Data / Federal rules / 2026-03258
Qualifications of Drivers; Vision Standards Grandfathering Provision
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on February 19, 2026. It took effect on March 23, 2026. Comments closed on March 23, 2026.
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What the agency says
FMCSA amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to remove the grandfathering provision under the physical qualifications standards for interstate drivers operating under the vision waiver study program administered from 1992 through 1994, and the vision exemption program operated from 1998 through 2022, as the grandfathering provision is now obsolete. FMCSA's current rules permit individuals who do not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the existing distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both, to be physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce under specified conditions.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-03258
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Final rule
- Agency
- Transportation Department; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Published
- February 19, 2026
- Takes effect
- March 23, 2026
- Comments due
- March 23, 2026
- Dates
- Effective March 23, 2026. Petitions for reconsideration of this final rule must be submitted to the FMCSA Administrator no later than March 23, 2026.
- Docket
- Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0113
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 2126-AC87
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 49 CFR 391
- Topics
- Motor carriers; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Safety; Transportation
- Pages
- 4
Other documents from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Clarification to the Applicability of Emergency Exemptions; Response to Petitions for Reconsideration 2026-20325 | Final rule | Oct 5 |
| Fees for the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement 2026-17893 | Final rule | Sep 1 |
| English Language Proficiency; Out of Service Criteria 2026-16288 | Proposed rule | Aug 10 |
| General Technical, Organizational, Conforming, and Correcting Amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 2026-14701 | Final rule | Jul 21 |
| Completed Inspection Report Disposition 2026-12450 | Final rule | Jun 22 |
| Removal of Self-Reporting Requirement 2026-12449 | Final rule | Jun 22 |
| Rescinding the Requirement for Electronic Logging Device Operator's Manual Located in Commercial Motor Vehicles 2026-12448 | Final rule | Jun 22 |
| Fees for Commercial Driver's License Information System 2026-09943 | Proposed rule | May 18 |
Everything from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · Rules on motor carriers · Rules on reporting and recordkeeping requirements · Rules on safety · Published in February 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.