Clearinghouse registration opened before the January 6, 2020 queries. Drivers still register to say yes to a full query

What the notice actually said

The candidate cannot finish consent, and the start date does not move. FMCSA opened clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov for CDL and CLP holders, employers, C/TPAs, MROs, and SAPs. No cost.

Drivers were not forced to register on day one, but they need an account to respond to an employer’s consent request for a full query. Go-live for the database was January 6, 2020. This page is the log-in chapter; the final rule is the duty.

Instructional brochures on the portal were the 2019 operational story. 2026 IDEMIA is a later lock on professional users. Do not tell a driver “registration is the violation database.” The violation is in the record; registration is the key.

Owner-operators count as employers of themselves. Sitting out consent is a no-hire, not a privacy protest we work around.

A limited query is a later query type used for annual checks — confirm current FMCSA instructions. A full query still needs consent and returns detailed violation information.

What it changes on Monday

Safety owns the query. A start date does not skip consent, and we will not invent a side channel if the portal will not finish.

If a TPA is locked out in 2026, that is the IDEMIA chapter. They fix identity proofing. The registration duty from 2019 did not go away.

Duty chapter: the 2020 go-live rule. ID proofing: IDEMIA. Apply when the account works: Drive With Us.

Portal first, then us. +1 (847) 702-8181 if you are stuck on consent and already have a CDL we can see.

What we will — and will not — do

We will still query. We will not screenshot Facebook, and we will not start a driver who cannot complete consent.

We will not tell a candidate that registration is the violation. The record is the record; the account is how they say yes to a full query.

Human on the desk: +1 (847) 702-8181. Bring the portal problem if you have one — not a reason to skip the database.