Beginning 6th
January 2020
To make sure employers are prepared on the 6th of
January 2020, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Drug
and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) becomes operational, we would like to
inform you about an upcoming change related to recording information on the
Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF) and Alcohol Testing Form
(ATF). Mandatory use of Clearinghouse will come in effect. Employers must
report certain drug and alcohol program violations and can conduct electronic
queries in the Clearinghouse. Manual inquiries with previous employers are
still required to cover the preceding three years.
What has
changed on the Change of the Custody Form?
The current versions of the CCF and ATF specifically permit
the use of either the driver’s social security number (SSN) or employee
identification number (EIN) at the time of completing the CCF and ATF. However,
from 6th January 2020, FMCSA is requiring that the commercial
driver’s license number (CDL) must be used instead of the SSN or EIN when
FMCSA-covered driver’s positive drug or alcohol test results are reported to
the Clearinghouse.
Henceforth, Employers, Consortia or Third Party
Administrators (C/TPAs), Collection Sites, Laboratories, and Medical Review
Officers (MRO’s) may want to ensure that their respective data systems can
accommodate a donor identification number of up to 25 alphanumeric characters.
What does
this mean for Employers, Consortium/Third-Party Administrators, Collectors, and
Alcohol Technicians?
* Under the
49 CFR 382.123(b), the person completing the CCF or the ATF must annotate the
driver’s CDL number and State of Issuance in step 1, section ‘C’ of the CCF or
step 1B of the ATF for each FMCSA-regulated test.
* If the
employer or C/TPA does not provide the CDL and the State of Issuance, then the
collector or alcohol technician should ask the driver for this information at
the collection site.
* Even if the
CDL number and state of Issuance is not listed on the CCF, the collector must
send the controlled substance test specimen to the laboratory for testing.
What does
this means for Laboratories?
Laboratories who receive a CCF that indicates this is a FMCSA
– regulated urine specimen but does not have the driver’s CDL number listed in
step 1 C should process the urine specimen without delay, and send the result
to the MRO.
What does
this mean for the Medical Review Officer (MRO)?
When the MRO receives a laboratory-confirmed positive drug
test result for a FMCSA – regulated employee and the CCF is without the
driver’s CDL number and State of Issuance listed, the MRO should contact the
driver, driver’s employer or designated employer representative to obtain it. The
MRO will report the verified positive test result in the Clearinghouse.
For more precise information, please visit:
https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov or send an
email to clearinghouse@dot.gov
This guidance is not legally binding in its own right and
will not be relied upon by the Department as a separate basis for affirmative
enforcement action or another administrative penalty. Conformity with the
guidance (as distinct from existing statute and regulations, including 49 CFR
Parts 40 and 382) is voluntary only. Non-conformity with this guidance will not
affect rights and obligations under existing statutes and regulations.
