Thompson DOT Safety & Compliance

01/09/2026

📢 FMCSA Temporary Waiver Update

FMCSA has re-issued a temporary waiver allowing interstate CDL and CLP holders, and motor carriers, to use a paper copy of the Medical Examiner’s Certificate as proof of medical certification for up to 60 days after issuance.
Effective: January 11 – April 10, 2026

This waiver helps support drivers and carriers during the transition to electronic medical certification under the National Registry II (NRII) rule.

🔗 Full waiver link in the comments 👇

12/25/2025

12/11/2025

11/28/2025

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank a farmer, and thank a trucker 😉

11/11/2025

We’ll see you there this week!

Register now for Arkansas Trucking Association’s annual Safety Summit, a two-day workshop for safety and risk management professionals on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Friday, Nov. 14.

https://ow.ly/bcck50XkBr5

09/12/2025

We were honored to have Director Wiley from the Arkansas Department of Transportation present at our 3rd Quarter Safety Management Council Meeting of the Arkansas Trucking Association. This was a very informative presentation covering topics such as the Arkansas Commercial Truck Safety & Education Program, current and future projects, the Interstate wrong-way detection system, the young adult distracted driving campaign, truck parking, along with other safety initiatives. Thank you for your time Director!

Thompson DOT Safety & Compliance is the proud sponsor of the Arkansas Trucking Association's Safety Management Council.

09/09/2025

🤦🏻‍♂️Unbelievable

08/21/2025

CVSA Brake Safety Week is next week August 24th through the 30th.

The focus for this years initiative is drums and rotors. Inspectors will perform routine inspections all week with a focus on brakes.

08/08/2025

We are blessed to be able to sponsor such a worthy cause. If you’re not familiar with the Child Safety Center and how you can help, look them up.

We are so grateful to have a community that values the work we do for children who have endured abuse and chooses to partner with us in our mission to empower, protect, and restore. 💚

Today, we’re thrilled to highlight four more of our incredible Platinum Sponsors for the 7th Annual CSC Golf Tournament—businesses who are making an impact through their generosity and belief in our work.

Please join us in thanking:
🏌️‍♂️ Thompson DOT Safety & Compliance
🏌️‍♀️ Sonic
🏌️‍♂️ Unity Health
🏌️‍♀️ First Community Bank

Thank you for seeing the children we serve—and this mission—as a worthy investment. Your support truly helps change lives.

07/11/2025

CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week is scheduled for next week, July 13-19.

The focus will be on reckless, careless, or dangerous driving.

These unsafe driving behaviors may include speeding, distracted driving, following too close, failure to maintain lane, etc.

Training and emphasis should be placed on these issues on a regular basis to keep the roadways as safe as possible for all.

06/23/2025

Implementation of NEW MEDICAL CARD CERTIFICATION process is today.

Big changes. With the new process:

* Medial Certificates are electronically submitted to State driver license agencies ( companies and drivers will no longer be able to apply the medicals to their CLP/CDL)

* This occurs through the National Registry that Medical Examiners have been using for several years now.

* Medical Examiners are no longer required to issue a paper copy of the medical certificate to the driver. ( We strongly recommend the driver obtain a copy and the Motor Carrier retain a copy as we are regularly finding mistakes when applied to the CDL)

It is imperative that your drivers get their Medical Certificate renewed with plenty of time remaining before the current Medical Expiration. Motor Carriers must still verify that the new medical has been correctly applied to the CDL by running a compliant MVR showing the new medical certification. In the event of a conflict between the paper copy and the electronic version shown on the MVR, the electronic version applies according to FMCSA.

Here in Arkansas, this process was applied about a month ago, so some of the inherent issues have been worked out. The CDL Helpdesk here has been great. In some other states, we unfortunately know that will not be the case. As of this morning, the following States that have not implemented NRII
• Alaska
• California
• Florida
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Vermont
• Wyoming

We still encounter some Carriers that have not been running compliant MVRs that show the medical certification as applied to the CDL. Some carriers state "my insurance pulls those" and what we almost always find is that the insurance MVR is not commercial and does not obtain the medical certification information. Either way, the Motor Carrier is solely responsible for ensuing proper MVRs are pulled and for reviewing and verifying the information contained within. This is very important as it is the only way to verify that your driver is qualified and that their Medical and CDL are valid.

It has always been stressed that drivers should get their medical certification renewed well prior to the expiration date. This is now much more critical to ensure compliance and no unnecessary loss of time.

Here at Thompson DOT Safety & Compliance we can help. We manage driver qualification files, expiring documents, and we pull compliant MVRs prior to expirations. We also offer MVR monitoring as an extra layer to help ensure your drivers are compliant.

(Link in the comments to the National Registry FAQ)