The FMCSA Clearinghouse is a federal database of CDL drug and alcohol programme violations. Employers run a full query before hiring, using the driver’s specific consent given inside the Clearinghouse, and then at least one query every 12 months for each CDL driver they employ - usually a limited query, which relies on a general consent the carrier collects and keeps. A limited query that returns information must be followed by a full query within 24 hours or the driver comes off safety-sensitive work. Queries are not drug tests, criminal checks or driving records, and non-CDL drivers are not in the programme.
Full query vs limited query
Full query: used in the hiring path; requires the driver’s specific electronic consent in the Clearinghouse. Limited query: recurring check for current employees; relies on a general consent the employer obtains and keeps. A limited query that returns a hit triggers a full query follow-up path.
What to keep in (or linked from) the driver file
Consent records, query dates, result summaries as allowed, and notes when a driver is removed from safety-sensitive work. Privacy rules still apply - not every staff member should browse raw violation detail.
Where this sits vs background checks
Clearinghouse queries are a federal CDL drug-and-alcohol program duty. Criminal or credit background checks are separate products and processes. Keep the obligations distinct in your checklists so neither is skipped.
Consent types you will be asked about
Full query: the driver consents electronically in the Clearinghouse for that specific query. Limited query: you already hold a general consent from the employed driver. A limited query that returns a hit is not the end of the story; it opens the full-query follow-up path. Put both consent artifacts where the program file owner can find them in under a minute.
The two consents live in different places, and that is the part fleets get wrong. Specific consent is given by the driver inside the Clearinghouse itself, so it exists on FMCSA’s side. General consent is a paper or electronic form you collect and keep, so it exists only on yours. If your general consent form cannot be produced, your annual queries had no authority behind them - even though they ran.
The 24-hour rule after a limited query
A limited query answers exactly one question: does this driver have information in the Clearinghouse? It does not say what. When the answer is yes, the clock starts.
You must obtain the driver’s electronic consent and run a full query within 24 hours of the limited query. If the full query is not completed inside that window, the driver comes off safety-sensitive functions until it is. This is the step that catches carriers out, because a limited query returning information is rare enough that nobody has rehearsed what happens next - and it usually lands on a Friday afternoon.
Rehearse it once. Know who has the Clearinghouse login, who can reach the driver, who tells dispatch, and what the driver is told. A prepared carrier resolves it the same day; an unprepared one discovers on Monday that a prohibited driver ran all weekend.
The annual query is per driver, per 12 months - not per calendar year
The requirement is at least one query on every CDL driver you employ in each 12-month period. Carriers commonly satisfy it with a limited query, which is cheaper and needs only the general consent already on file.
Two cadences are both defensible. Anchor on each driver’s hire anniversary and the interval is exactly right per driver, but the work is spread across every week of the year. Anchor the whole fleet on one month and the work batches neatly, but a driver hired the month after the batch waits nearly two years for their first annual unless you catch them separately. Most fleets that batch also run a query at hire, which closes that gap.
Whichever you pick, the failure mode is the same: a driver who joins between cycles. Tie the query to the driver record, not to a spreadsheet someone rebuilds each January.
| Full query | Limited query | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | What is in the driver’s record | Only whether anything is in the record |
| Consent needed | Specific - the driver consents in the Clearinghouse for that query | General - a consent you collect and retain yourself |
| Typical use | Pre-employment, and follow-up after a limited query returns information | The recurring check on drivers you already employ |
| Satisfies the annual? | Yes | Yes |
| If it returns information | You have the detail and act on it | Full query within 24 hours, or the driver stops safety-sensitive work |
What a Clearinghouse query is not
It is not a drug test. A query reads a database; it does not tell you whether the driver is using anything today, and it never replaces pre-employment or random testing under Part 382.
It is not a criminal record check, an employment reference, or a driving history. A clean Clearinghouse record says nothing about convictions, collisions or licence status - that is what the MVR is for - and nothing about prior employers, which is the separate 391.23 investigation.
It is not a Canadian requirement. There is no federal Canadian equivalent database. A Canadian carrier running drivers into the US under a US operating authority is in the US programme for that work, but a domestic Canadian fleet has no Clearinghouse duty and should not have Clearinghouse tasks on its checklist.
And it is not something a non-CDL driver belongs in. The Clearinghouse covers CDL and CLP holders subject to Part 382 testing. Adding a non-CDL CMV driver to your query list creates work with no rule behind it, and distracts from the medical, MVR and annual review that driver does need.
FAQ
Does a Canadian abstract replace a Clearinghouse query?
No. Abstracts cover driving history in a province. Clearinghouse covers US CDL drug and alcohol violations. Cross-border CDL work needs both where each rule applies.
More in US driver qualification files · short answers on the FAQ · terms on the glossary.
Putting this into practice? Explore the Driver Files workflow and see the standalone plan inclusions.
Related guides
Driver files in the wider operation
Explore related driver-file workflows in the TruckerPro TMS:
- Track Clearinghouse dates in TruckerPro (truckerpro.ca)
- FMCSA Clearinghouse obligation tracking (product) (truckerpro.ca)
Related reading on truckerpro.ca
More driver-file resources from the TruckerPro family:
- Clearinghouse query tracking (truckerpro.ca)
Keeping annual and pre-employment queries evidenced against each driver. - Driver qualification file software (truckerpro.ca)
DQF document tracking and audit packets for US-authority fleets. - Canada’s drug and alcohol Clearinghouse equivalent (truckerpro.ca)
What Canadian carriers use where US carriers query the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
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