May 10, 2013, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published the Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (78 FR 27343).  To also view the docket folder for all related documents click Docket ID: FMCSA-2012-0178.

On April 23, 2015 FMCSA published the Final Rule which has an effective date of June 22, 2015.

Excerpts from FMCSA’s Final Rule:

SUMMARY

FMCSA amends the Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

(FMCSRs) to require certified medical

examiners (MEs) performing physical

examinations of commercial motor

vehicle (CMV) drivers to use a newly

developed Medical Examination Report

(MER) Form,MCSA-5875,in place of

the current MER Form and to use Form

MCSA–5876 for the Medical Examiner’s

Certificate (MEC).

In addition, MEs are required to report results of each CMV drivers’ physical examination, including the results of examinations where the driver was found not to be qualified, to FMCSA by midnight local time of the next calendar day following the examination. This includes all CMV drivers (CDL/CLP and Non-CDL/CLP) who are required to be medically certified to operate in interstate commerce…

The purpose of this final rule is to facilitate the electronic transmission of MEC information from FMCSA’s National Registry to the SDLAs. This transmission will provide administrative cost savings to motor carriers, drivers, MEs, and SDLAs. In addition, it will reduce, to the greatest extent possible, the potential for the submission of falsified MECs to the States, which are required to post MEC information to CLP/CDL holders’ records accessible via CDLIS.

The Agency will also transmit medical variance information for all CMV drivers electronically to the SDLAs. Transmission of this information will allow authorized State and Federal enforcement officials to view the most current and accurate information regarding the medical status of the CMV driver, all information on the MEC, any medical variance information (if applicable), and the issued and expiration date.