A dept of transportation physical is the federal medical exam required for interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers. DOT physical, DOT exam, CDL physical, DOT medical exam, and department of transportation physical are common names for the same event. The standards are in 49 CFR 391.41. A National Registry medical examiner performs the exam, records it on MCSA-5875, and issues MCSA-5876 when you qualify [1][2][7]. The maximum card is 24 months, but the examiner can issue less when your health needs monitoring [3][4].
What does the phrase dept of transportation physical actually mean?
It means the medical exam used to decide whether you meet the federal physical qualification standards for interstate CMV driving. The regulation behind the exam is 49 CFR 391.41, and its paragraph map contains 13 qualification standards [1].
Those standards cover:
- Loss of a limb and limb impairment
- Insulin-treated diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Respiratory dysfunction
- High blood pressure
- Musculoskeletal disease
- Epilepsy or loss of consciousness
- Mental, nervous, organic, functional, or psychiatric conditions
- Vision
- Hearing
- Drug use
- Alcoholism
The language is about your ability to operate a CMV safely. It is not a general wellness visit, and it is not a test you can prepare for by using a different name at the front desk. A clinic may advertise a CDL physical while the employer says DOT medical exam. Ask for the federal exam under 49 CFR 391.41 and confirm that the examiner is listed in the National Registry [1][7].
A state commercial driver's license process can include requirements outside this federal exam. The facts here cover the federal DOT medical exam for interstate CMV drivers.
Which doctor can perform my DOT exam?
The exam must be performed by a medical examiner listed on the FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners [2]. Any driver, carrier, or clinic can check the examiner through the official National Registry search before you book [7].
That check matters when HR gives you only a clinic name or tells you to find a DOT physical near the home terminal. Call the clinic and ask for the examiner's name. Then verify that examiner in the registry. The clinic may have several practitioners, and the person who handles the appointment is not necessarily the person who performs the exam.
A licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist may perform the vision portion of the DOT exam [2]. That does not turn a regular eye appointment into the full DOT exam. The medical examiner still handles the federal examination and documentation.
Roadworthy is not the place where the exam happens. It does not perform DOT physicals, employ or certify medical examiners, or issue medical certificates. It helps with health work between exams. Your exam and med card come from the listed medical examiner.
What are MCSA-5875 and MCSA-5876?
MCSA-5875 is the Medical Examination Report Form. It records the DOT medical exam. MCSA-5876 is the Medical Examiner's Certificate. It is the wallet card drivers call the DOT medical card or med card [2].
Think of the forms as 2 parts of the same official event:
- MCSA-5875 is the exam report.
- MCSA-5876 is the certificate you carry and provide as required.
- The medical examiner completes the federal documentation.
- The certificate reflects the examiner's qualification decision and certification period.
Use the form numbers when you call the clinic. Ask whether the appointment is for the federal medical examination and whether the examiner will complete MCSA-5875 and issue MCSA-5876 if you qualify. That question cuts through vague phrases such as work physical, CDL paperwork, or company physical.
MCSA-5870 is a different form for the insulin-treated diabetes process. The treating clinician who manages and prescribes insulin completes and signs it. The medical examiner then performs the regular exam, and the driver must be examined at least annually and no later than 45 days after the clinician signs the form [5]. Do not confuse MCSA-5870 with the report or certificate from the regular exam.
What does the examiner check during the physical?
The visit includes a health history review, blood pressure and pulse, vision, hearing, a urinalysis dipstick screening specific gravity, protein, blood, and glucose, and a hands-on exam of body systems [4].
The regulation sets specific vision and hearing standards. Vision requires distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye, with or without corrective lenses, a field of vision of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal meridian in each eye, and the ability to recognize red, green, and amber standard traffic signals [1].
For hearing, you must first perceive a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than 5 feet, or have an average hearing loss in the better ear of 40 decibels or less at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz. A hearing aid may be used to meet the standard [1].
Blood pressure gets measured, but 49 CFR 391.41 itself contains no numeric blood pressure cutoff. The numbers used for certification staging come from examiner guidance [1][4]. Under that guidance, below 140/90 can support the full certification period, up to a 2-year card. At 140-159 systolic or 90-99 diastolic, guidance supports a 1-year card. At 160-179 systolic or 100-109 diastolic, it supports a one-time 3-month certificate so treatment can start or be adjusted. At or above 180 systolic or 110 diastolic, the driver is disqualified until blood pressure is controlled [4].
How long can a DOT medical card last?
The maximum certification interval is 24 months, or 2 years [3]. That is the ceiling, not an automatic card length. The examiner can certify for less when a condition needs monitoring, and that decision is examiner clinical judgment within the rules [4].
Some paths have shorter maximum intervals. Drivers certified under the insulin-treated diabetes standard or the alternative vision standard must be medically examined and certified every 12 months, or 1 year [3]. Under the insulin-treated diabetes standard, a driver with at least 3 months of electronic blood glucose self-monitoring records can be certified for up to 12 months. Without those records, the certificate can last up to 3 months while the record builds [5].
Blood pressure staging can also affect the card. A stage 1 reading, 140-159 systolic or 90-99 diastolic, supports a 1-year card under the handbook guidance. A stage 2 reading, 160-179 systolic or 100-109 diastolic, supports a one-time 3-month certificate. Stage 3, at or above 180 systolic or 110 diastolic, means disqualification until control is shown, followed by 6-month cards [4].
A driver whose ability to perform normal duties has been impaired by a physical or mental injury or disease must be re-examined and certified even when the current certificate has not expired [3].
Here is the names-decoder table to save for the call with HR or the clinic.
| What people say | What it officially is | The form or cite |
|---|---|---|
| DOT physical | Federal medical exam for interstate CMV drivers | 49 CFR 391.41 and MCSA-5875 [1][2] |
| DOT exam | The medical examination performed by a National Registry examiner | 49 CFR 391.43 [2][7] |
| CDL physical | Common industry name for the DOT medical exam | 49 CFR 391.41 [1] |
| DOT medical exam | Federal examination used to assess physical qualification | MCSA-5875 [2] |
| Department of transportation physical | Another name for the DOT medical exam | 49 CFR 391.41 [1] |
| DOT medical card or med card | Medical Examiner's Certificate issued when the driver qualifies | MCSA-5876 [2] |
| Diabetes paperwork | Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form | MCSA-5870 under 49 CFR 391.46 [5] |
What should I do when HR gives me 2 weeks?
Start by getting the exact request in writing. Ask whether HR needs the federal DOT medical exam for interstate CMV driving, not a general employment physical. Then ask for the employer's deadline and whether it needs the MCSA-5876 certificate after the visit.
Book with a medical examiner you verify in the National Registry. Do not wait until the appointment to discover that the clinic does not have a listed examiner. Bring your current med card if you have one, your glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids if you use them, and records that explain a condition the examiner may need to review.
Your health history should be accurate. The 13 standards include cardiovascular disease, respiratory dysfunction, high blood pressure, diabetes, seizure or loss-of-consciousness history, mental and psychiatric conditions, vision, hearing, drug use, and alcoholism [1]. If insulin-treated diabetes applies, the MCSA-5870 must come from the treating clinician, and the timing rules matter [5].
Sleep apnea has no FMCSA regulation naming it, and the handbook sets no sleep apnea screening requirement. Whether testing is needed is examiner clinical judgment under the respiratory standard [4][6]. If the examiner asks for records or more information, get the named document rather than guessing what the clinic wants.
For a plain-language walkthrough, read what a DOT physical is. For the visit itself, see what happens during a DOT physical exam. The broader DOT physical hub keeps the related requirements together.
What to do next
Written for a new driver with an exam in 2 weeks.
- Ask HR to confirm that it needs the federal DOT medical exam and MCSA-5876, not a general work physical.
- Search the clinic's medical examiner in the official National Registry before booking [7].
- Book the exam and ask whether the examiner completes MCSA-5875 and issues MCSA-5876 when you qualify [2].
- Gather your current med card, glasses, hearing aids, medication information, and relevant medical records.
- If you use insulin, have the treating clinician complete MCSA-5870 and check the 45-day examination window [5].
- Start a home cuff log if blood pressure is a concern, and bring the record to the examiner.
- Confirm the certificate expiration date before leaving so you and HR are working from the same document.
Sources
- Cornell Law School LII, 49 CFR 391.41, physical qualification standards and the 13 standards, accessed 2026-08-01, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/391.41
- Cornell Law School LII, 49 CFR 391.43, who performs the exam and the MCSA-5875 and MCSA-5876 forms, accessed 2026-08-01, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/391.43
- Cornell Law School LII, 49 CFR 391.45, examination timing and certification intervals, accessed 2026-08-01, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/391.45
- FMCSA Medical Examiner's Handbook, 2024 edition, exam components, blood pressure staging, sleep apnea screening, and card length judgment, accessed 2026-08-01, handbook-appendix
- Cornell Law School LII, 49 CFR 391.46, insulin-treated diabetes process and MCSA-5870, accessed 2026-08-01, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/391.46
- Federal Register via govinfo, withdrawal of the sleep apnea rulemaking, August 8, 2017, FMCSA sleep apnea rulemaking status, accessed 2026-08-01, https://govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-08-08/html/2017-16451.htm
- FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, examiner verification search, accessed 2026-08-01, https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/