The Transportation Security Administration has confirmed that after December 31, 2020, the agency will not continue authorization of State Driver Licensing Agencies to extend the validity of Hazardous Materials Endorsements that have expired.

The exemption was from renewal of the HME Security Threat Assessment for certain individuals that the agency published on April 8, 2020, which was extended through December 31, 2020.

Under this exemption, states may extend the expiration date of HMEs that expire on or after March 1, 2020, for 180 days, due to restrictions and business closures in place in response to the COVID–19 public health emergency. If a state grants an extension, the individual with an expired HME must initiate the process of renewing his or her security threat assessment (STA) for the HME no later than 60 days before the end of the state-granted extension.

Although companies are still reporting difficulty in arranging Security Threat Assessments in some States, drivers whose HMEs expire after January 1, 2021 must meet the fingerprint and background check requirements to renew their HMEs as previously scheduled.