DOT physical in Anaheim for CDL drivers

The visit follows the federal Medical Examination Report, form MCSA-5875. You fill in the first part yourself: your license details, every medicine you take (prescription, over the counter, herbal remedies and supplements, with doses) and yes, no or "not sure" answers about surgeries and conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, seizures, loud snoring and daytime sleepiness. The examiner talks through every "yes" or "not sure" with you, then tests and examines you. Most DOT physicals here take about 30 minutes.

The urine check is not a drug test. Protein, blood or sugar in the sample can point to problems such as diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure or kidney disease, and the examiner may suggest follow-up with your own doctor. A DOT drug test is separate from the physical; the clinic can do drug and alcohol screening when your employer requires one.

FMCSA's Medical Examiner's Handbook (2024 edition) gives examiners the guidelines below. A high first reading should be confirmed with more measurements, and either the top or the bottom number can place you in a stage. The examiner applies these guidelines to your situation.

These are examiner guidelines, not a promised result. If your blood pressure runs high, see your regular doctor well before your card is due.

Up to 24 months. The examiner can issue a card for less time when a condition needs watching, and FMCSA names high blood pressure as an example. Federal rules cap the card at 12 months for drivers certified under the insulin-treated diabetes standard or the alternative vision standard. You cannot drive a commercial vehicle without current medical certification, so book the exam before your card runs out, leaving time to collect specialist forms.

• Your driver's license. The examiner records the photo ID used to confirm who you are.
• A full medication list with doses, including over the counter medicines, herbal remedies and supplements.
• Glasses, contacts or hearing aids you use to drive. If you meet the hearing standard only with a hearing aid, California DMV says you must wear it whenever you drive and carry a spare power source.
• If you use insulin: form MCSA-5870, completed and signed by the clinician who prescribes your insulin. Your DOT exam has to happen within 45 days after they sign it. To qualify for the full 12 months, you need to have given that clinician at least 3 months of records from an electronic glucose meter; without them, the card is limited to 3 months.
• If one eye does not meet the vision standard even with correction: form MCSA-5871 from an ophthalmologist or optometrist, signed no more than 45 days before your DOT exam.
• If you are treated for sleep apnea: records showing the treatment is working, such as a recent CPAP usage report or notes from your sleep doctor. FMCSA rules do not set a specific CPAP compliance number, so the examiner decides whether your treatment is adequate and stable.
• If you have a heart or neurological history (heart attack, stents, pacemaker, seizures, stroke): recent records or a letter from your specialist.
• Any FMCSA exemption letter or Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) certificate you hold.

A missing record does not always end the visit. If the examiner needs more information, federal rules let the exam be marked as pending, and you then have 45 days to provide the records or finish further testing.

Since July 27, 2026, California DMV receives exam results electronically for interstate (NI) CDL drivers, under the federal rule known as National Registry II:

1. The examiner submits your results to the National Registry. California DMV says this must happen within 24 hours.
2. FMCSA sends the results to the DMV, which must post them to your driving record within one business day.
3. Interstate drivers can no longer submit their own medical forms in person, by mail or online. You can ask the DMV for a receipt once your record shows the new exam.

Intrastate (NA) drivers, whose CDL is restricted to driving within California, can still turn in the paper Medical Examination Report and Medical Examiner's Certificate (MCSA-5876) in person, by mail or through the DMV Virtual Field Office, and an employer may submit them for the driver. When a National Registry examiner does the exam, the registry also sends the result to the DMV electronically. Your NI or NA status is the self-certification you filed on DMV form DL 694.

FMCSA strongly recommends that examiners keep giving drivers a paper certificate for now. Keep yours: it helps you sort out any problem with your DMV record.

If the examiner finds you do not meet the standards, they must tell you and report it to FMCSA, and any earlier certificate stops being valid. California DMV then treats your license as not valid for commercial driving until a new, valid exam reaches your record. Some drivers qualify later after treatment, or through an FMCSA exemption or a Skill Performance Evaluation certificate for limb impairments, so ask the examiner what would need to change.

No DOT physical price is posted online for this clinic, so call (714) 400-2959 for the current DOT exam rate and to confirm a certified medical examiner is working the day you plan to come. AFC notes that DOT physicals may not be covered by insurance; self-pay visits explains cash pricing here. To hold a time, save your spot for a DOT physical; for DOT requests, staff get back to you to confirm the time.

Need an exam for a job that does not involve commercial driving? See physicals for work, school and sports. If a new employer also asks for a TB test or a flu shot, see TB tests and flu shots.