(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-50-417

  • CDL: means a license issued by the department in accordance with the standards contained in 49 C. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • CLP: means a permit issued to an individual by the department that, when carried with a valid driver license issued by the department, authorizes the individual to operate a class of a commercial motor vehicle when accompanied by a holder of a valid CDL for purposes of behind-the-wheel training. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle:
    (i) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand one (26,001) or more pounds. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Department: means the department of safety acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Driver: means every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Driver license: means a license issued by the department to an individual that authorizes the individual to operate a motor vehicle on the highways. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • FMCSA: means the federal motor carrier safety administration, an agency within the United States department of transportation. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Motor vehicle: means a vehicle, low speed vehicle or medium speed vehicle as defined in this section, machine, tractor, trailer or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways or any other vehicle required to be registered under the laws of this state, but does not include any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: means :
    (A) For the purposes of commercial driver licenses, a state of the United States and the District of Columbia. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-50-102
(1) “CDLIS” means the commercial driver license information system maintained by the FMCSA;
(2) “Clearinghouse” means the drug and alcohol clearinghouse maintained by the FMCSA; and
(3) “Downgrade”:

(A) Means:

(i) To change a driver’s self-certification to interstate, but operating exclusively in transportation or operations excepted from 49 C.F.R. part 391 , as provided in 49 C.F.R. § 390.3(f), 49 C.F.R. § 391.2, 49 C.F.R. § 391.68, or 49 C.F.R. § 398.3;
(ii) To change a driver’s self-certification to intrastate only, if the driver qualifies under the department‘s physical qualification requirements for intrastate only;
(iii) To change a driver’s self-certification to intrastate, but operating exclusively in transportation or operations excepted from all or part of the driver qualification requirements; or
(iv) To remove a CLP or CDL privilege from a driver license; and
(B) Includes recording the change on the driver’s CDLIS driver record.
(b) Beginning November 1, 2024, and prior to the issuance of a new CLP or CDL, a renewal of a CLP or CDL, a transfer of a CLP or CDL to another state, or an upgrade to a different class of CDL, the department shall request the driver’s record from the clearinghouse.
(c) If the department receives notification from the clearinghouse that pursuant to federal regulations the driver is prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle, regardless of whether that notification is received in response to a request under subsection (b), then the department shall not issue, renew, transfer, or upgrade the driver’s CLP or CDL. The department shall downgrade a driver’s CLP or CDL within sixty (60) days of the department’s receipt of the notification.
(d)

(1) If the department receives notification from the clearinghouse that a driver is no longer prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle before the department has finished downgrading the driver’s CLP or CDL, then the department shall not downgrade the driver’s CLP or CDL.
(2) If the department receives notification from the clearinghouse that a driver is no longer prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle after the department has finished downgrading the driver’s CLP or CDL, then the department shall make the driver eligible for reinstatement of the driver’s CLP or CDL privilege.
(3) If the department receives notification from the clearinghouse that the driver was erroneously identified as being prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle after the department has finished downgrading the driver’s CLP or CDL, then the department shall:

(A) Reinstate the CLP or CDL privilege to the driver’s license as expeditiously as possible; and
(B) Expunge any reference related to the driver’s erroneous prohibited status from the CDLIS driver record and, if applicable, the driver’s motor vehicle record.
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