Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Thursday granted a one-year provisional exemption that allows commercial drivers in Alaska to continue use of paper medical examiner's certificates.
The exemption keeps paper records viable solely for Alaska because it is now the only state that's yet to implement the agency's Medical Examiner's Certification Integration (NRII) final rule. Drivers and employers in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, where digital integration is complete, can no longer use paper certificates as proof of medical qualification.'
Louisiana was next-to-last in compliance, officially crossing the finish line Sept. 15.
The exemption allows commercial driver's license (CDL) and commercial learner's permit (CLP) holders licensed in Alaska, along with their employers, to rely on a paper copy of their medical certification for up to 60 days after issuance.
The NRII regulation took effect June 23, 2025, but implementation delays prompted a series of temporary waivers allowing truck and bus drivers to continue use of paper certificates. The initial waiver covered Oct. 13, 2025, through Jan. 10, 2026, and was later extended through April 10 as the list of non-compliant states dwindled.
Five states were noncompliant when a third extension was granted in April. The exception for Alaska takes effect Oct. 12, the day after the current temporary waiver for non-compliant states expires.
The NRII rule, originally finalized to modernize medical data sharing, phases out paper-based procedures by transmitting examination results electronically from the National Registry to state driver licensing agencies.
Alaska's non-compliance stems from its Department of Motor Vehicles failing to complete the digital pipeline required to automatically receive and process electronic medical certification data from FMCSA.
