DOT compliance for owner operators, starting with drug and alcohol testing

Part 382 applies to people who operate a commercial motor vehicle in commerce and are subject to the CDL requirements of Part 383, and to their employers. If you need a CDL to drive your truck, you're in. If you don't, you're not, even though other FMCSA rules can still apply to you.

A one-truck carrier is both the employer and the driver, and still needs a random testing pool. An employer who employs only himself or herself as a driver must implement random testing in a selection pool of two or more covered employees, which is why owner-operators join a consortium.

Being outside the drug testing program isn't the same as being outside FMCSA. In interstate commerce, a vehicle or combination rated at 10,001 lb or more is a commercial motor vehicle under the FMCSRs: USDOT number, medical card and hours-of-service rules apply. That covers non-CDL 26 ft box trucks and most non-CDL hotshots running interstate loads.

So a non-CDL carrier still needs a USDOT number, a medical card and to follow hours-of-service rules, just not a consortium or Clearinghouse queries. If you're not sure which side you're on, the checker above starts with the door sticker.