FMCSA Extends COVID-19 Waivers for CLP Holders, CDLs and Medical Certificates

In June 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) extended its COVID-19 licensing relief for commercial drivers into the fall. On June 17, 2020, the agency issued a three-month waiver for commercial learner's permit (CLP) holders and states. A companion waiver covered expiring CDLs, CLPs and medical certificates. Both ran from July 1 through September 30, 2020.

The new waivers replaced relief FMCSA had granted in March 2020, which was due to expire on June 30. FMCSA said several states still had licensing offices closed or short-staffed because of the pandemic, and that many drivers could not get medical exam appointments.

Relief for CLP holders

Normally, a CLP holder may drive a commercial vehicle on public roads only with a properly licensed CDL holder in the front passenger seat. Under the June 17 waiver:

• A CLP holder who had already passed the CDL driving skills test could drive with the CDL holder elsewhere in the cab, not necessarily in the front seat.
• The driver had to carry proof of passing the skills test from the state or an authorized third-party tester, plus a non-CDL driver's licence and the CLP.
• The waiver did not cover operations needing the T (double/triple trailers), P (passenger), N (tank), H (hazmat), X (tank/hazmat) or S (school bus) endorsements.
• States could give the skills test to out-of-state applicants regardless of where the applicant trained, with results sent electronically to the licensing state.

Carriers had to report any accident involving a CLP holder using the waiver to FMCSA within five business days, by email to MCPSD@DOT.GOV.

Relief for expiring licences and medical cards

The companion waiver:

• extended the validity of CDLs and CLPs due for renewal on or after March 1, 2020, until September 30, 2020, without requiring CLP holders to retake knowledge tests;
• waived the 14-day wait between getting a CLP and taking the CDL skills test;
• let drivers keep operating on a medical certificate that had been issued for at least 90 days and expired on or after March 1, 2020, as long as they carried a paper copy of the expired certificate;
• waived the requirement for states to mark those drivers "not certified" and downgrade their licences when the medical certificate expired.

It did not help drivers whose licences or permits expired before March 1, 2020, drivers whose privileges were suspended or withdrawn, new drivers who had never held a medical certificate, or drivers diagnosed with a disqualifying condition since their last exam. The same five-day accident reporting rule applied.

FMCSA also issued a separate enforcement policy saying it would not take action through September 30, 2020, against drivers who held a valid CDL on February 29, 2020, or against carriers using them. The agency said this was needed because many states set renewal periods shorter than the federal maximum.