The Safety of the Federal Motor Transport Company has adjusted the temporary waiver of it, which allowed commercial drivers and car transport companies using paper medical examinations for up to 60 days after the release, which extends to a previous 15 -day allowance as the state licensing agencies continue to move to electronic medical certificates systems.
FMCSA announced the amendment of the waiver on August 21, as the period of allowing the owners of the commercial driver’s license between the states and holders of the learner’s commercial and car tankers to rely on paper copies of medical examinations as evidence of a medical certificate for up to 60 days after the issuance of the certificate. The agency initially issued a 15 -day concession on July 14.
The waiver remains at 60 days valid until October 12, 2025, providing additional relief as the truck transport industry adapts to electronic transport requirements in the II National Registry, which entered into force on June 23.
The concession amendment addresses the ongoing implementation challenges with the base of the integration of the medical examiner, which requires the approved medical examinations to provide the results of the exams to the national registry of FMCSA electronically and the state driver’s licenses to receive this information and publish it to the driver’s records automatically.
According to FMCSA, only 38 states and Colombia Province implemented NRII as of August 21, which means that 12 states have not yet been implemented NRII and continue to rely on paper medical certificates. The non -compatible states include Alaska, California, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wyoming.
The agency decided that the extension was necessary to prevent hardship for drivers and carriers who suffer from delaying treatment outside their control during the transfer period. “Since the initial assignment grant on July 14, 2025, FMCSA is aware that some drivers who have the current MEC, are good, may face delays exceeding 15 days to update the CDLIS MVR driver,” the agency said.
The main requirements for drivers and fleets
Under the extended assignment, commercial drivers must hold a paper copy of the current good medical examiner issued by a certified medical examiner within the previous 60 days. The waiver applies only if the driver maintains a valid paper certificate issued by an accredited medical examiner included in the national registry and the car transport company maintains a copy in the driver’s qualifications file.
Transportation companies for cars can maintain copies of medical certificates for drivers in rehabilitation files for a period of up to 60 days from the date of the issuance of the certificate before you ask for the records of updated cars that show the case of electronic medical certificate. After a period of 60 days, transport companies must verify the update of the electronic examination results on drivers’ car records to avoid compliance problems during audit or inspection operations.
The waiver does not apply to working drivers without a current or valid medical certificate or to transport companies that lack the appropriate documents within the 60 -day window. Drivers who do not have a copy of the current valid medical certificate that were issued within 60 days cannot work under the ruling of the waiver.
Recommendations compliance with the industry
FMCSA continues the recommendation that the approved medical examiners issues the certificates of the MCSA-5876 drivers to drivers in addition to providing the results of the exams electronically through the national registry system, especially for drivers licensed in the non-compatible states.
Car transport companies must verify that accredited medical examinations issue drivers and remain valid in a 60 -day window. The fleet managers must monitor the updates of car records after 60 days, educate employees about the conditions of assignment and the importance of carrying valid paper certificates, especially in cases that are not compatible with NRII.
Drivers must request paper certificates from medical examinations, submit copies to their transportation companies and continue to carry certificates during operation. They must also work with transport companies to ensure that the exam information is linked to their driving records through state licensing agencies within 60 days after examining and checking accurate information during physical transfer to prevent transmission errors.
E -system requirements
The base of the second national registry of medical examiners requires the download of the driver’s examination results to the national registry by midnight from the next calendar day after the exams. The results are then transferred electronically from the national registry to the state driver’s licensing agencies to the driver’s car records.
Once it is fully implemented, the electronic system will cancel the need for CDL and CLP holders to carry paper medical certificates, as the medical certificate will be available through government car records that can be accessed for law enforcement and inspectors.
For states that have not yet implemented the electronic system, drivers must continue to submit paper medical certificates to state licensing agencies using traditional methods in order for their condition compatible with NRII requirements.
The effect of industry and temporal table
The electronic medical certificates system is designed to reduce fraud, improve data accuracy, and provide actual time access to the driver’s medical rehabilitation information for road inspections and law enforcement. The system removes the previous fragmented process as drivers were responsible for submitting certificates physically to state agencies, and handcrafted updates were subject to human error and papers.
Transport Minister Sean B. Duffy The digital system “will make life easier for legal truck drivers and is more difficult for bad actors who want to make a fraud” when announcing the application of the base in June. FMCSA Senior Consultant Jesse Ellison noted that the amendment of the waiver guarantees “the level of safety equivalent or greater than the safety level that will be obtained in the absence of concession.”
Car companies operating in the compatible states will not need to verify the inclusion of medical examinations in the national registry or to maintain paper copies of medical certificates in the driver’s qualifications files once the transfer is complete. Instead, they must verify the status of the issuance of medical certificates through government car records, which makes MVR monitoring an important compliance.
The base of the integration of the medical examiner was initially published in 2015 with multiple compliance delays. The base does not change the medical certification process for drivers other than CDL, who will continue to receive and carry paper medical certificates.
The waiver provides a decisive breathing room for the industry, as the remaining 12 countries are working on implementing the necessary information technology systems and procedures. FMCSA has not announced penalties for countries that miss the deadlines for compliance, but continue to work with state agencies to complete the transition.
Drivers and car tankers can find additional resources and guidelines about NRII requirements through the FMCSA NRII learning center. The agency maintains an updated list of cases that have not yet implemented electronic medical certificates systems on the learning center website.
