FMCSA to allow use of paper medical certification cards through January amid hiccups in transition to electronic system
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will allow commercial vehicle drivers to use paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate (MEC) through early 2026 as a dozen states lag behind on implementing the electronic system.
On October 9, 2025, FMCSA announced the extension of a waiver that will allow interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders, commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders, and motor carriers to use a paper copy of the MEC as proof of the driver’s medical certification for up to 60 days after the date the medical examiner’s certificate was issued.
“FMCSA determined that reissuing the waiver is in the public interest to prevent undue hardship on drivers with valid medical certification and their employers due to potential processing delays outside of their control during this transition period,” officials said.
This waiver is valid through January 10, 2026.
On June 23, 2025, the FMCSA’s Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration (NRII) rule went into effect, requiring medical examiners to electronically submit the results of a CDL or CLP applicant’s physical exam directly to the FMCSA’s National Registry. FMCSA then electronically transmits the exam results to State Driver’s Licensing Agencies (SDLA), eliminating the need for CDL and CLP holders to submit their own MEC to SDLAs. SDLAs post the exam information received from FMCSA on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) driver motor vehicle record (MVR).
As of October 9, only 38 States and the District of Columbia have implemented NRII, meaning that 12 states are continuing to rely on paper MECs, FMCSA said.
“FMCSA is aware that during this initial period of transition to NRII, some CLP applicants and CDL holders may face delays in the time between receipt of their medical certification and the update to their CDLIS driver MVR as medical examiners and SDLAs onboard to the new system,” the agency said.
FMCSA is “strongly recommending” that medical examiners continue to issue paper MEC until further notice.
The waiver extension announced on October 9 builds on similar waivers issued in July and August 2025.