Optional Driver-Medication Form Renewal Adds a Comment Deadline
MCSA-5895 renewal sets October 15 comment deadline
FMCSA estimates up to 1,470,185 respondents and 311,375 annual burden hours nationwide for the voluntary CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895. The comment window closes October 15, 2026.
The Situation
The October 15 comment deadline, the September 30 ICR expiration, and each driver's Medical Examiner's Certificate expiration sit on three separate clocks. FMCSA's September 15 Federal Register notice proposes renewing the optional form that lets a medical examiner contact a driver's prescribing clinician. Current approval expires September 30, 2026. Driver-qualification files and medical-examiner appointments still have to be checked on their own.
The Facts
A Federal Register notice FMCSA published September 15, 2026 sets an 8-minute estimated response time per form and a September 30, 2026 expiration for the current approval of the voluntary CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895.
The form lets a medical examiner contact a driver's prescribing healthcare professional. Using the form stays voluntary.
The notice states that the National Transportation Safety Board submitted a comment supporting renewal and asking FMCSA to broaden the form to cover more medications and medical conditions, including non-prescription drugs and supplements. FMCSA's printed response: it declined the expansion, pointing to MCSA-5875 for a driver's full reported health history and leaving medication-specific judgment calls to the certified medical examiner. An earlier notice published in May 2026 opened the initial 60-day comment period, which closed July 6, 2026; the September 15 notice reopens comment specifically for OMB's review, closing October 15, 2026. Operators can pull the full notice from govinfo.gov as FR Doc. 2026-18863.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, under Currently under 30-day Review. This notice sets that close at October 15, 2026.
Business Impact
The practical work for a propane shop is separating three dates that run on their own: the ICR's September 30 expiration, the October 15 comment deadline, and each driver's own Medical Examiner's Certificate expiration. None of those move the other.
Key Data Points
- OMB runs a 60-day notice and then a 30-day notice. This September 15 notice is that second window. The 8-minute form-fill figure is FMCSA's published estimate.
- FMCSA declining NTSB's expansion request keeps the certified medical examiner as the point of judgment on medication risk.
Key Takeaways
- NTSB's request to expand the form's scope was declined in the same notice that reports it — FMCSA points operators instead to MCSA-5875 for a driver's full health history.
Action Steps
- 1.Put October 15, 2026 on the calendar and decide whether the safety lead has a comment worth filing.
- 2.Confirm the September 30 ICR expiration doesn't get confused with any driver's certificate expiration date.
- 3.Ask the medical-examiner relationship contact whether MCSA-5895 gets used in current driver files.
- 4.Review one upcoming medical-examiner appointment to confirm qualification-file status ahead of the renewal.
- 5.TankSpotter
Competitive Advantage
Shops that can explain to a driver why an ICR renewal notice landed in their inbox, and keep the driver's own certificate timeline on a separate calendar, spend less time on confused questions and more time on the appointments that actually matter.
Is your MCSA-5895 use current, or is it something your medical examiner hasn't touched in years?
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Published by PropaneInsider.com
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