FMCSA Clearinghouse Queries: Full vs. Limited, Consent and Costs

You must run a full Clearinghouse query before a new CDL driver does any safety-sensitive work, and at least one query on every CDL driver you employ each year after that. The annual check can be a limited query, which only tells you whether a record exists. If a limited query shows information, you have 24 hours to run a full query, or the driver must stop driving until you do.

What the Clearinghouse is and who must use it

The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is an online database of DOT drug and alcohol program violations by CDL and CLP holders. It holds records of verified positive drug tests, alcohol tests of 0.04 or higher, refusals to test, and certain employer reports of drug or alcohol use. It also tracks the return-to-duty process.

If you employ drivers who must be tested under 49 CFR Part 382, you must use it. That includes owner-operators who drive under their own authority.

Queries are only one half of the system. Employers and their service agents also report violations to it. This guide focuses on queries. For what happens when a driver refuses a test, see our guide on DOT drug test refusal consequences.

Step 1: Register as an employer

Under 49 CFR 382.711, employers and service agents must register before they can run queries or report information. Your registration includes:

• Your company name, address, phone number and USDOT number
• The people you authorize to run queries or report for you, which you must verify each year
• Any C/TPA or other service agent you use, and what you allow them to do

If any of this changes, you must update it within 10 days.

Registration also helps with record-keeping. Under 49 CFR 382.701(e), you must keep records of each query and the results for 3 years. As of January 6, 2023, keeping a valid Clearinghouse registration meets that requirement.

Full query vs. limited query

There are two kinds of queries. They differ in what they show you and what kind of consent the driver must give.

The pre-employment full query (382.701(a))

49 CFR 382.701(a) says you may not let a driver perform a safety-sensitive function until you have run a pre-employment query. That query must be a full query.

Here is how it works in practice:

1. You request the full query in the Clearinghouse.
2. The driver gets a consent request. The driver must be registered in the Clearinghouse to respond.
3. The driver logs in and grants consent.
4. The query runs and you see the results.

If the driver does not register or refuses to consent, you cannot let them drive for you. The rule in 49 CFR 382.703 bars a driver who refuses consent from safety-sensitive duty.

FMCSA suggests employers encourage applicants to register early, so a pending consent request doesn't hold up the hire.

The full query also meets part of your pre-hire background check. Under 49 CFR 391.23(e)(4), FMCSA-regulated employers must use the Clearinghouse to check drug and alcohol history with prior FMCSA employers. You still contact prior employers for other parts of the safety performance history. Our driver qualification file checklist covers that process.

The annual limited query (382.701(b))

Under 49 CFR 382.701(b), you must query the Clearinghouse at least once a year for every CDL driver you employ. You can use a full query for this, but most carriers use a limited query.

A limited query tells you only whether the driver has information in the Clearinghouse. It does not show you what that information is.

For a limited query, you need the driver's general consent. This is a written or electronic consent form signed outside the Clearinghouse. The regulation allows this consent to be valid for more than one year. Many carriers have drivers sign a multi-year consent at hire so the annual query is easy.

Under 49 CFR 382.703(a), you must keep the consent for 3 years from the date of the last query.

FMCSA notifies you of new information

Under 49 CFR 382.701(c), if a violation is entered for a driver within 30 days after you query that driver, FMCSA will notify you. This is one more reason to keep your registration and contact details current.

What happens if a limited query returns information

A limited query result that says "information exists" is not a violation finding. It only means you need to look closer. The rule is strict about timing:

• You must run a full query within 24 hours of the limited query.
• The driver must give electronic consent in the Clearinghouse for that full query.
• If you cannot complete the full query within 24 hours, the driver may not perform safety-sensitive functions until the full query is done and shows no prohibition.

If the full query shows a drug or alcohol violation, 49 CFR 382.701(d) says you cannot use the driver in a safety-sensitive role. There are two exceptions. The driver may return if they have completed the SAP process and passed a return-to-duty test, and either finished follow-up testing or you take on the job of managing it.

Buying query plans and costs

You pay for queries by buying a query plan in the Clearinghouse. The same plan covers both limited and full queries.

As of our last check of FMCSA's query plan factsheet, the fee was a flat $1.25 per query. Queries are sold in bundles, and FMCSA says the bundles never expire. Prices can change, so always verify the current fee at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov before you buy.

A few practical points:

• Buy enough queries to cover a pre-employment query for each new hire, plus one annual query for every current driver.
• FMCSA's FAQ says a C/TPA cannot buy a query plan for you. You buy it under your employer account.
• If you have authorized a C/TPA to run queries for you, they use your plan.

Owner-operators and C/TPAs

If you are an owner-operator, you are both the employer and the driver. That means you must follow the employer rules too.

You must designate a C/TPA

Under 49 CFR 382.705(b)(6), an employer who employs himself or herself as a driver must designate a C/TPA to handle the employer reporting duties for their own drug and alcohol violations. You do this in your Clearinghouse employer account by naming your C/TPA. The C/TPA must then accept the designation.

Your C/TPA then handles the required reports about you, such as a refusal to test.

You still owe queries on yourself

FMCSA says owner-operators must query the Clearinghouse on every CDL driver they employ, including themselves, at least once a year. You can allow your C/TPA to run these queries for you. The duty still stays with you.

If you hire other drivers, the same pre-employment full query and annual query rules apply to them.

Owner-operators also need to be in a random testing pool with other drivers. Our guide to DOT random testing rates for 2026 explains how that works.

Clearinghouse-II: drivers in prohibited status lose CDL privileges

Since November 18, 2024, a second Clearinghouse rule, known as Clearinghouse-II, has been in effect for state driver licensing agencies. Under it, states must remove the commercial privilege from the license of any driver whose Clearinghouse status is "prohibited." The driver's license is downgraded until the driver completes the return-to-duty process. FMCSA describes these state duties in its Clearinghouse state requirements.

What this means for you:

• A driver in prohibited status may no longer hold a valid CDL at all.
• Your query is still required. Clearinghouse-II does not replace your pre-employment or annual queries.
• Your annual MVR review is a second chance to catch a downgraded CDL.

Knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL is one of the violations that fails a new entrant safety audit automatically. See our guide to new entrant audit automatic failure violations.

Common query mistakes

• Letting a new driver start before the full query is complete. The pre-employment query must be done first.
• Using a limited query for pre-employment. It does not meet the rule.
• Missing a driver in the annual cycle. Every CDL driver you employ needs at least one query each year, including part-time and seasonal drivers.
• Losing general consent forms. You need them for 3 years from the last query.
• Ignoring the 24-hour rule. A limited query that shows information must be followed up fast.
• Owner-operators skipping C/TPA designation. This is required, not optional.
• Letting authorized users go stale. You must verify your list of authorized users each year.

Quick checklist

• Register your company in the Clearinghouse and list authorized users.
• Buy a query plan with enough queries for the year.
• Run a full query on each new driver before they drive, after electronic consent.
• Get a general consent form signed by each driver for limited queries.
• Run at least one query per driver per year.
• Follow up any limited query that shows information with a full query within 24 hours.
• If you are an owner-operator, designate a C/TPA and keep your own queries current.

How JMM Compliance can help

We can register your company in the Clearinghouse, set up your C/TPA designation, and build a calendar so every driver's annual query is done on time. We also help you set up consent forms and record-keeping that hold up during an audit. If you are not sure where your Clearinghouse setup stands, start with our Clearinghouse compliance service. For a full drug and alcohol setup, see our drug and alcohol program service.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your operation; confirm details with FMCSA or a qualified professional.