A federal database of drug and alcohol programme violations for CDL drivers. Employers must query it before hiring and at least once a year for every driver they employ.
Every employer of CDL drivers, including an owner-operator who is their own employer. A one-person carrier is not exempt from the annual query on themselves.
The annual query runs on the anniversary of the previous query for each driver, not on a fixed calendar date. Consortium membership renews on its own anniversary, set by whoever you enrolled with.
File at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov
Clearinghouse queries are billed per query by FMCSA. Consortium membership is billed separately by whichever provider you enrol with, and those prices vary widely between providers.
An owner-operator subject to federal testing rules cannot administer their own random testing programme, which is why the consortium model exists. Membership prices vary widely between providers, so it is worth comparing more than one.
No. They are separate obligations. A pre-employment query runs before a driver starts, and a limited annual query runs at least once every twelve months for each driver you continue to employ.
Twice a year for most vehicles
Annual
Every 24 months
Quarterly
Annual
Every 90 days
Annual