The following is for safety managers and HR professionals who are looking for more information on conducting DOT Queries using the Clearinghouse portal. As you all know, Clearinghouse is now a reality and it is being used by transportation companies since Jan 6, 2020.
Department of Transportation (DOT) requires all Transportation and Logistics companies to use the Clearinghouse to
- Report drug violations (positive and refusal)
- Report Return To Duty and Follow Up drug test results and
- Conduct queries on drivers
Clearinghouse Registration: In order to run a query, a transportation company needs to register itself on Clearinghouse portal. Here are the urls for registration:
- Employer: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resource/Index/Registration-Employer-Instructions
- Driver: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resource/Index/Registration-Driver-Instructions
- When you register, please identify IPS Drug Testing Services L.L.C. as your C/TPA so that we can carry out drug testing compliance activities on your behalf.
Types of Queries
Please note that there are two types of queries: Limited and Full
- Limited Queries give a summary description on a driver’s Clearinghouse record. It basically informs you if a driver is allowed to drive
- Full queries, by definition, give more details on a driver’s drug tests outcomes. It will report if a driver was reported with a violation (positive or refusal) in the past. It will also enlist his RTD and Follow Ups record.
When to conduct a Query
A company needs to conduct queries under the following conditions:
- Pre-Employment queries: Employers are required to conduct Pre-employment Queries on any potential new DOT FMCSA regulated driver prior to placing them in a safety-sensitive position. The Pre-employment Queries are conducted to ensure the driver is not prohibited from driving due to a drug and alcohol testing violation.
- Annual queries: All transportation companies are required to conduct limited queries on ALL their driver once a year. After limited term queries are copleted, you need to run Full Queries on drivers who were flagged.
Query Plan
A transportation company needs to purchase a query or a block of queries (called a query plan) before running any query. Please note:
- A query will cost $1.25 flat
- In order to run a query, click Log In and access the Clearinghouse using your login.gov username and password. Under My Dashboard, go to Queries and click Conduct a Query. Enter the information of the driver you need to query and click Verify Driver Information.
Useful Links
Our goal is to mitigate the risk of non-compliance and improve safety for our clients. Running Pre-Employment Queries and Annual Queries is a DOT requirement. Please feel free to call us in case you have any questions regarding queries or any DOT drug testing matter. You can also click on this link: https://www.ipsdrugtesting.com/contactus