Medical Certification
Medical Certification Requirements
All Department of Transportation (DOT) medical exams must be conducted by a Certified Medical Examiner. A list of certified examiners is available on the FMCSA National Registry website. A complete overview of the DOT Medical program is available on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website.
- The RI DMV no longer accepts Medical Certification directly. It is now the responsibility of the Medical Examiner to electronically submit your Medical Certification to the FMCSA National Registry. The FMCSA will then forward it to the RI DMV. You will receive a mailed notification once your new Medical Certification has been received. Visit the National Registry Learning Center for more information.
- Please note: Failure to comply will result in the downgrade of your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) privileges. Once a new Medical Certification is submitted, your commercial privileges will be automatically restored to active status.
Self-Certification
You must determine whether you operate in interstate or intrastate commerce and whether you are excepted or non-excepted from federal or state medical certification requirements. You are required to certify to the RI DMV that you fall into one of the four operation categories listed below:
- Interstate Non-Excepted: You operate, or expect to operate, both within and outside RI boundaries for commerce, and you are required to obtain a Federal DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate. (You must be 21 years of age or older)
- Interstate Excepted: You operate, or expect to operate, both within and outside RI boundaries for commerce, and are not required to obtain a DOT Medical Examiner's Certificate. (You must be 21 years of age or older)
- Intrastate Non-Excepted: You do not operate, or expect to operate, outside RI boundaries for commerce, and you are required to obtain a Federal DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate.
- Intrastate Excepted: You do not operate, or expect to operate, outside RI boundaries for commerce, and you are not required to obtain a Federal DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate.