This article has been updated a number of times as new information regarding Medical Examiner’s Certification has been published by FMCSA.
We have left the history of this blog post, and updated the latest information at the top of the page.
2025 Medical Certification Forms MCSA-5875 & MCSA-5876
New expiration date on the forms is 03/31/2028.
PDF Versions of the forms are available at these links on the FMCSA website:
- Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875
- Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876
The date found on the top right corner of the Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875 and Medical Examiner’s Certificate, MCSA-5876, is the date of expiration for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved information collection 2126-0006, that includes the Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875 and Medical Examiner’s Certificate, MCSA-5876
Previously the expiration date was 03/31/2025.
Previously the expiration date was 12/31/2024.
Previously the expiration date was 11/30/2021.
Previously the expiration date was 09/30/2019.
Previously the expiration date was 08/31/2018.
DOTPhysicalDOCTORS will update this website when new forms are available.
What does this mean to Drivers and Medical Examiners?
- Continue using the original paper Medical Examiner’s Certificate, Form MCSA-5876 for all qualified drivers including Commercial Learner’s Permit/Commercial Driver’s License applicants/holders.
- Continue submitting paper copies of Medical Examiner’s Certificates, Form MCSA-5876 to State Driver’s Licensing Agencies.
The Physical Qualifications Have Not Changed
The physical qualifications (FMCSA regulations and guidelines) to be applied by a medical examiner to qualify drivers for a medical card have not changed, even though the forms have changed since 2015.
The differences you’ll notice:
- The forms ask for more information than the previous forms, used before the changes in 2015.
- Medical examiners are being required to submit more information to support their qualifying decisions, especially where medical conditions exist. This means medical examiners are being more thorough than some used to be, regarding existing medical conditions.
What this means for drivers:
- Be well prepared before you get to your DOT physical appointment.
- Choose your medical examiner wisely!
Find a driver friendly DOT Physical Doctor near you.
- Find a DOT physical doctor who understands the big picture of commercial driving, and the lifestyle challenges you face.
- You want to be evaluated by an medical examiner who considers your overall health condition and fitness to drive.
- Just going to any examiner who may disqualify you on a checklist item on the form, may cost you lost time, lost money, or even your job.
Wiser Is Better.
Choose Your DOT Physical Doctor Wisely!
We are a ME and we have been working with a driving school providing exams for young men under the age of 21. These men obtain a drivers license for our state when they move here for their training, but then they return back to their home state to work and apply for a CDL in their home state. When we fill out the FMCSA 5876, we have been marking the bottom bubble for “applicable state variances and intrastate restrictions”. This restricts them to intrastate driving within our state.
When the drivers go to their home states to apply at the DMV for their license, the DMV’s often tell them that we should have filled out the top bubble, for interstate. We have talked to multiple people at FMCSA and the DMV’s in various states. Some tell us top bubble. Others tell us bottom bubble. The last FMCSA person told us to use the top bubble because it simply certifies that the drivers are physically capable of operating heavy equipment and that it is not our job to determine if the men are of age to be intra or inter state, and that when the driver moves home and applies at their state’s DMV, that their state determines their intrastate/interstate restriction.
So bottom line, do we use the top or the bottom bubble? If we use the top bubble, that eliminates all headache for the young driver applying for a license in another state. If we use the bottom bubble, then the DMV is telling the drivers they have to get another physical in the new state.
Keep selecting the bottom bubble. Federal law requires someone under 21 to have an intrastate license. They will have to do a new physical when they go back to their state to have the address updated to allow them to drive in that state.