La. Admin. Code tit. 55 § III-117

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section III-117 - Third-Party Testers

A. All persons or entities desiring certification as third-party testers shall apply for certified third-party tester status on a form prepared and furnished by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles and shall furnish all requested information contained thereon and all necessary documentation requested. In order to qualify for a certified third-party tester status an applicant must, at a minimum, meet the following qualifications:

1. maintain a place of business in the state of Louisiana which operates from a permanent and regularly occupied structure which is safe and meets all requirements of federal, state or local law;

2. maintain at least one full-time certified third-party examiner on its payroll;

3. agree to maintain at each approved third-party testing site or place of business for a minimum of five years all records of each driver-applicant for whom third-party tester has conduced any skills testing, whether or not said driver-applicant passes or fails any such testing;

4. agree to further maintain at each approved third-party testing site or place of business for a minimum of five years a record of each certified third-party examiner in the employ of the third-party tester;

5. for purposes of this Section, the five-year period specified for maintaining driver-applicant records runs from the date of the test and said period related to third-party examiners is to commence on the date the third-party examiner leaves the employ of third-party tester;

6. applicants that are not proprietary schools or educational institutions shall employ at least 15 licensed commercial drivers on a full or part-time basis;

7. all applicants must have been in operation in the state of Louisiana for a minimum period of two years prior to the date of application for certified third-party testing status;

8. have currently established a commercial motor vehicle training program;

9. agree to enter into a third-party tester agreement with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles setting forth the responsibilities and any additional requirements for certified third-party tester status;

10. have a basic control skills' test course and road test route approved by the department.

11. All CDL third-party testers shall execute a good and sufficient surety bond with a surety company qualified to do business in Louisiana as surety, in the sum of $10,000. The bond shall name The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles, as oblige. The bond shall remain in effect throughout the duration of the contract.

12. The CDL third-party tester shall require its examiners to annually submit to a fingerprint background check as part of the examiner application process. The third-party tester or the examiners employed by the tester shall pay any fees charged in connection with the fingerprint background check as may be agreed between the tester and the examiner. Any fees for fingerprinting or doing the background check are paid to the respective law enforcement agencies providing the service.

13. The CDL third-party tester shall not charge a fee in excess of $100 for the administration of a skills test. The third-party test shall clearly indicate in writing that this fee is for the administration of the skills test.

B. All applicants for certified third-party tester status shall submit with their application an application fee of $50, which fee is nonrefundable. All certificates of certified third-party tester status shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance.

C.

1. All applicants for certification as third-party testers, as well as all persons certified as third-party testers, shall permit an employee or other representative of the department to monitor or audit the applicant's or third-party tester's records or skills testing operations during the hours of 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, or at any other time the third-party tester is normally open for business or an examiner employed by the third-party tester is administering knowledge or skills tests for endorsements to a commercial driver's license. The applicant or third-party tester, including any of its employees, officers, or directors, shall immediately make available, to the employee or representative of the department conducting the audit, the records required to be kept by LAC 55, Part III, Chapter 1, Subchapter A, or the third-party tester agreement unless the applicant or third-party tester certifies, in writing, that the records sought are in use at that time, in which case the records shall be made available by 4:30 p.m. on the following day.

2. The failure to provide the records sought to be audited pursuant to §117 may serve as grounds to revoke the status of the third-party tester or third-party examiner, or as grounds to deny the certification if such status is the subject of a new or renewal application with the department.

3. The applicant or third-party tester and third-party examiner shall permit the removal of the records by the employee or representative of the department conducting the audit unless the employee or representative of the department determines that acceptable copies are made available by the applicant or third-party tester.

4. The applicant or third-party examiner and third-party tester shall permit an employee or other representative of the department to conduct an inspection of the applicant's or third-party tester's premises during the hours of 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at any other time the third-party tester is normally open for business or an examiner employed by the third-party tester is administering knowledge and skills tests for endorsements to a commercial driver's license.

La. Admin. Code tit. 55, § III-117

Filed by the Department of Public Safety, Office of Motor Vehicle, 1974, promulgated and amended by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles, LR 15:1093 (December 1989), amended LR 24:2314 (December 1998), LR 39:2511 (September 2013), LR 40:91 (January 2014).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 32:408.