DOT & Trucking News

FMCSA has posted a notice that the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will be unable to verify driver CDL information during a one-hour maintenance window. The work is being performed on the Commercial Driver Licensing Information System (CDLIS) Gateway, which the Clearinghouse uses to confirm CDL details.

• Thursday, September 17, 2026, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
• During that hour, Clearinghouse users will not be able to verify driver CDL information.

What it means: Employers, C/TPAs, and drivers who need to complete a Clearinghouse action that depends on CDL verification should plan around that hour and try again after the maintenance window closes.

Source: FMCSA: Clearinghouse News (notice posted on the Clearinghouse News page, retrieved September 15, 2026)

FMCSA announced three enforcement actions on August 31, 2026, part of an interagency effort with the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice targeting fraud in commercial driver licensing and training.

• Emergency removal of more than 110 Entry-Level Driver Training providers from the Training Provider Registry. Those providers must stop all training activity immediately.
• More than 160 notices of proposed removal from the registry, following nearly 400 investigations across 40 states.
• A nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers and of state oversight of them. States found substantially non-compliant face corrective action plans, withheld federal highway funds, and possible decertification.
• Homeland Security Investigations and the USDOT Office of Inspector General are investigating medical practitioners suspected of improperly certifying CDL medical exams.

What it means: Carriers hiring entry-level drivers should confirm the training provider on a driver's ELDT certification is still active in the Training Provider Registry. Certified medical examiners can expect closer scrutiny of DOT physical documentation.

Source: FMCSA: Interagency Effort to Crack Down on Fraud in Trucking Industry (published August 31, 2026)

A nationwide FMCSA exemption that lets motor carriers and drivers rely on a paper copy of the medical examiner's certificate (MEC) as proof of medical certification expires October 11, 2026. FMCSA granted it so drivers holding valid certification, and their employers, would not be penalized while the last few States implemented the Medical Examiner's Certification Integration rule (NRII).

• Effective April 11, 2026, it covers CDL holders, CLP holders, and motor carriers.
• A paper MEC copy counts as proof for up to 60 days after the certificate was issued.
• FMCSA said not to expect further nationwide NRII waivers or exemptions after this one.

What it means: After October 11, proof of a CDL or CLP driver's medical certification rests on the electronic record rather than the paper card. Carriers should confirm each driver's certification appears on the motor vehicle record and follow up with the State licensing agency if it does not.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA Exemption, Qualification of Drivers (published April 14, 2026)

Official reference: eCFR: 49 CFR 391.41

FMCSA has asked the Office of Management and Budget to renew its approval of the Non-Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form, MCSA-5872, and is taking public comment on the request. The form is used by certified medical examiners who issue the Medical Examiner's Certificate, Form MCSA-5876, to commercial drivers diagnosed with non-insulin-treated diabetes.

• Use of the MCSA-5872 is voluntary, not required.
• Examiners use it to gather information from the treating healthcare provider who manages the driver's diabetes care.
• That information helps the examiner decide whether the driver meets FMCSA's physical qualification standards.
• Comments are due on or before October 26, 2026, under Docket No. FMCSA-2026-1783.

What it means: Nothing changes today for drivers or employers, and examiners may continue using the form as before. Medical examiners and carriers who work with drivers managing non-insulin-treated diabetes have an opportunity to comment before the renewal is approved.

Source: Federal Register: Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Non-Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form, MCSA-5872 (published August 25, 2026)

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said this week that it is keeping in place its temporary suspension of biennial update enforcement while registrants move to the agency's new Motus registration system. FMCSA first paused enforcement in late June after carriers ran into problems with the platform, which launched in May 2026.

• Registrants whose biennial update came due on or after June 1 are being given additional time to file.
• USDOT numbers will not be inactivated for a missing biennial update while the suspension is in effect.
• The suspension continues until further notice, and FMCSA says it will give ample warning before the requirement is enforced again.

What it means: Carriers who have been unable to complete a biennial update should not lose their USDOT number for that reason right now, but the filing requirement itself has not gone away. Watch for FMCSA's notice that enforcement is resuming.

Source: Land Line: Motus problems lead to continued pause on biennial update requirement (published September 10, 2026)

Official reference: FMCSA: Temporary Suspension of USDOT Inactivation in Motus

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations opened a national tip line on September 9, 2026 for reporting suspected commercial driver's license fraud. The Department of Homeland Security says it is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the effort, part of a wider federal push to remove unqualified drivers from the road.

• Tips can be submitted by phone at 866-347-2423 or through the ICE online tip form.
• Reports may be made anonymously.
• DHS asks that the same information not be reported more than once, and that duplicate reports not be filed on both the phone line and the web form.

What it means: Carriers and drivers can expect continued federal attention to how CDLs are issued and to driver qualification. Keeping driver qualification files, CDL verifications, and Clearinghouse queries current and well documented remains the best protection under this kind of scrutiny.

Source: Land Line: Feds turn to truckers to assist in ongoing efforts to curb CDL fraud (published September 9, 2026)

Official reference: DHS: ICE Launches Tipline for Reporting Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Fraud