The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is seeking emergency approval for tougher vetting after discovering that truck driver training schools removed for fraud have reapplied with new identifying information and returned to the Training Provider Registry (TPR), Transport Topics reported on Oct. 16.

Source: Transport Topics

Schools that receive a Notice of Emergency Removal "are able to log on to the TPR, self-certify with new training provider information and thus be listed again on the TPR and continue to perpetuate fraud," FMCSA explained in its emergency information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget, quoted by Transport Topics.

The agency said a removed school that returns under a new name and a different email address can operate with "the same fraudulent, criminal or willful disregard" until it is found again through state noncompliance checks, operations or complaints. Overdrive, in separate coverage of the same emergency request, described the same loophole and the agency's push to keep "sham" CDL schools out of the registry.

Nearly 10,000school sites removed in the wider FMCSA cleanup
800schools under regulatory review
110schools shut in the August joint task-force action

What FMCSA wants to check before listing

Under the emergency plan, documents would be collected and reviewed before a provider is listed or adds a new location: theory and behind-the-wheel lesson plans including range and public-road curricula, proof of compliant training vehicles, instructor qualifications and CDLs, proof of state authorization to train, and documentation that in-person training facilities comply with federal rules.

FMCSA said it cannot wait for a full new rulemaking because, in its words, public harm is reasonably likely — noncompliant providers certifying drivers as meeting training standards when those drivers have not actually completed the training. The request follows months of crackdowns under Administrator Derek Barrs, including in-person audits and notices to providers that have not certified a training completion in the past year.

For Punjabi and other immigrant drivers entering trucking, the practical point is direct: check that your school is currently listed on the Training Provider Registry and keep your Entry-Level Driver Training record — a school that was removed and quietly returned under a new name puts its graduates' credentials at risk.