How long violation information stays available
Under 49 CFR 382.719, information about a drug or alcohol violation remains available to employers conducting Clearinghouse queries until all required conditions have been met. Those conditions include the SAP's required reporting, a reported negative return-to-duty test, successful completion of the SAP's follow-up testing plan and five years passing since the date of the violation determination.
FMCSA summarizes the rule as five years from the violation determination or until the return-to-duty process and follow-up testing plan are successfully completed, whichever is later. A record therefore does not simply stop being available after five years if required return-to-duty or follow-up steps remain incomplete.
Prohibited and not prohibited status
For an FMCSA-covered driver, qualifying violation information in the Clearinghouse can result in prohibited status. A prohibited driver may not perform safety-sensitive functions subject to Part 382, including operating a commercial motor vehicle.
The return-to-duty reporting sequence includes:
- the driver designates a SAP in the Clearinghouse
- the SAP reports the initial assessment and later reports that the driver has demonstrated successful compliance and is eligible for return-to-duty testing
- the employer or authorized C/TPA reports the negative return-to-duty result, which changes the driver's status to not prohibited
- the employer or authorized C/TPA later reports completion of the follow-up testing plan
Becoming not prohibited after the return-to-duty test does not remove the violation record immediately. The record remains available until the separate retention conditions in 49 CFR 382.719 have all been met. See who reports each Clearinghouse step and what prohibited status means.
The CDL downgrade rule
November 18, 2024 was the compliance date for the second Clearinghouse final rule. State Driver Licensing Agencies receive notification when a driver becomes prohibited. FMCSA states that the State has 60 days after notification to complete the downgrade process and remove the commercial driving privilege. A driver who completes the return-to-duty process before the downgrade is completed is no longer subject to that downgrade based on the resolved prohibited status.
After the driver's Clearinghouse status changes to not prohibited, the State can reinstate commercial privileges under its own procedures. Those procedures can differ by State. More information is available in CDL downgrade from a Clearinghouse prohibited status.
Can Clearinghouse information be corrected or removed early?
49 CFR 382.717 provides a correction process for certain inaccurate or improperly reported information. As a general rule, a petition under that section can correct administrative reporting errors, but it cannot be used to contest the accuracy of a verified test result, a test refusal or other underlying violation information.
The rule contains specific exceptions for certain employer reports, including some reports of actual knowledge and certain failure-to-appear reports that do not meet the reporting requirements. Drivers can also have rights under the Privacy Act correction process. For a valid violation that does not qualify for correction or removal, the record remains subject to the requirements in 49 CFR 382.719. Read our guide to Clearinghouse violation removal.