Federal regulators have granted a one-year provisional extension of relief that lets Alaska-licensed drivers with a commercial permit or license, along with their carriers, use a printed medical examiner's certificate as proof of medical qualification for as long as 60 days after it is issued. Alaska is the lone state that has yet to put the electronic medical certification integration rule into practice. Drivers licensed everywhere else, including Washington, D.C., can no longer treat the paper card as valid proof at all starting October 12, 2026.
Key Points
- The renewed relief covers Alaska-issued commercial learner's permits and commercial driver's licenses, plus the employers of those drivers.
- A paper copy of the medical examiner's certificate can serve as evidence of medical qualification for up to 60 days after the date it was issued.
- Alaska remains the only state that has not adopted the national rule linking medical examiner certification data to state licensing records.
- Drivers licensed in the other states and D.C., and their employers, lose the option of relying on paper certificates entirely as of October 12, 2026.
- The Alaska renewal is provisional and lasts only one year.
Why It Matters
Alaska's licensed commercial drivers keep a temporary paper-based option for proving medical qualification, while drivers in every other jurisdiction must rely solely on the electronic records system after October 12, 2026.