Employer Exemptions from Interlock Devices Explained

If you just got your interlock requirement and you drive for work,
you are probably staring at one big question: do you have to put a
device on the company truck too?

For a lot of drivers, the answer is no. Most states have what is
called an employer exemption, which lets you drive an employer-owned
vehicle during work hours without an interlock installed on it. Your
personal car still needs the device. But the company van you use for
service calls, the box truck on the delivery route, the work pickup
parked at the yard — those often stay as they are.

This guide walks through how the employer exemption actually works,
who qualifies, what your employer has to sign, and the situations where
the exemption does not apply (commercial driver’s license, school bus,
family-owned vehicles). It is written for you, the driver, not for HR.
The goal is for you to walk into your monitoring authority appointment
knowing exactly what to ask for.

What the Employer
Exemption Actually Means

The employer exemption is a narrow exception in your state’s
interlock law. It says: while you are working, in a vehicle your
employer owns or leases, you can drive without an ignition interlock
device installed on that specific vehicle.

That is the entire idea. It is not a pass on the interlock
requirement overall. Your personal vehicle still needs a working ignition
interlock device, you still have to blow into it before you drive,
and you still have to keep up with calibrations and reporting. The
exemption only covers the work vehicle, only during work hours, only for
legitimate job tasks.

States built the exemption in for a practical reason. A delivery
company cannot install interlocks on a fleet of 40 box trucks because
one driver got a DUI. A construction crew cannot put a device on every
shared work pickup. So the state allows the driver to use the employer’s
vehicle during the shift, provided certain conditions are met and the
employer is on record acknowledging the situation.

The catch is that those conditions are state-specific and tighter
than most people realize.

Who Qualifies
for the Exemption (and Who Does Not)

Most states that offer the employer exemption use some version of the
same checklist. To qualify, the situation usually has to meet all of the
following:

• The vehicle is owned or leased by your employer.
  Not by you. Not by a family member. Not by a subcontractor.
• You do not own the company, or any significant share of
  it. Most states close this loophole specifically. If you are
  the sole proprietor or majority owner, the “employer” vehicle is really
  your vehicle in the eyes of the state.
• The vehicle is not used for personal driving.
  Driving the company truck to the grocery store on the way home does not
  count as work. It can void the exemption and treat your trip as if you
  were driving without an interlock.
• Your employer has signed a written notification or
  acknowledgment. This is the piece most drivers underestimate.
  Many states require the employer to sign a specific form acknowledging
  that they know about your restricted license and the conditions of the
  exemption.
• Your job actually requires you to drive. A desk-job
  employee asking for an exemption to drive a company car on weekends is
  going to get denied.

Who Does Not Qualify

A few situations are excluded across almost every state:

• Commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders. Federal
  regulations under 49
  CFR Part 382 govern alcohol and drug rules for commercial drivers,
  and a DUI conviction typically disqualifies you from holding a CDL for
  at least one year. No state employer exemption overrides this. If you
  drive a tractor-trailer or anything that requires a CDL, the exemption
  is not the door you are looking for.
• School bus drivers and certain public-safety roles.
  Stricter federal and state thresholds apply. The bar for getting back
  behind the wheel is much higher.
• Vehicles owned by you, a spouse, or a household family
  member. Family-owned vehicles are treated as personal vehicles
  in most state interlock laws, even if the “company” is technically a
  family business.
• Repeat offenders or high-BAC cases in some states.
  A few states refuse the employer exemption entirely if your BAC was
  above a certain threshold (often 0.15) or if this is your second or
  third offense.

Before you assume you qualify, check your state DMV’s rules and ask
the monitoring
authority handling your case. They can confirm in writing what your
specific situation allows.

How to Set Up
the Employer Exemption — Step by Step

The process is more paperwork than complexity. Here is the usual
sequence.

Step 1: Confirm Your State
Offers It

According to the National
Conference of State Legislatures, all 50 states and D.C. have some
form of ignition interlock law, but the specifics — including whether an
employer exemption exists and on what terms — vary significantly. A few
states do not offer the exemption at all. Most do, but the form, the
timeline, and the conditions differ. Start with your state DMV’s
interlock or driver-services page.

Step 2: Tell Your Employer
Early

This is the conversation people most want to avoid, and the one that
usually goes better than expected. Most employers have run into this
before — DUI is far from rare — and the practical question for them is
whether you can keep doing the job. If the answer is yes with a signed
form, most are willing to do that.

Bring the actual paperwork your state requires. Do not ask your
employer to figure out what they need to sign. That puts the burden on
them and slows everything down.

Step 3: Get the
Notification Form Signed

States typically require one of two things:

1. A standardized form from the DMV that the employer
   signs and you file with your monitoring authority, or
2. A written letter from the employer on company
   letterhead, sometimes notarized, confirming employment, vehicle
   ownership, and that the exemption applies only to work hours.

Either way, keep a copy. Keep one in the work vehicle. Keep one in
your phone. If you get pulled over in the company truck without an
interlock, the officer is going to want to see proof that the exemption
applies.

Step 4: File With
Your Monitoring Authority

Submit the form to whichever agency monitors your interlock case —
typically the state DMV, the court, or a probation officer. Some states
want it filed before you start driving the company vehicle. Driving the
work vehicle before filing can be treated as a violation, even if
everything else is in order.

Step 5: Stay Inside the Lines

The exemption applies during work hours, in the work vehicle, for
work tasks. That is it. Personal errands in the company truck on your
lunch break are not covered. A weekend trip “to drop something off” is
not covered. The cleanest way to think about it: if you would not log
the trip on a timesheet, the exemption does not apply to it.

State-by-State Variation
at a Glance

Below is a rough summary of how states tend to handle the employer
exemption. This is a general pattern, not legal advice — your state’s
specific rules and your court order always govern.

Common state pattern	What it usually requires
Employer exemption available with signed notification	Most states. Employer signs DMV form or letter; you file it; work-vehicle-only
Available only for first-time offenders	Some states exclude repeat offenders or high-BAC cases
Available but with case-by-case review	A few states require the monitoring authority or court to approve each request
Not available	A small minority of states require the interlock on every vehicle driven, including employer-owned
Never available (regardless of state law)	CDL holders, school bus drivers, vehicles you or your family own

Because the rules change and vary, treat the table as a starting
point. Confirm with your state’s DMV interlock
program and your monitoring authority before you rely on it.

What
Happens If You Drive the Company Vehicle Without Setting This Up

If you skip the paperwork and just drive the work truck anyway, the
consequences can be heavier than the original interlock requirement.

In most states, driving a vehicle without the required interlock —
even an employer’s vehicle — is a separate offense. It can mean an
extended interlock period, additional fines, or a violation that resets
your compliance clock. If you have already racked up other interlock
violation penalties, this stacks on top.

The fix is straightforward. Do the paperwork before you drive. If you
already drove without it, talk to a lawyer or your monitoring authority
quickly — sometimes a late filing is treated more leniently than a
missed one, but only if you are upfront about it.

How the
Exemption Interacts With Your Personal Vehicle

This is the question that catches people off guard: the exemption
only covers the employer-owned vehicle. Your personal car, motorcycle,
or any vehicle you drive off the clock still needs the interlock
installed and functioning.

That means if you commute to work in your own car, then switch to the
company truck for your shift, then switch back at the end of the day,
your personal vehicle needs a device on it the entire time. The employer
exemption is not a license to skip the interlock for the rest of your
driving life — it is a narrow carve-out for work hours only.

If you do not own a personal vehicle and only drive an employer
vehicle for work, the question of whether you need an interlock at all
gets more complicated. There is a separate question about whether
you need an interlock if you do not own a car that is worth reading
if that is your situation.

Insurance: The Quiet Variable

Even when your state grants the exemption and your employer signs the
form, one more party gets a vote: the commercial auto insurer.

Many commercial auto policies have language that lets the insurer
refuse coverage for a driver with a DUI restriction, regardless of what
state law says. That is not a state-government decision, it is a
contract between your employer and their insurance carrier. If the
insurer refuses, your employer often has no practical way to let you
keep driving the company vehicle — even though the state would allow
it.

This is not something you can usually solve on your own. The employer
has to ask their commercial auto carrier in writing. The answer comes
back in writing too. If the insurer signs off, you are clear. If not,
you and your employer will need to talk about a temporary reassignment
until the restriction period ends.

It is worth asking your employer to make this call early. The worst
version of this story is filing the state exemption paperwork, getting
fully approved, driving for two weeks, and then having the insurer find
out and threaten to drop the policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does
the employer exemption mean I do not need an interlock at all?

No. The exemption only covers driving an employer-owned vehicle
during work hours. Your personal vehicle still needs a functioning
ignition interlock device installed. You still have to take the breath
test before driving your own car, keep up with calibration appointments,
and meet every other condition of your restricted license. The work
vehicle is the only exception.

Who
pays for the interlock if I qualify for the employer exemption?

You pay for the interlock on your personal vehicle, the same as any
other restricted driver. The employer exemption is about not having to
install a device on the work vehicle at all — there is no second device
to pay for. RGI offers transparent,
state-by-state pricing for the personal-vehicle install.

Can my
employer refuse to sign the exemption form?

Yes. The exemption is a state-allowed option, not a right you can
demand from an employer. An employer can decide they do not want the
liability or the insurance complication and decline to sign. If that
happens, your options are usually temporary reassignment to non-driving
duties or, in some cases, looking for a different role. Most employers
will sign once they understand the form does not create new liability
for them, but the choice is theirs.

What
if I drive a company vehicle for a side job or part-time work?

The exemption typically applies to the specific employer who signed
the form, in the specific vehicles they own. A second employer would
need to sign their own paperwork for their vehicles. If the side job
involves driving your personal vehicle, that vehicle still needs the
interlock — no exemption applies there.

Does
the exemption work if I have a commercial driver’s license (CDL)?

In almost every case, no. Federal alcohol and drug rules under 49 CFR
Part 382 generally disqualify CDL holders for at least one year after a
DUI conviction, and state employer exemptions do not override federal
commercial-driver rules. If your job requires a CDL, talk to a lawyer
about the disqualification process and your reinstatement timeline
before assuming the exemption is an option.

What about driving a
rental car for work?

Most state exemptions are written to cover vehicles the employer owns
or leases directly. A rental booked under your name, even for a work
trip, often does not qualify. If your role involves rentals, confirm in
writing with your monitoring authority before you assume you are
covered. Some states allow it; many do not.

Does my
employer have to tell anyone about my DUI?

That depends on your state and your industry. For CDL holders,
employers are typically required to report DUI-related disqualifications
to the federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. For standard licenses,
there is usually no mandatory employer reporting outside of the employer
notification form you file for the exemption itself. Your DUI is on your
driving record — your employer can confirm that through a motor vehicle
record check, but they do not have a general duty to report it
further.

What if I switch
jobs while on an interlock?

The old employer’s signed form does not cover a new employer’s
vehicles. If you change jobs and the new role involves driving a company
vehicle, you go through the same paperwork process with the new employer
— their signature, their vehicles, refiled with your monitoring
authority. Tell your monitoring authority about the change as soon as it
happens.

Can
I get pulled over and ticketed for driving the employer vehicle even
with the exemption?

You can get pulled over for unrelated reasons, and an officer running
your license will see the interlock restriction. That is why keeping a
copy of the signed employer notification in the vehicle matters. Most
officers, once they see the paperwork is in order, will let you
continue. Without the paperwork, you can be ticketed for driving without
the required interlock — even if the exemption technically applies.

Where do I get the exemption
form?

From your state’s DMV or motor vehicle agency, usually under
interlock or restricted-license services. Some states post the form
online; others require you to request it through your monitoring
authority. The fastest way to find it is to call your monitoring
authority directly and ask them which form your state uses.

What to Do Next

Start with your monitoring authority. They handle your specific case
and can tell you exactly which form your state requires, what timeline
to file it on, and whether your situation has any complications (high
BAC, repeat offense, CDL, public-safety job) that change the answer.
Bring the form to your employer second, after you know what to ask
for.

For the personal-vehicle side of the equation, RGI’s
transparent pricing covers the install, the device, and the monthly
service in one clear number — same-day installs are usually available,
and the first month is free. If you have questions about compliance,
paperwork, or how the Dräger Interlock 7000 works day to day, the RGI support hub has
detailed guides, or you can call 1-833-545-0368 and
talk to someone who handles employer-exemption setups regularly.