Drug & Alcohol Program
Who needs a drug & alcohol program?
Every CDL-driving motor carrier subject to FMCSA regulations must have a drug and alcohol testing program. This includes pre-employment testing, random testing through a consortium, post-accident testing, reasonable suspicion testing, and return-to-duty testing.
What does the FMCSA Clearinghouse require?
Since 2020, the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse requires every motor carrier to register, conduct pre-employment full queries on each new CDL hire, and query the Clearinghouse on every current CDL driver at least once a year — that annual one may be a limited query, which is cheaper but only reports whether information exists. We handle Clearinghouse setup and all queries as your registered C/TPA — the consortium/third-party administrator role an employer designates to run queries, report violations and report return-to-duty information on its behalf, and which has to be registered in the Clearinghouse before you can select it. If you are the motor carrier and also its driver, running under your own authority with no other carrier's program covering you, designating a C/TPA is not optional: 49 CFR 382.705(b)(6) requires it.
How does the random testing consortium work?
We enroll your drivers in a DOT random-testing pool and run the selections each quarter, coordinate the collections, and keep the results and rates documented — so your random program meets the FMCSA minimums without you tracking it.
Which tests are required — pre-employment, random, post-accident?
DOT requires pre-employment testing before a driver performs safety-sensitive duties, ongoing random drug and alcohol testing, plus post-accident, reasonable-suspicion, return-to-duty and follow-up testing. We set up and manage all of them.
What do Clearinghouse queries cost me in time?
Nothing — we run the required pre-employment full queries and annual limited queries for each driver, register your account, and keep the consent and records audit-ready.
Do you need a drug & alcohol program?
You need this if
- You employ CDL drivers in safety-sensitive duties — every FMCSA-regulated carrier with them has to run a program.
- You are hiring: a pre-employment test and a full Clearinghouse query come before the driver performs any safety-sensitive duty.
- You have current CDL drivers — each needs a Clearinghouse query at least once a year, every year, not only at hire.
You do not need this if
- Nobody in your operation holds a CDL or performs safety-sensitive duties: these rules attach to those drivers, not to a company in the abstract.
- You already have a consortium and a Clearinghouse account meeting the FMCSA minimums, with queries and random rates documented and current.
A one-driver operation is not exempt: a CDL driver still has to sit in a random-testing pool, which is exactly what a consortium is for.
Random Consortium Pool
Enrollment in an FMCSA-compliant random testing consortium. Drivers are randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing at the rates required by FMCSA (currently 50% for drug, 10% for alcohol). We track selections, notify the carrier, and follow up on test completion.
Pre-Employment & Post-Accident
Pre-employment drug testing for new CDL hires, post-accident testing within required windows, reasonable suspicion testing — all coordinated and reported with chain-of-custody documentation.
Drug & Alcohol Services Offered
The full FMCSA program in one place:
- Drug & Alcohol Company Setup: Initial program setup with policy documents and registration with consortium.
- Annual Program Renewal: Yearly renewal of program enrollment.
- Random Consortium Enrollment: Add drivers to the random pool.
- Drug or Alcohol Test Order: Order specific tests for pre-employment, post-accident, or reasonable suspicion.
- Clearinghouse New Account: Register the carrier with the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.
- Clearinghouse Annual Query: Annual limited queries on every current CDL driver.
- Clearinghouse Pre-Employment Query: Full queries on each new CDL hire.
- Clearinghouse Correction or Recovery: Fix data errors or recover account access.
- Clearinghouse Driver Account: Help drivers create or recover their personal Clearinghouse accounts.
- Return-to-Duty (RTD) Notification: Notify Clearinghouse of RTD test results for drivers returning after violations.
- Hair-follicle Pre-employment Screen: Higher-sensitivity pre-employment screening (90-day detection).
- Supervisor Reasonable-Suspicion Training: Required training for supervisors who interact with CDL drivers.
Audit-Ready Records
Test results, chain-of-custody forms, Clearinghouse queries, supervisor training certificates — all kept in your file. When DOT audits your safety program, the records are there.
Request a callback
Tell us what you need and we'll call you back — usually the same business day.