NOVEMBER 21, 2019 – Has your company registered for a DOT Clearinghouse account yet? All safety-sensitive employers are required to create an account for the purpose of conducting queries and reporting violations.
Each employer has only one account, but multiple employees can be given access so that the responsibility of running queries on employees or reporting drug and alcohol violations doesn’t rest with a single person. Here’s what you need to know about the different user accounts in the Clearinghouse.
Related Article: A Key Clearinghouse Requirement for Owner Operators
Clearinghouse Administrators
The person who sets up the employer account is assigned as the Clearinghouse Administrator for the company and will have the ability to manage all of the company’s users. This includes inviting new users to access the Clearinghouse on behalf of the company or disabling access if necessary.
As a Clearinghouse Administrator, you’ll be able to report driver drug and alcohol program violations, as well as negative return-to-duty tests and follow-up testing completion dates. You can also conduct queries with driver consent.
Administrators are the only company representatives who can designate a consortium/third-party administrator to act on the company’s behalf. They are also the only ones who can indicate whether the motor carrier is an owner operator.
Clearinghouse Assistants
These individuals are assigned by the Clearinghouse Administrator to create accounts within the Clearinghouse that allow them to report driver violations along with negative return-to-duty tests and follow-up testing completion dates on behalf of their employer. They can also conduct queries in the Clearinghouse with driver consent.
Both Medical Review Officers and Substance Abuse Professionals can also assign Assistants to enter information into the Clearinghouse on their behalf.
Managing These Roles
To manage the Clearinghouse roles for a company with a DOT Number, you should login to your FMCSA Portal account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to register for one first. Once you have an account, you’ll be able to assign yourself as the Clearinghouse Administrator.
Clearinghouse Assistants that work for a company with a DOT number can do the same by logging into their Portal account and requesting the user role of “DACH Motor Carrier.”
Assistants who work for a company without a DOT number must wait for an email invitation before registering.
.png)