DOT & Trucking News

FMCSA has posted a notice that the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will undergo scheduled maintenance on Saturday morning. Users may experience intermittent issues while the work is underway.

• Saturday, September 19, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
• The maintenance is expected to take approximately 3 hours.
• FMCSA describes the effect as intermittent issues rather than a full outage.

What it means: Employers, C/TPAs, and drivers who need to run a query, report a violation, or complete a registration step Saturday morning should plan around that window and retry afterward if the site does not respond.

Source: FMCSA: Clearinghouse News (notice posted on the Clearinghouse News page, retrieved September 19, 2026)

FMCSA has granted a waiver from the hours-of-service driving limits in 49 CFR 395.3 for motor carriers and drivers transporting gasoline and diesel fuel in interstate commerce, citing global supply disruptions and expected fall demand.

• In effect September 16, 2026 through December 16, 2026.
• Drivers may not drive more than 16 hours in any 24-hour period, and must take at least 6 consecutive hours in a sleeper berth, or 8 consecutive hours off duty if there is none.
• Drivers need a valid CDL with required endorsements, must not be under an out-of-service order, and must carry a physical or digital copy of the waiver.
• Carriers with a conditional safety rating are not eligible.

What it means: The waiver covers driving time only. FMCSA states it does not waive any other requirement, including the controlled substance and alcohol testing rules in 49 CFR Part 382, so random, post-accident, and all other required testing continues unchanged.

Source: FMCSA: Hours of Service Waiver for the Transportation of Gasoline and Diesel Fuel (issued September 16, 2026)

FMCSA has issued a fraud alert about emails that impersonate Motus, the agency's new registration system. The messages use the subject line "Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email" and urge recipients to click a "New MOTUS Portal" link to update their profile.

• The only legitimate address for the registration system is motus.dot.gov.
• FMCSA identifies the bogus sites as dot.motusdatasboard.com, dot.motusdatadesk.com, dot.motuswebdeck.com, and dot.motusfunction.com.
• Hover over a link to reveal its real destination before clicking, and report scams to the FTC, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, or the FMCSA Contact Center at 800-832-5660.

What it means: Carriers and owner-operators should treat any email asking them to update their FMCSA registration profile with suspicion, and reach the registration system by typing motus.dot.gov directly instead of following a link in an email.

Source: FMCSA: Fraud Alerts - Bogus Motus App and Links (page updated September 11, 2026)

Also reported by: Land Line: Feds warn truckers about Motus scam (published September 16, 2026)

FMCSA has published a 30-day notice seeking public comment on renewing the voluntary 391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form (MCSA-5895). Certified medical examiners may use the form to ask a driver's prescribing healthcare professional why a medication was prescribed, which helps the examiner decide whether the driver is medically qualified under 49 CFR 391.41.

• Comments are due on or before October 15, 2026, under Docket No. FMCSA-2026-0760.
• Use of the form stays optional. A completed form is attached to the Medical Examination Report Form (MCSA-5875) in the examiner's records.
• The NTSB again recommended broadening the form to cover all medications and conditions. FMCSA declined, saying the MCSA-5875 already captures that health history.

What it means: Nothing changes today for drivers or examiners, but a driver taking prescription medication may still be asked at a DOT physical to have the prescribing provider complete this form before certification.

Source: Federal Register: FMCSA 391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form ICR Renewal (published September 15, 2026)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in two cases challenging FMCSA's non-domiciled commercial driver's license rule, which took effect March 16, 2026. California's case against the U.S. Department of Transportation was argued September 11, and a driver's petition against FMCSA was argued September 15.

• The rule ended use of an Employment Authorization Document by itself to obtain a non-domiciled CDL, and made asylum seekers, asylees, refugees, and DACA recipients ineligible.
• California's case concerns about $160 million FMCSA withheld over more than 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs the state did not cancel.
• No decision has been issued, and the rule remains in effect.

What it means: Carriers and recruiters should keep verifying CDL eligibility under the current rule and watch for a ruling that could affect how non-domiciled CDLs are issued or renewed.

Source: Land Line: Non-domiciled CDL fight shifts into high gear (published September 14, 2026)

Official reference: FMCSA: Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled CDLs

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