DOT physical in Georgia

Filing your medical card with DDS

Georgia CDL holders self-certify and submit the medical examiner’s certificate to the Department of Driver Services — online through the DDS site, by mail or fax, or at a customer service center. DDS (not the DMV — Georgia splits the agencies) maintains the medical certification on your record.

You'll also self-certify your driving category (interstate or intrastate, excepted or non-excepted). Most for-hire freight driving is non-excepted interstate — the category that requires a current medical certificate on file. If you're unsure, your carrier's safety department will know which box you belong in.

DDS, not DMV

Georgia licenses drivers through the Department of Driver Services; vehicle registration lives elsewhere. For anything medical-certification related — submissions, downgrades, category changes — DDS is the agency to contact.

Intrastate at 18

Georgia issues intrastate CDLs at 18; interstate driving generally starts at 21. Pick your self-certification category accordingly — it decides whether the federal medical card requirement attaches to your record.

The exam is the same everywhere

Any examiner on the FMCSA National Registry can certify you, in Georgia or any other state — the card is valid nationwide for up to 24 months (shorter if a condition like high blood pressure needs monitoring). What the examiner checks doesn't change at the state line:

• The requirements — vision, hearing, blood pressure, and the conditions that need extra paperwork
• What to expect at the exam — the visit step by step
• Where to get it done — clinic types and typical prices, plus what it costs