With CDL downgrade rule in full effect, number of ‘Prohibited’ CDL/CLP drivers rises to over 180K

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released new reports on the number of commercial vehicle drivers who are subject to automatic license downgrades due to drug and alcohol violations.

The FMCSA recently released the first new monthly reports on Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse violations since the agency’s major Clearinghouse-II rule went into effect on November 18, 2024.

The Clearinghouse-II rule requires that commercial vehicle drivers with violations in the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse have their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) or Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) downgraded by State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). Drivers with a CDL or CLP downgrade may not operate a commercial vehicle until they complete the return-to-duty (RTD) process.

The new report provides a snapshot of all CDL/CLP holders with a recorded violation in the Clearinghouse as of December 1, 2024.

The latest report shows that 180,048 CDL/CLP holders were listed in “Prohibited” status as of December 1, 2024, and that 137,888 of those drivers had not yet begun the RTD process necessary to restore their commercial driving privileges.

The latest report shows the continuing trend of the number of drivers listed in “Prohibited” status slowly but steadily increasing each month. The number of “Prohibited” drivers is listed at 180,110 as of November 1, 2024, at 178,839 as of October 1, 2024, and at 177,092 as of September 1, 2024.

The Clearinghouse-II rule was issued by the FMCSA in October 2021 to tighten requirements on SDLAs with regard to the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. This rule builds on and strengthens previous rules that prohibit drivers from operating with a “Prohibited” Clearinghouse status.

“As established in the first Clearinghouse Final Rule, drivers with a “Prohibited” Clearinghouse status are prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on public roads. The second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) further supports this by ensuring that drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status do not continue to hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP),” the FMCSA states.

The FMCSA’s first Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse Final Rule went into effect January 6, 2020, requiring motor carriers to query an online database containing CDL/CLP holder drug and alcohol violation information before hiring a driver and once per year for existing drivers.

You can click here to learn more about the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.