New York CDL and DOT Medical Card Requirements

New York CDL Requirements

All New York CDL holders are required to be medically qualified to drive a CMV by the means of a valid DOT medical certificate, 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.

Self Certification in the State of New York

The DMV will mail a Self-Certification Notification letter to all NYS CDL holders. Drivers must select their driving type on the letter and, if that driving type requires, submit a photocopy of their valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate.

Important:

• The notification process will start in the summer of 2013.
• The letters will be mailed over a five-month period in numerical order by the DMV Client ID number (CID). The scheduled mailing dates are now available on the NYS DMV website. The schedule may change, and you can check back for updates. At this time, you cannot request that a Self-Certification letter be printed for you.
• Each letter will be bar coded with unique information to identify the driver. You cannot use a photocopy of the Self-Certification letter sent to another driver.

Submitting your Self-Certification and Medical Certificate to New York DMV

Submit the following two documents:

1. Completed Self-Certification Notification letter (the one mailed by DMV to you).
2. Photocopy of your valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate. Enlarge the copy to ensure legibility, and copy on one side of a standard 8½” x 11″ sheet of paper.
   

Note: Incomplete, inaccurate, illegible or unsigned documents will be rejected and returned.

By Mail:
NYSDMV
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY  12228

Note: You cannot visit a DMV office only to return the Self-Certification Notification Letter. DMV offices are unable to process a Self-Certification transaction. You must return the letter by mail in the return envelope provided.

Keep your Medical Certificate current with NYS DMV

You must renew your medical card before the expiration date.

Your renewed Medical Examiner’s Certificate must be received and processed prior to the expiration of the Medical Examiner’s Certificate on file to avoid loss of your commercial driving privilege. You should allow at least two weeks for processing your updated certificate.

Mail a copy of your new, valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate (medical card only, not the long form) to NYS DMV.

By Mail:
NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
Medical Certification Unit
PO Box 2601
Albany, NY 12228-0601

The DMV will not remind you when your Medical Examiner’s Certificate is about to expire.
If you fail to maintain current, updated information with the DMV, you will lose your commercial driving privileges.

Other Information:

Website: New York State DMV – official website

NYS DMV CDL changes to medical certification

Special Information Updates Pertaining To ALL STATES

The deadline for Commercial Driver Self-Certification is still January 30, 2014.

This is the deadline date for commercial drivers to have filed documents with their State Driver Licensing Agency (SDLA):

1. Your self-certification affidavit declaring which commercial category you drive.
2. Depending on the category you certify – A copy of your current medical card (and any applicable variance documents).

Drivers who have not completed this requirement by the deadline will be downgraded to non-commercial, Class D privileges only.

Drivers, you still need to carry a paper copy of your medical card, until 2015.

The reason for SDLAs collecting this information is so that it will be stored in the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) online database. Once this process is complete, drivers will no longer have to carry a paper copy of their medical card.
SDLAs are behind in setting up this database, and on January 10, 2014, FMCSA pushed the State Agencies reporting deadline to January 30, 2015.

Important Notes For Commercial Drivers:
This does not change your self-certification deadline. You must still get your documents in by January 30, 2014.
You still need to carry a paper copy of your medical card, until 2015.