§382.701 imposes two Clearinghouse query obligations:
Pre-employment full query (§382.701(a)) — before allowing a new CDL driver to perform any safety-sensitive function, the carrier obtains the driver's specific consent (recorded in the Clearinghouse) and runs a full query. The query returns any reported violations, refusals, RTD-test results, and follow-up testing status across all DOT modes.
Annual query (§382.701(b)) — at least once every 365 days, the carrier runs either an annual limited query (driver has given general consent under §382.703) or a full query. A limited query indicates whether records exist; if records exist, the carrier must run a full query within 24 hours and either obtain confirmation the record was resolved or prohibit the driver from CMV operation.
Audit consequence
The Table to §385.321 makes using a driver known to have tested positive for a controlled substance (§382.215) — or one who refused a required test (§382.211) — an audit auto-fail. The Clearinghouse query is how a carrier acquires that knowledge. Skipping queries doesn't protect — it converts a "known" failure into a "should have known" one.
Roadworthy HQ is a query tracker, not a Clearinghouse integration
FMCSA does not publish a public API for Clearinghouse. The carrier (or their registered C/TPA) runs queries directly at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov. Roadworthy HQ stores the query date and result PDF, runs the §382.701(e) retention clock, and surfaces the rolling 365-day next-query date.
How to prevent it
- Day-1-of-hire workflow includes the §382.701(a) pre-employment query.
- §382.701(b) annual queries are scheduled on the rolling 365-day cycle per driver.
- §382.703 general consent (signed once) enables limited queries; without it, every annual query must be a full query.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
Queries are logged on the driver's Clearinghouse tab as pre-employment full, annual limited, or annual full, with the consent form and the query result uploaded. The next annual query comes due a year after the last one logged, with reminders at 60, 30, and 7 days and an alert when it is overdue. A limited query that returns a record raises an alert for the follow-up full query. Roadworthy HQ does not run queries; it is a tracker, and the Clearinghouse itself remains the system of record.