What’s true about how to get your 5th checkmark in the Clearinghouse? It has been much chatter on how to obtain the 5th checkmark. Some drivers are wanting to do it themselves, however, that’s “FALSE”. There are only two ways to get the 5th checkmark:
1) TRUE: The driver must be sent for the Return-to-Duty (RTD) test by his/her current or future employer.
2) TRUE: In the case of an owner-operator, these steps must be completed by a designated consortia/third-party administrator (C/TPA).
Remember, the November 18th deadline which will downgrade a commercial driver license to a regular driver licence if the clearinghouse still reflects prohibited in the Clearinghouse. Your SAP cannot clear your step 5. The SAP, however, makes you eligible for step 5. Imagine the SAP running with the baton up to step 4, then handing the baton off to either the employer or the C/TPA for them to complete step 5.
The language of the Clearinghouse is either, “Prohibited” or “No Longer Prohibited”. There is, what I call in this profession; noise, chatter, and the truth. The noise and chatter is the hearsay, while the truth is what you find in the DOT Rule or writings. Download the attached DOT language. Read under step 4 & 5, second page of this attachment, and stick with this truth.
