Occupational form
Commercial driver medical
A commercial driver medical is a fitness-to-drive examination for a higher licence class (typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 depending on the province). Provinces print their own forms. Medical standards are aligned with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) medical standards, applied by the provincial registrar. It is not a private Class 5 car medical, not a Transport Canada marine or aviation medical, and not a police recruit exam.
Class matters
Class 1 tractor-trailer standards are stricter than a private car. Insulin-treated diabetes, seizure-free intervals, visual acuity and fields, hearing, sleep apnea, and sudden-incapacity risk are the usual commercial stops. Read the class on the form before you tick fit.
Use the current provincial medical (Ontario MTO, Alberta driver medical, RoadSafetyBC, SAAQ, and others). Do not complete an Alberta form for an Ontario Class 1 renewal. National Safety Code medicals still land on a provincial pad.
You report; the registrar decides
You do not seize a licence in the exam room. You record findings against the standard. If you also have a separate duty to report an unsafe driver in your province, that duty is not the same document as this periodic commercial medical.
Who completes it
A physician or nurse practitioner as the provincial form allows. Some classes or conditions need a specialist letter (cardiology, sleep, endocrinology). You may attach that letter; do not pretend you did the angiogram. Marine and aviation examiners are a different designation.
How to complete the commercial medical
- Licence class and whether this is renewal, upgrade, or medical review.
- Vision as specified: acuity, fields, diplopia, corrective lenses.
- Hearing if the form requires it for that class.
- Cardiovascular: history, BP, murmur; further testing if indicated.
- Neurology: seizure, syncope, stroke, vertigo — dates.
- Diabetes: treatment type, hypos, awareness, last A1c if you have it.
- Sleep: snoring, witnessed apneas, sleepiness while driving; CPAP adherence if already diagnosed.
- Medications that sedate. Alcohol and other substances as the form asks.
- Fit / fit with conditions / not fit — matching this class.
If they failed a sleep study and are untreated, do not pass a Class 1 because the truck is parked outside. If they are adherent on CPAP with a recent download, say that.
Worked example (fictional)
Class 1 renewal — treated OSA, family practice
Fictional 52-year-old. Do not copy into a real provincial medical.
Class 1 renewal, provincial form. Acuity 20/25 corrected each eye, fields full to confrontation as the form allows, no diplopia. OSA on CPAP since 2024; 90-day download 6.2 h/night average, residual AHI <5. No sleepiness on the highway this year. BP 134/82. No insulin. No seizure. Fit for Class 1 on today’s exam with ongoing CPAP as already on the file. Registrar still decides. Not a marine medical. Not an MTO medical-review letter for a private Class 5 (this is the commercial periodic form). I am the FP.
Why registrars come back
- Wrong class ticked.
- Vision numbers missing.
- Untreated sleep apnea with a pass.
- Insulin or seizure history left blank.
- Using a marine or aviation certificate instead of the provincial driver medical.
Draft the commercial driver medical from the exam
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for commercial driver medical or the provincial form name, or upload the registrar’s current PDF. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then review every field before you sign. Scribeberry does not pre-map this form. You still review and sign. Scribeberry does not file with the registrar.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as an MTO medical report?
In Ontario the periodic commercial medical and an MTO medical-review report can be different papers. Use the PDF the driver or MTO sent. Other provinces have their own names.
Can an NP sign?
If the provincial form and your college allow it for that class. If the form names a physician only, stay inside that instruction.
What about a sleep study I ordered?
Attach or summarize the result. The sleep-lab requisition is not the driver medical. Do not pass untreated OSA on a commercial class because the study is “booked.”
Does Scribeberry submit this to the ministry?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF. The driver or you file it with the registrar. Keep a copy in the chart.
Forms
