A limited query determines if an individual driver's Clearinghouse record has any information about resolved or unresolved drug and alcohol program violations. To conduct a limited query you must obtaining a driver's general consent. This general consent is not required on an annual basis and may be effective for more than one year, but the request must specify the timeframe for which the driver is providing consent. A limited query does not release any specific violation information contained in the driver's Clearinghouse record.
Employees must be queried at least once within a 365-day period based on their hire date, or another 12-month period determines by the employer, as long as the requirements of § 382.701(b) are met. Around this time last year the Clearinghouse experienced several service disruptions the closer we approached January 6th due to volume and last minute queries submitted by employers and/or their service agents.
As a best practice and to avoid delays and potential violations of DOT regulations by conducting queries outside the requisite time, please consider the following tips:
- Ensure you have sufficient queries purchased on the DOT Clearinghouse to perform a query for each driver;
- Have a current consent form on file for the driver that will correspond to the current query year unless the consent form stipulates "good for the tenure of employment". Please reference this sample consent form if needed;
- Make sure the driver is registered on the DOT Clearinghouse; and
- Keep in mind if a limited query returns a result that information exists on the driver, a full query must then be performed in order to access the details of the violation information.
If you have any questions, please contact your sales executive, account manager, or our customer service team.
Source: FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse
Posted: November 5, 2021