The Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) announced it is extending by one year, until Jan. 30, 2015, it requires interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate and continue to make the document available for review upon request at the roadside by federal and state commercial motor vehicle inspectors.

In Dec. 2008, FMCSA issued a Final Rule modernizing, streamlining, and simplifying record keeping obligations for drivers, carriers and state governments by requiring a driver’s medical certification record be merged with state-issued CDLs. States received support from FMCSA to implement the necessary IT system upgrades and merge the records into one, online database – the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS).

FMCSA announced the one-year extension to protect commercial drivers from being cited for violations because some states are not yet in full compliance with the new system.

Drivers are still required to complete the medical self-certification by January 30, 2014. This extension applies to having a medical card in a driver qualification files and in a driver’s possession.