Which Drivers Does FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Testing Cover?

FMCSA drug and alcohol testing under 49 CFR Part 382 covers drivers who operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in commerce and who are subject to the commercial driver's license (CDL) requirements of 49 CFR Part 383. It also covers drivers subject to the Mexican Licencia Federal de Conductor or the Canadian National Safety Code CDL rules (49 CFR 382.103(a)).

For Part 382, a CMV is a vehicle used in commerce to transport passengers or property that:

• Has a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more, including a towed unit over 10,000 pounds
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more
• Is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver
• Is of any size and transports hazardous materials in amounts that require placards (49 CFR 382.107)

"Commerce" includes trade or transportation that affects interstate commerce. FMCSA guidance reads this definition as reaching intrastate operations, so CDL drivers who operate only within one state are covered unless an exception in 49 CFR 382.103(d) applies (49 CFR 382.107). "Driver" includes full-time, casual, intermittent, occasional and leased drivers and independent owner-operator contractors (49 CFR 382.107). An employer that employs only itself as a driver joins a random testing pool of two or more covered employees, which is often run by a consortium or third-party administrator (49 CFR 382.103(b)).

Part 382 does not apply to:

• Employers and drivers who are required to comply only with the FTA testing rules in 49 CFR Part 655
• Drivers a state must waive from the CDL rules, such as active duty military personnel
• Drivers a state has exempted from the CDL rules at its discretion, such as certain farm vehicle operators and firefighters
• Operators of covered farm vehicles (49 CFR 382.103(d))

The general exceptions in 49 CFR 390.3T(f), such as those for government employers, do not apply to Part 382, so a city or county that employs CDL drivers runs a testing program too (49 CFR 382.103(c)). Covered drivers take pre-employment tests and are subject to the other Part 382 tests and Clearinghouse queries.