To improve the efficiency of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC) processes and provide a more conducive customer service experience, PennDOT recently implemented changes that will provide CDL drivers with an additional 45 days from the expiration date of the current MEC on file to submit a new MEC prior to downgrading the CDL.

These changes became effective on November 1, 2020 and apply to CDL drivers whose MECs expired on or after March 1, 2020 but before June 1, 2020. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) waiver period for these CDL drivers ended October 31, 2020. The FMCSA waiver period for CDL drivers whose MECs expired on June 1, 2020 or after goes out until December 31, 2020. Starting January 1, 2021, the changes will apply to all CDL drivers with a MEC requirement.

Whereas the prior processes changed the CDL driver’s medical certification status to not-certified, completed the downgrade, and generated a non-CDL upon the expiration date of the MEC, the new processes will change the medical certification status to not-certified and just initiate (not complete) the downgrade upon the expiration date of the MEC. Upon the expiration date of the MEC, the CDL designation will not be removed. CDL drivers will be mailed a new 45-day notice informing them that their medical certification status has been changed to not-certified and that their CDL designation will be removed (downgrade) if a new MEC is not submitted and processed within 45 days of the mail date of the notice.

The 90- and 30-day MEC reminder letters that CDL drivers receive will continue to go out. The new 45-day notice will be sent upon the expiration date (following day) of the MEC on file.

The options available to submit a new MEC to PennDOT are as follows:

· Fax a copy to 717-783-5429 or email a copy to CDLmedscert@pa.gov. Please allow at least 10 processing days for MECs submitted by fax or email.

· Mail a copy to: PennDOT, Bureau of Driver Licensing, P.O. Box 69008, Harrisburg, PA 17106-9008. Please allow at least 15 processing days for MECs submitted through mail.

· Hand-deliver a copy to your local Driver License Center.