FMCSA’s Final Rule requiring stringent history checks for non-domiciled drivers starts today

A Final Rule requiring stringent history checks for non-domiciled drivers issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration goes into effect today. 

The Monday, March 16th effective date puts an immediate pause on “the issuance of non-domiciled CLPs or CDLs until the State can ensure non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs are issued in accordance with the revised standards.”

The revised standards include more stringent driving history checks for foreign truck drivers, and limits the eligibility for CDLs to specific visa holders. Prior to the Final Rule, the FMCSA determined that citizens of the United States were undergoing a more rigorous safety vetting process than foreign drivers, and that oversight was putting US citizens at risk on the country’s roadways. 

“While domestic CDL applicants face rigorous driver history checks through the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) and the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS), non-domiciled applicants were previously processed without equivalent checks on their foreign driving history. This effectively shielded unsafe driving behaviors—including serious violations or fatal crashes—simply because they occurred outside the reach of U.S. databases,” the FMCSA wrote.

“To close this loophole and fulfill FMCSA’s statutory mandate to ensure the safety fitness of CMV drivers, this rule establishes eligibility criteria for foreign-domiciled drivers seeking non-domiciled CDLs… [Now] eligibility is limited to nonimmigrant status holders who undergo enhanced consular vetting and interagency screening which serves as a functional proxy for driver history vetting by the State Driver’s Licensing Agency.”

The final rule also limits eligible foreign drivers to those holding H-2A (Temporary Agricultural Workers), H-2B (Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers), and E-2 (Treaty Investors) visas. The ruling also limits acceptable proof of lawful presence to unexpired Employment Authorization Documents, or “an unexpired foreign passport accompanied by an approved I-94 form documenting the driver’s most recent admittance into the United States.”

Under the rule, the presented documents must be unexpired, and the expiration date on the issued CDL must not exceed the expiration date on the documents. Additionally, citizens of Mexico or Canada may not be issued a CDL unless they fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. 

Non-domiciled CDLs and CLPs that do not comply with the new standards may not be issued on or after March 16th, and any states that do not comply with the new standards must pause issuing non-domicled CDLs and CLPs until they come into compliance.

While current, unexpired non-domiciled CDLs are technically not affected by the March 16th effective date, the “FMCSA strongly encourages States to take immediate action to revoke all unexpired noncompliant non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs and reissue the licenses only if the reissuances are permitted under the” new, more stringent rules.