MLG DEPARTS WITHOUT RECEIVING PREDEP CLRNC.

Narrative

THE FIRST LEG OF OUR TRIP -- ARRIVED AT ACFT AND BEGAN NORMAL PREFLT DUTIES. THE ACARS WAS INITIALIZED WITH ALL THE NECESSARY FLT INFO; FLT NUMBER; TIME ENRTE; FUEL; ETC. ATIS INFO WAS RECEIVED AND A PRE-DEP CLRNC WAS REQUESTED THROUGH USE OF THE ACARS. AT DEP TIME; GATE PUSHBACK AND TAXI CLRNCS WERE RECEIVED FROM GND CTL. WE TAXIED TO THE RWY WHILE ACCOMPLISHING ALL APPROPRIATE CHKLISTS AND WERE QUICKLY ISSUED TKOF CLRNC. AIRBORNE; TWR INSTRUCTED US TO CONTACT DEP CTL. AT THAT TIME; IT BECAME APPARENT THAT I HAD NOT RECEIVED THE PRE-DEP CLRNC THAT HAD BEEN REQUESTED BACK BEFORE DEP FROM THE GATE. THERE WE WERE -- AIRBORNE WITHOUT A RTE CLRNC! MY NORMAL ROUTINE IS TO COPY INITIAL ALT; SQUAWK CODE; DEP FREQ; ETC; ONTO MY SCRATCH SHEET AND I HAD NONE OF THIS INFO. IMMEDIATELY (ABOUT 200 FT OFF THE DEP END OF THE RWY) I AGAIN REQUESTED THE ACARS FOR OUR RTE CLRNC AND IT CAME WITHIN 5-10 SECONDS. THE PROPER XPONDER CODE WAS DIALED IN AND WE CONTACTED DEP CTL. NO MENTION BY ANY OF THE ATC CTLRS (GND; TWR; OR DEP CTL) WAS MADE ABOUT OUR RTE CLRNC AT ANY TIME. OUR ASSUMPTION WAS THAT THEY WERE UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE HAD RECEIVED THE CLRNC (ATC) AT THE GATE BEFORE TAXI CLRNC WAS RECEIVED AND PASSED OUR 'STRIP' ALONG TO EACH SUCCESSIVE CTLR. IN OTHER WORDS; FROM ATC'S STANDPOINT; WE HAD RECEIVED OUR RTE CLRNC. THIS SIT MAY POINT TO A LACK OF VERIFICATION THAT COULD OCCUR UNDER PRESENT PRE-DEP CLRNC PROC AT ARPTS SUCH AS DCA WHICH USE PRE-DEP CLRNC. AT LGA THE PRE-DEP CLRNC PROC REQUIRES A FLT TO CONTACT CLRNC DELIVERY TO VERIFY THE SQUAWK CODE; THEREBY ENSURING THAT BEFORE A RTE CLRNC STRIP IS PASSED TO THE GND CTLR; IT HAS BEEN RECEIVED BY THE FLC. PERHAPS THIS VERIFICATION PROC COULD BECOME STANDARD AT ALL PRE-DEP CLRNC CAPABLE ARPTS SO THAT A TAXI OR TKOF CLRNC IS NEVER ISSUED WITHOUT FIRST HAVING BEEN ISSUED A RTE CLRNC.