CDL Physical FAQs – Your Questions Answered

Our CDL physical exam starts at $70 for returning drivers and $80 for new drivers, which includes the exam and your medical card if you pass. There are no hidden fees.

Yes, we work by appointment to minimize your wait time. You can book online or call (386) 226-0011.

Most exams take 20–30 minutes. If you pass, you'll walk out with your medical card – no waiting period.

We often have same-day availability. Call us to check – we'll do our best to get you in quickly.

The FMCSA Medical Advisory Criteria, which guide the examiner, place a reading below 140/90 outside the hypertension stages; the examiner sets the certification period, and for a driver whose hypertension has been staged or treated, the criteria recommend annual or more frequent certification. Readings from 140/90 up to the Stage 3 level described next are staged, and the criteria provide for a shorter certification, from 3 to 12 months, while treatment brings the reading down. The criteria describe Stage 3 as at or greater than 180 systolic and 110 diastolic, and provide that a driver should not be qualified until the reading is reduced to 140/90 or less and treatment is well tolerated. How this applies to a particular driver is the examiner's determination at the exam.

No federal standard is written specifically for diabetes managed without insulin; the examiner reviews how well it is controlled and any complications, so bring your recent blood sugar records and a list of your medications. Diabetes treated with insulin is assessed under the qualification standard at 49 CFR 391.46: the treating clinician completes the Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form (MCSA-5870) no more than 45 days before the exam, and a medical card issued under the standard is valid for no more than 12 months. Whether the standard is met is the examiner's determination at the exam.

Sleep apnea is evaluated as a respiratory condition, and the examiner looks at whether it is diagnosed and effectively treated. Bring your CPAP compliance report and your treatment records — your CPAP machine can provide the report.

It depends on the medication and what it treats. Prescribed controlled substances, such as some ADHD, pain and sleep medications, fall under a prescription exception: the prescribing practitioner must know the driver's medical history and have advised that the medication will not affect safe driving, and FMCSA publishes an optional form, MCSA-5895, for this. For other medications, the examiner weighs side effects individually. Bring a list of your medications and dosages.

A short list. Two leave the examiner no discretion: a medical examiner cannot physically qualify a driver who uses a Schedule I drug, and under the insulin-treated diabetes standard, severe non-proliferative or proliferative diabetic retinopathy is disqualifying on a permanent basis. Epilepsy is disqualifying while it is a current diagnosis or treated with antiseizure medication; with a history of epilepsy, the examiner may certify a driver who has been seizure free and off medication for 10 years, and FMCSA runs a seizure exemption program. Loss of a hand, arm, foot, or leg requires a Skill Performance Evaluation certificate, hearing below the standard requires an FMCSA hearing exemption, and vision that falls short in the worse eye is assessed under the alternative vision standard. A current diagnosis of alcoholism, a current heart condition of the kind the regulations list, and blood pressure at or greater than 180 systolic and 110 diastolic are disqualifying until resolved or controlled. Insulin-treated diabetes on its own is not disqualifying; it is assessed under the qualification standard at 49 CFR 391.46. How any of this applies to a particular driver is Dr. David Jacobsen's determination at the exam.

The standard is at least 20/40 in each eye and with both eyes together, with or without corrective lenses, a 70-degree horizontal field of vision in each eye, and the ability to recognize the colors of traffic signals. A driver who does not meet the acuity or field standard with the worse eye may be assessed under the alternative vision standard at 49 CFR 391.44, which requires a Vision Evaluation Report (MCSA-5871) from an ophthalmologist or optometrist. If you wear glasses or contacts, bring them.

You must hear a forced whisper at 5 feet in at least one ear, or pass an audiometric test (average hearing loss no more than 40 dB in the better ear). Hearing aids are allowed.

Yes, Dr. David Jacobsen is listed on the FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners – a federal requirement to perform valid CDL physicals.

Dr. David Jacobsen has been performing DOT physicals since 1985 – 40+ years of experience helping truck drivers stay on the road.