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Iowa CDL Requirements
Iowa law requires all CDL drivers to have a valid DOT medical card, unless the type of commerce you drive qualifies as ‘Excepted’.
Interstate Non-Excepted
You must meet the Federal DOT medical certificate requirements.
Intrastate Non-Excepted
You must meet the Federal DOT medical certificate requirements.
IMPORTANT: Drivers that are required to submit a Medical Examiner’s Certificate must submit a new certificate before the previous one expires to stay in compliance and avoid a downgrade of their CDL to a noncommercial license.
CDL Self Certification and Medical Examiner’s Certification
Self certify as a nonexcepted interstate or intrastate driver. Submit a copy of your valid DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate. (Medical card only, not the long form.) Enlarge the copy to ensure that all information is legible.
Online:
If you are a current Iowa CDL holder, you may submit a self-certification by utilizing the following website: https://mymvd.iowadot.gov/Account/Login. The website will provide further information on submitting your Medical Examiner’s Certificate.
By Mail:
Iowa Department of Transportation
Driver & Identification Services
PO Box 9204
Des Moines IA 50306-9204
By Fax:
515-239-1837
Electronically:
Submit it online using the Medical Certificate Submission form
In Person:
At any Iowa DL station or participating treasurer’s office.
Other Contact Information:
Website: Iowa Department of Transportation – Commercial Drivers
CDL Self Certification Reporting guide
Special Information Updates Pertaining To ALL STATES
MEDICAL EXAMINERS MUST CONTINUE TO ISSUE MEDICAL CERTIFICATES TO ALL DRIVERS
The FMCSA has requested that all medical examiners continue providing drivers with a paper copy of the Medical Examiner’s Certificate – Form MCSA-5876, so that Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holders can provide a copy to the State licensing agency, and the non-CDL drivers can provide the documentation to their employers and Federal and State enforcement officials.
The Agency is currently completing efforts to put into place an electronic system to enable medical examiners to transmit the medical certificate information from the National Registry system to the State licensing agencies.
Until that system is completed, which compliance date according FMCSA is June 23, 2025, medical examiners must continue to issue paper copies of the medical certificates to drivers who pass the medical exam.
ALL DRIVERS MUST CONTINUE TO CARRY A PAPER COPY OF THEIR MEDICAL CERTIFICATE
Commercial Drivers – You still need to carry a paper copy of your medical card, until FMCSA announces that this is no longer necessary.
Your Feedback Is Welcome
Dealing with Federal DOT Regulations across the board is tough enough!
But when it comes to State Regulations — There are 50 different sets of rules. Someone could move the goal posts at any time…
To help us all avoid the black eye experience — AARGH! —
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Mailed medical certificate to PO Box 9204, Des Moines, IA 50306-9204 by certified mail. It was returned as Not Deliverable As Addressed.
@ Mark
We checked our records and checked with IA. The address is still the same as we have on our website.
Understand the address is still the same. That is the address I used. Why was the certified mail letter to Office of Driver Services returned as “NOT DELIVERABLE AS ADDRESSED UNABLE TO FORWARD”?
@ Mark
??? We can not answer for a state. Best to contact the state and ask them where to send or why it was not deliverable.
I contacted state, state contact said the address is correct and did not have a reason why letter was returned. I have contacted the postal service. Post office is researching. Thanks
@ Mark
You are welcome. We try to stay up with this stuff and it’s difficult to do all 50 states all the time.
Going to get my DOT physical renewed and was told that they needed my doctors notes and my last physical report in order to get my DOT approved. Is this true that the person doing the DOT physical can require this personal info.
@ Joe
If the CME has reason to believe that your situation requires additional information, then he can request it. Otherwise there is no reason for the request.
I am a transit driver driving an 18 passenger bus. My route is limited to one county (Lee) in Iowa and my passengers are all above 18 years of age. Am I required to have a D.O.T. physical?
@ Terry R
That would be determined by your state, check with your local drivers license department for your best answer.
If a employer has you get a new medical card upon hiring and give you the paper to self-certify and says they will send it in for you and doesn’t, do i need to get one after i get a letter stating a downgrade of my license or can i just send a copy of the current one in to get re-instated? (was issued 6/11/18 expires 6/11/20) letter said it expired in 12/13/19 (which was the old one)
@ John
Your cdl is state issued, so check with your state drivers license department for the best answer.
Do I need a dot medical card if I drive a cubevan that weighs 12.500 lbs in the state of Iowa? I have a class c license and I punch in and out daily and the truck doesn’t have air brakes and I never leave the 150 mile radius.
@ Dave
Check with your states DLD for the most appropriate answer.
Does an employee of the City of Omaha who resides in Iowa that holds an Iowa CDL need to carry and provide a medial card if occasionally driving in Iowa in a City of Omaha CDL vehicle?
@ Dawaune H
Any valid CDL requires a valid medical certificate, it’s federal thing not a state thing.
does a mouth apperatus qualify for sleep apnea instead of a mask type. I switched over to a mouth piece and was tolded by the dentist that it would qualify for me to get my medical card, but the doctor who gave me my exam said it would not.Is this true?
I got out of construction/truck in early 2015. My medical card expired in 2016. To my knowledge, my CDL is still valid; I have not downgraded to a “regular” license. Will I have to retake the CDL exam if I get a new medical card?
Can I scan a medical card an email or fax it to them?
@David
Yes. The details are in the information above.
I want to hire a cdl driver to run intrastate 20 mile radius. He is diabetic, takes insulin shots to control the sugar, he can’t get a medical certificate because of this condition,but yet he can drive a farmer owned truck,no questions asked. It’s still tractor-trailer,it’s still 80,000 lbs. how does that work?
@Gale
This driver falls under the states variances and not FMCSA.
He can aquire a medical certificate for intra-state only. The examiner should simply perform the medical examination and then complete the states certificate. The driver would then take the necessary paperwork to the state for them to issue the waiver for him to drive. Not a big issue, just a bit of running around to keep everybody happy, but he falls to the state’s restrictions.
Can my personal doctor provide my dot examination for a health card
@David
Not unless your personal doctor is an FMCSA certified medical examiner. If so, he/she will have an NRCME #.
I have a Excepted Intrastate License.
Do I need to send in a certification every year?
I drive for an LTL company. My medical card was renewed in 2015. At that time they did not give me a paper copy. Is this correct?
@Al
Yes, they should have given you a paper copy.
And it is up to you, the driver, to ensure that your drivers license department gets a copy of your current medical card to keep on file with your drivers license.
I am a Nebraska resident with a Nebraska 4-wheeler license. I drive part-time for Enterprise Rent-A-Car (based in Omaha NE) moving sedans (mostly) between cities in a 200-mile radius. There have been occasions when I have driven 26-foot box trucks licensed at 25,999 lbs GVW. That does not require a CDL. Recently, there is a perception that because some of these trucks are licensed in Iowa and driven in Iowa, a Medical Certification is necessary. Every vehicle I drive is less than 26,000 lbs, not transporting haz-mat, and not transporting passengers so a CDL is not required. Is the Medical Certification needed – especially in Iowa?
@Dean
In most states, any vehicle that is being used for commerce requires a medical certificate. So check with your local drivers license department and see what they have to say. It isn’t about the weight or the license, it’s about what the vehicles are used for, and that is making money.
I work for company driving a 3/4 ton pickup pulling a 20 ft trailer loaded with equipment within the stste of iowa and across state line in other states do I need a medical card
@Fred
If the vehicle is being used for commerce then you will, most likely, have to have a medical certificate.
does a class B cdl need a medical card
Yes!
where does a medical examiner test to get certification after taking classes
@Lou
Go to FMSCA, follow through to NRCME testing – then follow instructions.
Holy Moly sums it up well. I’ve read enough confusing flow charts with arrows and made enough direct calls that you think I’d know everything! Nope…Instead it seems to be up to interpretation and the help line refers us back to a confusing website or flow chart. I ask a simple question and they can’t give me an answer. I’ll bet the Officer on the side of the road will. My simple question was “Does a CDL driver pulling an NH3 tank with a pickup truck for the local co-op within the state of Iowa need a medical card?” Still searching for the answer.