The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on November 16, 2006 that would require information from medical certificates be merged with CDL databases.
Under the proposal, CDL holders would be required to provide a copy of their medical examiner's certificate to their State Driver Licensing Agency, which would add the information to the Commercial Driver License Information System (CDLIS).
Once the rule goes into effect, CDL drivers will no longer be required to carry their medical examiner's certificate, since the information can be verified electronically.
FMCSA believes the rule will come at no cost to motor carriers, since they will no longer be responsible for maintaining medical certificates in driver qualification files.
In addition to granting law enforcement officials easier access to driver's medical certification, the proposed rule would make it be less likely that drivers would engage in forgery, since they would have to present their medical certificates to a government official, rather than a motor carrier, FMCSA said.
