share with incoming drivers before their start date.
What happens if I hire a CDL driver without a pre-employment query?
Hiring a CDL driver without a completed pre-employment Clearinghouse query is a violation of 49 CFR § 382.701. Per 49 CFR Part 386 Appendix B(b), FMCSA can assess up to $7,155 per violation — each driver hired without a required query is a separately penalized event. If that driver had a disqualifying violation on record, your liability exposure increases significantly.
We recently switched C/TPAs. Do we need to update our Clearinghouse account?
Yes — immediately. When you change testing administrators, you must remove the old C/TPA and designate the new one in your Clearinghouse account. Until that update is made, your new C/TPA has no legal authority to report violations on your behalf or fulfill any other delegated duties. We can update your designation as part of our setup service.
How often do I need to query the Clearinghouse after setup?
A pre-employment full query for every new CDL driver before they first operate a commercial motor vehicle for your company. A limited query for every current CDL driver at least once per calendar year. These queries are the employer’s responsibility — you run them yourself through the Clearinghouse portal. After setup, we provide a compliance guide clarifying your specific ongoing obligations and how to run each query type.
Will Trucking Comply run the ongoing queries, or is this one-time?
Clearinghouse Setup is a one-time configuration service — we get your account built and configured correctly so you can run pre-employment and annual queries yourself. Pre-employment and annual queries remain the employer's responsibility under FMCSA rules; Trucking Comply does not run them on your behalf, even with consortium membership. What our DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing Consortium does include is random testing, MRO coordination, recordkeeping, the annual MIS filing, and reporting drug & alcohol program violations to the Clearinghouse on your behalf once you designate us as your C/TPA. The two services are complementary: Clearinghouse Setup configures your account; consortium handles the testing program and violation reporting.
Configured. Audit-ready.
Order the setup, send your DOT number, we do the rest. Account created, DOT linked, C/TPA designated, consent flow live — credentials and compliance quick guide in one to two business days.
Questions — (732) 200-2754 · [email protected]