If you drive a vehicle over 10,001 pounds and drive for commerce, you will need a DOT medical card. You can have your physical anywhere that the provider has been certified to do so by FMCSA number. This card would apply to interstate and intrastate drivers.
Your DOT medical card will be good for 24 months, providing that you have no conditions that require periodic medical surveillance. If so, they may be issued for 12 months, or if you have a newly diagnosed condition, the Medical Review Officer can issue 3 months.
For the most part, you should receive a 24-month card. To determine if you should expect a card for a different range of time, read on. We will explain the different situations where you may be asked to see your family doctor, and you will be issued a card for a different time frame.
Do I Need a CDL Card and a DOT Card?
If you are going to operate a commercial motor vehicle over 26,001 pounds, you will need a CDL. The question is, what kind of CDL will you need?
Class B
If you get a Class B, you will be certified to operate different trucks.
They are:
- Straight trucks
- Dump trucks
- Garbage trucks
- Cement mixers
- Busses
- Tow trucks
- Small tank trucks
- Foodservice trucks
To get the class B CDL, you must pass a physical. It is not as extensive as the DOT physical, and it is valid for one year.
Class C
If you would like to go a bit further and get a class C CDL then you will be able to drive a vehicle that is less than 26,001 pounds.
Some different things you’ll transport include:
- Hazardous materials
- A vehicle that transports 16 passengers, including the driver
- School bus drivers
- Tourist drivers
Class B and C are similar, with the exception of the weight allowed. Class C can not operate Class B because of weight restrictions, and Class C is more for people movers.
Why Would My DOT Card Be Good for 12 Months?
There are several reasons why your DOT card would only be good for 12 months. These reasons are all for chronic medical conditions that a physician monitors.
They would be:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Vision
- Hearing
When you fill out the driver’s health history, there are thirty-two health-related questions, including some of the above. If you answer yes to any question, you must explain your yes answers.
Reasons You May Have a 12 Month Certificate Explained
There are several reasons why you may only be issued a 12-month certificate. A clinician should follow specific medical issues to keep you in tip-top shape. To elaborate on some of the topics above, see the full explanation below:
Do You Have High Blood Pressure?
If you have high blood pressure and take medication that keeps your blood pressure within normal limits, and your blood pressure is normal at the time of your exam, you will be given a 12-month certificate.
If your blood pressure is uncontrolled or a first-time event of high blood pressure, you will be issued a 3-month certificate to give you time to go to your treating physician for medicine adjustment or initial prescription.
You must return to the medical review officer’s office within three months. If your blood pressure is within allowable limits at that time, you will be issued another nine months certificate for the balance of your nine months allowed.
DOT regulations state acceptable blood pressure to be less than 140/90, and you may be issued a 2-year certificate, providing you do not need to take medication for high blood pressure. If you need medication to attain that level below 140/90, you only receive a 12-month certificate.
Is Your Diabetes Controlled?
If your diabetes is controlled with medication, you must provide evidence of current lab work, including fasting glucose and quarterly hemoglobin A1C. The DOT guideline requires that your A1c be less than 10 percent to pass.
If the A1c is higher than 8 percent, your medical examiner could issue you a 3-month certificate to allow for further testing or medication change to decrease your A1c.
You also need a diabetic waiver filled out by your treating physician. You must also have a yearly eye exam, which is part of the diabetic waiver.
How is Your Heart Health?
Heart health needs to be assessed to make sure everything is good. IF you have had a heart attack, you will need to refrain from work for at least two months. You will have to get an Ejection Fraction and Exercise Stress Test and be cleared by the cardiologist before returning to work.
A heart attack could disqualify you. It is up to you to get recertification from a medical examiner. If you have had coronary artery bypass surgery, you will need to be off work for at least three months. You will need to be cleared by the cardiologist before coming back to work.
This scenario is another instance in which you will be responsible for recertification from a medical examiner. With ventricular tachycardia, you will need to be examined by a cardiologist to see if the cause of tachycardia could disqualify you.
If you have a pacemaker, it is a disqualifier for interstate driving because it is a safety risk. Taking nitroglycerine pills is not necessarily a disqualifier, but the medical examiner may require a cardiologist to evaluate you to see that the heart condition is stable.
What Paperwork Do You Need?
You will need a cardiac waiver from your treating physician. The cardiologist will record any test results and will report your ability to operate a motor vehicle.
Vision
If you are wearing glasses or contacts to drive, make sure you wear them for the exam. Your eyesight must be 20/40 or better in the right, left, and both eyes with or without correction to pass the exam. You will also need to identify and classify red, green, and amber colors.
If you do not pass the vision screening, you will have an eye exam and a correction made. The eye doctor will fill out a form with the modifications to show that you will qualify with the corrected prescription. If your vision cannot be corrected to 20/40, you will not be issued your DOT card.
Hearing
You must be capable of hearing a forced whisper from at least 5 feet away. If you usually wear a hearing aid or other apparatus, make sure you wear it the day of your exam, and you will have to have an audiology report with you because you have to be evaluated in a booth.
There is a form for the audiologist to complete and a copy of the audiology report.
Conclusion
The most extended DOT card is valid for two years. If you have chronic conditions that need to be monitored, you will be issued a card for one year, and if you have a new condition, they can give you a 3-month certificate to get your condition treated by your doctor.
