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1.2 – Medical Documentation Requirements

If you are applying for a CDL Permit; or are renewing, upgrading, adding endorsements to a CDL; or transferring a CDL from another state, you are required to provide information to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles regarding the type of commercial motor vehicle operation you drive in or expect to drive in with your CDL.

Drivers operating in certain types of commerce will be required to submit a current medical examiner’s certificate and/or any medical variance documents that you have been issued (i.e., Vision, Skills Performance, or other exemptions) to your Bureau of Motor Vehicles to obtain a “certified” medical status as part of your driving record. You must contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to obtain information regarding the requirement for submitting these documents.

If you are required to have a ”certified” medical status and fail to provide and keep up-to-date your medical examiner’s certificate you become ”not-certified” and may lose your CDL.

For the purpose of complying with the new requirements for medical certification, it is important to know how you are using the CMV. The following information will help you decide how to self-certify:

1.2.1 – Interstate or Intrastate Commerce

Do you, or will you, use a CDL to operate a CMV in interstate or intrastate commerce?

1.2.2 – Inter/Intrastate Commerce: Status Non- excepted or Excepted?

Once you decide whether you will operate in interstate commerce or intrastate commerce, you must decide whether you will operate (or expect to operate) in a non-excepted or excepted status. This decision will tell you to which of the four types of commerce you must self-certify.

Interstate Commerce:

You operate in excepted interstate commerce when you drive a CMV in interstate commerce only for the following excepted activities:

• To transport school children and/or school staff between home and school;
• As Federal, State or local government employees;
• To transport human corpses or sick or injured persons;
• Fire truck or rescue vehicle drivers during emergencies and other related activities;
• Primarily in the transportation of propane winter heating fuel when responding to an emergency condition requiring immediate response such as damage to a propane gas system after a storm or flooding;
• In Response to a pipeline emergency condition requiring immediate response such as a pipeline leak or rupture;
• In custom harvesting on a farm or to transport farm machinery and supplies used in the custom harvesting operation to and from a farm or to transport custom harvested crops to storage or market;
• Beekeeper in the seasonal transportation of bees;
• Controlled and operated by a farmer, but is not a combination vehicle (power unit and towed unit), and is used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery or farm supplies (no placardable hazardous materials) to and from a farm and within 150 air-miles of the farm;
• As a private motor carrier of passengers for non- business purposes; or
• To transport migrant workers.

If you answered yes to one or more of the above activities as the only operation in which you drive, you operate in excepted interstate commerce and do not need a Federal medical examiner’s certificate.

If you answered no to all of the above activities, you operate in non-excepted interstate commerce and are required to provide a current medical examiner’s certificate (49 CFR 391.45),commonly referred to as a medical certificate or DOT card, to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Most CDL holders who drive CMVs in interstate commerce are non-excepted interstate commerce drivers.

If you operate in both excepted interstate commerce and non-excepted interstate commerce, you must choose non-excepted interstate commerce to be qualified to operate in both types of interstate commerce.

Intrastate Commerce:

You operate in excepted Intrastate commerce when you drive a CMV only in intrastate commerce activities for which the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has determined do not require you to meet the State’s medical certification requirements. (Contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles about their requirements).

You operate in non-excepted intrastate commerce when you drive a CMV only in intrastate commerce and are required to meet your State of licensure’s medical certification requirements (contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles about their requirements).

If you operate in both excepted intrastate commerce and non-excepted intrastate commerce, you must choose non-excepted intrastate commerce.