Changes pending for FMCSA’s medical exam forms

Posted December 7, 2021

November 30 has come and gone without new medical forms from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The agency was expected to issue new versions of its Medical Examination Report Form and Medical Examiner’s Certificate prior to the Nov. 30, 2021, expiration date shown in the corner of both forms.

The FMCSA cannot issue new versions, however, until it receives approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has been reviewing the forms since October 19.

In the meantime, medical examiners, drivers, and motor carriers should continue to use the forms dated 11/30/2021, the FMCSA says. The forms are required for all commercial bus and truck driver medical exams. The expiration date in the top-right corner of the forms indicates when OMB approval expires and does not have any effect on the expiration of a driver’s medical certification.

What’s changing?

Besides having a new OMB expiration date, the new forms are expected to have only minor formatting changes, unless the OMB asks for additional revisions. Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked that the medical exam form be revised to narrow the scope of medical information requested from drivers. The OMB will likely take that request into consideration as it reviews the form.

What about existing stock?

Once the new forms are available, there should be no need to discard existing stockpiles. In a statement issued Dec. 7, 2021, the FMCSA said medical examiners may continue to use up their existing stock of “expired’ medical forms but “should transition to use of the new forms as quickly as possible” once they’re available.

Note that the FMCSA has little control over which forms the state driver licensing agencies are willing to accept from CDL-holding drivers. Drivers who present a certificate dated 11/30/2021 long after the new certificates are available may risk having their certificate rejected, so a speedy transition to the new forms is advised.

Which forms are affected?

FMCSA medical forms that will be updated with a new OMB expiration date (and possibly other changes) include:

• The Medical Examination Report Form (MCSA-5875),
• The Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MCSA-5876), and
• The Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form (MCSA-5870).

This article was written by Daren Hansen of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.