Healthcare professionals who want to become certified Medical Examiners listed on the DOT/FMCSA National Registry must be licensed, certified, or registered in accordance with their applicable State laws and regulations to perform CDL physical examinations on commercial motor vehicle drivers.
Each state has their own regulations as to who can become certified, and some states stand out with regulations that differ from the rest of the country. Chiropractors, for instance, cannot be certified in Michigan, New York, Puerto Rico or Washington State, but they can be certified everywhere else in the country. Acupuncturists can only be certified in Florida. Clinical Nurse Specialists can be certified in Minnesota, Missouri and Texas, but nowhere else. Doctor of Physical Therapy can only be certified in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Dakota, and New Mexico is the only state in the union that can certify a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Naturopathic Doctors can only be certified in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington State, and finally, only in Colorado can a Registered Nurse become a certified Medical Examiner.
While some states have yet to check in with the FMCSA to allow certain healthcare professionals to become certified, they do state the following on their website:
FMCSA has not received verification from the state licensing board that the DOT exam is within the scope of practice for your profession. You may proceed with registration, but FMCSA must receive verification from your state licensing board before certifying you. We recommend that you delay your certification test until the state licensing board has confirmed that the DOT exam is within your scope of practice. If you have any questions or need further information on this process, please contact the FMCSA Help Desk at fmctechsup@dot.gov (recommended) or call (617) 494-3003.
To verify your eligibility to become a certified Medical Examiner in your state, visit our NRCME Eligibility page.
Enroll in the NRCME Training Institute today or purchase our $99 NRCME Exam Reference Materials. Call us at (941) 600-8411 for more program information and for any current single provider enrollment discounts.