How to Buy a Clearinghouse Query Plan
You cannot run a Clearinghouse query without a query plan. The plan is a prepaid balance of queries that you buy from FMCSA inside the Clearinghouse. Here is what it costs, who has to buy it, and how to pick the right size.
Updated September 28, 2026 · Checked against the federal regulations
Who has to buy a query plan
Every employer of CDL drivers must buy a query plan. That includes owner-operators who run under their own USDOT number.
Your C/TPA cannot buy the plan for you. FMCSA only lets registered employers buy plans. When your C/TPA runs a query for you, it comes out of your plan.
If you own more than one company, each company needs its own plan.
What a query costs
FMCSA charges a flat $1.25 per query. The price is the same for a limited query and a full query.
Queries in a plan never expire. You can buy more at any time.
Registering in the Clearinghouse is free. FMCSA only charges for queries.
- $1.25 per query, limited or full.
- Queries never expire.
- No fee to register.
- High-volume option: FMCSA also offers an Unlimited Query Plan for $24,500 a year. It expires 12 months after purchase.
How to buy a plan
You buy the plan inside your own Clearinghouse account. FMCSA says plans can only be bought on the FMCSA Clearinghouse website.
FMCSA posts a "How to Purchase a Query Plan" job aid in the Clearinghouse Learning Center with screen-by-screen steps.
- 1. Register your company in the Clearinghouse as an employer.
- 2. Log in to your Clearinghouse account.
- 3. Go to the query plan purchase page and pick how many queries you want.
- 4. Pay online and check that the new queries show in your balance.
How many queries should you buy?
FMCSA's advice is simple: buy enough to cover the number of drivers you have now. You can buy more later.
Plan for one query per driver each year, plus one for each new driver you hire. If a limited query finds something and you follow up with a full query, FMCSA only charges you once for both.
- Annual queries: one per CDL driver per year.
- Pre-employment queries: one per new CDL hire.
- Limited query plus follow-up full query on the same driver: charged once.
When queries get credited back
If you cancel a pending consent request, FMCSA credits the query back to your balance.
In a bulk upload, if the Clearinghouse cannot verify a driver's CDL information, your plan is credited for that query.
Pact Compliance can run your queries from your plan once you designate us as your C/TPA.
Common questions
How much does a Clearinghouse query cost?
$1.25 per query. The price is the same for limited and full queries.
Can my C/TPA or consortium buy my query plan?
No. FMCSA says a C/TPA may not purchase a plan on behalf of an employer. The employer must buy it in its own Clearinghouse account.
Do Clearinghouse queries expire?
Queries in a standard plan never expire. The Unlimited Query Plan expires 12 months after the purchase date.
Does it cost money to register in the Clearinghouse?
No. FMCSA says there are no fees for registration or other Clearinghouse activities. Only queries cost money.
Do owner-operators need a query plan?
Yes. FMCSA says owner-operators, as employers, must buy a query plan to meet their query requirements.
Am I charged twice if a limited query leads to a full query?
No. FMCSA says if a limited query finds information and you follow up with a full query, you are only charged once for both.
Sources
- FMCSA Clearinghouse: Query Plans
- FMCSA Clearinghouse: Query Plans for High-Volume Users
- FMCSA Clearinghouse FAQ: Queries and Consent Requests
- FMCSA guidance: How do I purchase a query plan?
- FMCSA Clearinghouse news: You must purchase a query plan
- FMCSA Clearinghouse news: Query requirements and plans (C/TPAs)
- FMCSA Clearinghouse news: Tips on conducting queries
- FMCSA Clearinghouse Learning Center: Owner-Operators