Medical Certification Rule To Have
Truckers Checking In With DMV
By Jami Jones,
Land Line managing editor
After Jan. 30, truckers headed off to the state driver's licensing agency need to have one more piece of paper to stay legal with your CDL - proof of medical certification.
A new regulation that goes into effect on Jan. 30 mandates that all interstate CDL holders and applicants provide proof of their medical certification to their home state licensing agency.
The regulation, which was published in 2008, will eventually require by Jan. 30, 2014, that the agencies input the proof of certification into the commercial driver's license information system - dubbed CDLIS by the feds - to give roadside law enforcement access to the certification and CDL electronically.
However, many states were not prepared for the CDLIS reporting requirement so the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration delayed the state's data entry deadline to 2014.
In the meantime, anyone who has a licensing "action," such as renewal, upgrade, transfer, etc., after Jan. 30 will have to provide proof of medical certification. It's up to the states to decide if the medical examiners "long form" or the actual medical certificate will be required. Either way, that proof must be presented when conducting CDL-related business at the state licensing agency.
In addition to proving your medical certification, drivers will be asked to self-certify whether they are interstate or intrastate drivers and whether they work in an exempt segment of the industry - like school bus drivers or fire department personnel.
Each state will enact different timelines for CDL holders to provide medical certification proof and to self certify those who do not have a licensing action coming up for the next couple of years because all CDL holders must report by Jan. 30, 2014.
OOIDA will maintain a state-by-state breakdown of the requirements on its website. You can also find frequently asked questions about the medical certification there as well |
