It’s been a long road: After a decade of pushing it off, the federal government will be enforcing a regulation that requires truckers to submit their medical certification electronically, and not on paper.
The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) first issued a shift towards a fully electronic Medical Examiner’s Certification back in 2015, but enforcement was pushed back several times due to IT concerns.
Now, the final national deadline for the upgrade is almost here: Truckers will officially need to file electronically on June 23, 2025.
What’s Changing?
Most commercial US truckers — and anyone who manages them — have already been submitting their DVIRs electronically for years, following the ELD mandate, which first went into full enforcement back in 2019.
By ensuring that all truckers track their hours of service with approved electronic logging devices (ELDs), the government gets more useful, searchable data. And since truckers also need to retain Records of Duty Status (RODS) data and backup data from the previous six months, there’s a wealth of information should anything need to be verified or double-checked.
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That electronic data hasn’t included the Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), a paper document that truckers must have on-hand during a routine stop, since it proves to state licensing agencies that they meet the physical qualifications for operating a commercial vehicle.
On June 23 of this year, that finally changes. According to CDLLife, “the compliance date was initially set for June 22nd, 2018. It was pushed to June 22nd, 2021, and then to June 23rd, 2025, due to IT system issues.”
How Does This Impact You?
This is a rare new regulation that won’t give truckers anything extra to do. Once the law switches over from paper certificates (which truckers must have on hand) to electronic ones, truckers won’t have to offer up the certificates in order to prove they deserve their license.
Instead, Certified Medical Examiners will be the ones required to submit any commercial vehicle driver medical exam results directly to the FMCSA, as well as the relevant state licensing agency. That whole process takes place through the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners — leaving the commercial truckers and motor carriers themselves free to do their job.
However, you should still make sure you keep your paper records on hand for at least a month or two after the regulation switches over in late June. You won’t want to be caught off guard in the event of an unexpected IT failure, since the online system will still be brand-new. There’s no reason to put your commercial driver’s license (CDL) in danger when you’re perfectly qualified to drive a truck.
Some States Are Already Enforcing the Regulation
Depending on your state, these nationwide changes might have already arrived: State governments in Maryland, Minnesota, Utah, and Texas are already accepting electronic medical certificates from truckers.
From March 23rd to June 23rd of 2025, Texas will accept both paper and electronic certification to further ease the transition.
It’s another example of how modern trucking is increasingly online, even if the shift itself took many years.
