FMCSA Extends Waiver on Electronic Medical Certifications
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is extending the amount of time drivers may carry paper copies of their medical exam certifications as the agency continues to work on a transition to digital records.
Truckers will now be permitted to carry those paper certifications for 60 days, up from the previous temporary limit of 15 days. The Aug. 21 extension offers a reprieve to drivers in the 12 states that missed a June deadline for transition to electronic medical certifications. At present, FMCSA has set an Oct. 12 nationwide deadline for transition to mandatory electronic submission of Medical Examiner’s Certificates drivers must obtain to legally drive. The waiver applies to interstate commercial driver license holders, commercial learner’s permit holders and motor carriers.
The waiver permits motor carriers and drivers to use a copy of the MEC as proof of the driver’s medical certification for 60 days from the date of an exam.
This latest waiver follows one in mid-July that gave drivers a 15-day window to continue carrying paper documents to prove medical certification.
“FMCSA determined that modifying the initial waiver is in the public interest to prevent undue hardship on drivers with valid medical certification and their employers due to potential processing delays outside of their control during this transition period,” .
In a four-page letter approving the waiver, FMCSA Chief Counsel Jesse Elison noted that drivers operating under the July waiver encountered issues with uploading their paper records to the electronic system within the 15-day period. FMCSA is transitioning to electronic certifications through its National Registry II system.
“The waiver, with this modification, is likely to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the waiver,” Elison said. “This waiver simply allows drivers and motor carriers to continue using a paper copy of the MEC for a 60-day period, during a limited transition period to NRII.”
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States were mandated by June 23 to implement from FMCSA’s National Registry and post that information to the federal Commercial Driver’s License Information System driver record. But a dozen states remain unable to comply, despite four years’ notice of the transition. are Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Vermont and Wyoming.
Some of these states, such as California and New Jersey, have given no timeline for compliance. Others have set their own targets. The Wyoming Department of Transportation said it will launch its electronic process later this summer. Iowa is to follow Oct. 15, while Kentucky will delay starting until next June.
FMCSA acknowledged July 14 it has delayed enforcement across these states. The final rule was approved in April 2015.
For the District of Columbia and 38 states already in compliance, FMCSA until further notice still recommends that certified medical examiners issue paper MECs to drivers, in addition to submitting electronic exam results.
