Tennessee CDL Disqualifications, Reporting Duties, and Clearinghouse

A CMV BAC of 0.04 percent or more is illegal, and any detectable alcohol below 0.04 causes a 24-hour out-of-service period. A first major offense normally causes at least one year of disqualification, increased to at least three years when committed in a placarded HazMat CMV.

Two serious traffic violations within three years cause at least 60 days of disqualification; three or more cause at least 120 days. Railroad-highway crossing violations escalate from 60 days to 120 days and then one year for a third within three years.

Notify the employer within 30 days of a traffic conviction, TDOSHS within 30 days of an out-of-state traffic conviction, and the employer within two business days of suspension, revocation, cancellation, or disqualification. Disclose the prior ten years of commercial driving jobs when applying.

Tennessee requires commercial-vehicle convictions to be reported to the state within five days and states that CDL holders must report traffic citations whether CDL-related or non-CDL-related. Separate federal duties require timely employer and licensing-state notices after specified convictions or license-status changes.

Beginning November 1, 2024, Tennessee checks the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse before issuance, renewal, duplicate, transfer, and upgrade transactions. A prohibited status blocks the transaction and can cause downgrade; restoration requires completion of the federal return-to-duty process and a not-prohibited status.

Apply the rule to the exact Tennessee vehicle, credential, date, trip, test stage, and operating facts in the question. Current TDOSHS pages and Tennessee law control when an older manual sentence conflicts with a newer official requirement.