Hours, Logs & Compliance · Driver Training VideoDrug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

The Clearinghouse is a federal database. Every CDL driver in the country has a file in it. Every drug and alcohol program violation gets reported to it, and every employer can see it.

Here is how it touches you. Before any carrier lets you drive, they run a full query on your record. Once a year, every year you work there, they run a limited query, and if anything shows up, a full query follows right behind it.

Four things put a violation in your file. A positive DOT drug test. An alcohol test at point zero four or higher. A refusal. And actual knowledge, which means a supervisor sees you use, or you pick up a DUI in a commercial vehicle.

Understand refusal, because that is the one good drivers stumble into. Walking away from a collection is a refusal. Not showing up in a reasonable time is a refusal. Not producing enough specimen, without a doctor's explanation, is a refusal.

Marijuana is the trap

State law does not matter here. Federal law governs your CDL, and THC is prohibited. Legal weed, a medical card, gas station CBD, all the same answer. CBD products are not tested or regulated, and a positive is still a positive. There is no medical explanation that saves it.

When a violation lands, you go prohibited. That means you stop driving a commercial vehicle immediately. It also means your state licensing agency downgrades your CDL. You lose the commercial privilege on your license until your record is cleared.

Your company standard: you tell us before it becomes a test result. If a prescription might show up, ask before you drive. If you are called for a random, you go straight to the collection site. No stops, no delays. If something happened out there, call safety first.

Getting back is a road, not a form. You see a Substance Abuse Professional. You complete what they prescribe. You pass a return to duty test under direct observation.