DOT (Department of Transportation) Physical Exam

A Department of Transportation (DOT) physical is a physical exam that is required of people who drive commercial vehicles. The point of a DOT physical is to make sure that people who are driving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), such as large trucks and buses, are physically, mentally, and emotionally fit. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires this testing for the safety of the public.

To make an appointment today call 702-248-0554

DOT vision requirements

• To pass the vision test, you need to have 20/40 vision in each eye, with or without correction (glasses/contact lenses), and a field of vision of 70 degrees or more in each eye. You should also be able to differentiate between red, green, and amber (colors of traffic signals).
• Before 2022, if you didn’t meet these standards but met all other standards of the DOT Physical, you could apply for an exemption. Now, the FMCSA has a new alternative vision standard. The rule now requires any person who doesn’t satisfy, with the worse eye, either the distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both, must be medically examined and certified by a Medical Examiner as physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Your ophthalmologist or optometrist must fill out a new form, the Vision Evaluation Report, Form MCSA–5871, and provide it to your DOT physical medical examiner.

DOT hearing requirements

• To pass your hearing test, you must be able to hear a “forced whisper” using your better ear when you’re 5 feet from the examiner, with or without a hearing aid. If you fail this hearing test, you’ll be referred for an audiometry test.
• In most cases, you can get a hearing correction device and then pass your DOT physical. If you need a hearing aid, you must keep it on at all times while driving.
• If you are completely deaf and cannot pass the whisper test even with hearing aids, you will fail the hearing test

   

DOT blood pressure requirements

• If your blood pressure is 140/90 or below, you’ll pass the DOT physical blood pressure requirements.
• If you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension and are being treated, you’ll need more frequent certification:
  • If your blood pressure is between 140/90 and 159/99, you’ll be certified again after 1 year.
  • If your blood pressure is between 160/100 and 179/109, you’ll get a temporary 3-month certification, and you’ll have to reduce your blood pressure to below 140/90 to get a 1-year certification.
  • If your blood pressure is higher than 180/110, you can’t pass. When you reduce your blood pressure to below 140/90, you can be certified for 6 months.