No. 49 CFR § 382.603 says it in one sentence: “Recurrent training for supervisory personnel is not required.” The initial 120 minutes satisfies the federal requirement, and there is no annual, biennial, or three-year federal refresh cycle.
49 CFR § 382.603 — Training for supervisors
Each employer shall ensure that all persons designated to supervise drivers receive at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and receive at least an additional 60 minutes of training on controlled substances use. The training will be used by the supervisors to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to require a driver to undergo testing under § 382.307. The training shall include the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances. Recurrent training for supervisory personnel is not required.
“Annual reasonable suspicion training” is one of the most widely repeated errors in DOT compliance, and it is easy to see how it took hold. It sits right next to obligations that genuinely do recur — the annual Clearinghouse query under § 382.701(b) is required every year, and that one is a real deadline. Annual refreshers are also a common company policy and are often sold on a yearly cycle, which makes the requirement feel yearly too. The supervisor training itself is not.
Not on a clock, but on a change. Train a supervisor who has never been trained — a new hire, a promotion, or anyone newly designated to supervise drivers. The requirement attaches to the person, not the calendar, so a supervisor trained at a previous employer does not automatically need retraining, though many carriers retrain to hold their own documentation.
Nothing prevents you from retraining periodically, and there are sound reasons to: turnover, documentation you control, and the fact that a supervisor who trained once in 2015 may not remember what to look for. Just keep the distinction clear in your own records — it is company policy, not a federal obligation. And if you are ever told a refresher is federally required, § 382.603 is the section to check.
One-time, two hours, self-paced. Meets 49 CFR § 382.603.
Learn more →The federal rule at 49 CFR § 382.603 does not. Some states impose additional requirements on intrastate operations, and some insurers or customers require refreshers by contract. Verify with your state agency rather than assuming the federal answer applies.
Not as a matter of the training requirement itself, provided the training met § 382.603. However, 49 CFR § 382.401 requires the employer to retain documentation of supervisor training, so you need a copy of the certificate for your own records.
120 minutes total: at least 60 minutes on alcohol misuse plus at least an additional 60 minutes on controlled substances use.
Regulatory text on this page was verified against the current eCFR on August 31, 2026. This is general compliance information, not legal advice. Questions? Call (888) 869-0898.