Clearinghouse II Is Here: What CDL Downgrades Mean for Employers and Drivers in 2026
As of February 27, 2026, the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is not just a hiring checkpoint anymore. If a CDL or CLP driver moves into prohibited status and does not complete the required return-to-duty process, that problem can now reach the state licensing level too.
For a lot of employers, that changes the tone of the whole conversation. This is no longer just about catching a violation before someone starts work. It is about whether a driver can keep commercial driving privileges at all.
What changed on November 18, 2024?
The big shift came with what most employers now call Clearinghouse II. FMCSA says that, starting November 18, 2024, State Driver’s Licensing Agencies must remove commercial driving privileges from drivers who are identified in the Clearinghouse as being in a prohibited status. FMCSA’s current enforcement notice says states should complete that downgrade process within 60 days of getting the notice from FMCSA.
In plain English: a driver can no longer count on crossing state lines, changing employers, or simply waiting things out. If the Clearinghouse shows prohibited status, the driver’s CDL or CLP can be downgraded until the return-to-duty requirements are completed and the state restores the license.
Why this matters more than it used to
Before this change, some employers treated the Clearinghouse mostly as a pre-employment screen and an annual housekeeping item. That was already risky. Now it is even riskier.
FMCSA’s December 2025 monthly Clearinghouse report, which is the latest monthly report posted on the agency’s news page as of February 27, 2026, shows the scale of the system:
- 6,233,053 unique driver records queried since January 6, 2020
- 360,107 drug violations recorded
- 8,877 alcohol violations recorded
That is a reminder that this is not some obscure compliance side issue. It is a live operating system that employers, owner-operators, consortium administrators, and state licensing agencies are all using right now.
What employers still have to do
Clearinghouse II did not replace the old employer duties. It added consequences on top of them.
Here is the part employers and DERs still need to stay tight on:
1. Run the pre-employment query before safety-sensitive work begins
FMCSA still requires employers to run a Clearinghouse query before a driver performs safety-sensitive functions that require a CDL.
That means “we hired the driver and will check later” is not good enough. The query has to happen first.
2. Keep annual queries on a rolling 12-month clock
FMCSA’s FAQ makes an important point that trips people up: the annual query is due no later than the date of the previous year’s query. It is not just a casual “sometime this calendar year” task.
If your team runs annual queries in batches, that is fine. But the tracking has to be precise.
3. Act fast if FMCSA tells you the driver’s record changed
If an employer receives a notification that information was added to a driver’s Clearinghouse record, FMCSA says the employer should conduct a full query within 24 hours.
That is one of those operational details that matters a lot. If the alert comes in and nobody owns it, you have a gap.
4. Make sure owner-operators are set up correctly
FMCSA’s current guidance says an owner-operator who employs himself or herself as a CDL driver must designate a C/TPA in the Clearinghouse to carry out required tasks such as reporting and queries.
That is especially important for single-truck and small-fleet operators who think they can handle the account casually on the side. The system is now less forgiving.
What happens when a driver moves into prohibited status
This is where the rule has real teeth.
Once a violation is reported into the Clearinghouse and the driver is in prohibited status, the issue does not stay hidden inside an employer file. Under FMCSA’s current policy, the state licensing agency is brought into the loop. The state then downgrades the driver’s commercial privileges unless and until the driver satisfies the return-to-duty requirements.
That creates practical consequences in several directions at once:
- The employer cannot treat the driver like a routine active CDL employee.
- The driver cannot just look for a fresh start with another carrier and hope the issue does not surface.
- The licensing consequence adds urgency that did not exist in the same way before November 18, 2024.
FMCSA also says violation records remain in the Clearinghouse for five years, or until the driver completes the return-to-duty process and follow-up testing plan, whichever is later.
What the return-to-duty path actually looks like
This part is where people often get overwhelmed, so it helps to strip it back to the basics.
Under 49 CFR Part 40, the process starts with a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) evaluation. The SAP decides what education or treatment the employee must complete. After that, the SAP conducts a follow-up evaluation to determine whether the employee has successfully complied.
Part 40 also requires a follow-up testing plan. The SAP, not the employer, sets that plan. DOT rules say the employee must complete at least six unannounced follow-up tests in the first 12 months after returning to safety-sensitive duty, and the testing plan can continue for up to five years.
That is why it is a mistake to talk about a violation as if it is solved by one phone call, one counseling visit, or one test. It is a process, not a shortcut.
A practical employer checklist for right now
If you are an employer or DER, here is the smart move this week:
- Audit your annual query tracker and make sure it is based on rolling due dates, not calendar-year guesswork.
- Confirm who receives Clearinghouse alerts and who is responsible for acting on them within 24 hours.
- Review your driver roster and make sure no one with unresolved prohibited status is being treated as cleared.
- Verify that owner-operators in your program have the right Clearinghouse and C/TPA setup.
- Recheck your internal playbook for what happens after a violation, including SAP coordination and state reinstatement follow-through.
None of that is glamorous. All of it matters.
Bottom line
Clearinghouse II changed the emotional reality of DOT drug and alcohol compliance. It used to be easier for some employers to think of the Clearinghouse as one more admin system in the background. That is not the situation anymore.
Now, prohibited status can hit the driver’s license itself. That raises the stakes for employers, DERs, and drivers at the same time.
If your program still feels loose around annual queries, change notifications, or return-to-duty follow-through, this is the moment to tighten it up.
This article is operational guidance based on official FMCSA, DOT, and eCFR sources, not legal advice.