06 / HIRING AND DRIVER QUALIFICATION FILES
Hiring and driver qualification files
Hiring inquiries, annual reviews and file retention are separate tasks. Track each deadline and supporting record instead of dispatching after collecting only a license.
Hiring inquiries, annual reviews and file retention are separate tasks. Track each deadline and supporting record instead of dispatching after collecting only a license.
For carrier driver-qualification files covered by federal Part 391, subject to Subpart G and other applicable exceptions. This topic covers qualification files; drug-testing records and Clearinghouse duties are addressed separately.
Start with these requirements
The carrier must obtain a completed, signed employment application before assigning driving
- What the rule requires
- Unless an exception applies, obtain the driver’s completed and signed employment application with the information required by this section before using the driver. A general résumé may omit required fields.
(a) (a) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, a person shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless he/she has completed and furnished the motor carrier that employs him/her with an application for employment that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) (b) The application for employment shall be made on a form furnished by the motor carrier. Each application form must be completed by the applicant, must be signed by him/her, and must contain the following information:
Uses a fixed source edition; check the original and statutory history for operative dates and exceptions.
Complete the required hiring inquiries within 30 days
- What the rule requires
- The carrier must investigate the preceding three years of state driving records and the required prior-employer safety performance. Put the required driving records in the qualification file within 30 days of employment, and keep prior-employer responses or good-faith inquiry attempts in the driver investigation history file within the required period. Do not treat these as one ordinary personnel file; preserve the driver’s review and correction rights.
(a)(1) (1) An inquiry, within 30 days of the date the driver's employment begins, to each driver's licensing authority where the driver held or holds a motor vehicle operator's license or permit during the preceding 3 years, to obtain that driver's motor vehicle record covering that driver's prior 3-year driving history.
(a)(2) (2) An investigation of the driver's safety performance history with Department of Transportation regulated employers during the preceding three years.
(b) (b) A copy of the motor vehicle record(s) obtained in response to the inquiry or inquiries to each driver's licensing authority required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section must be placed in the driver qualification file within 30 days of the date the driver's employment begins and be retained in compliance with § 391.51. If no motor vehicle record is received from a driver's licensing authority required to submit this response, the motor carrier must document a good faith effort to obtain such information. The inquiry to a driver's licensing authority must be made in the form and manner each authority prescribes.
(c)(1) (c)(1) Replies to the investigations of the driver's safety performance history required by paragraph (a)(2) of this section, or documentation of good faith efforts to obtain the investigation data, must be placed in the driver investigation history file, after October 29, 2004, within 30 days of the date the driver's employment begins. Any period of time required to exercise the driver's due process rights to review the information received, request a previous employer to correct or include a rebuttal, is separate and apart from this 30-day requirement to document investigation of the driver safety performance history data.
Uses a fixed source edition; check the original and statutory history for operative dates and exceptions.
The carrier must obtain driving records and review driver qualification at least every 12 months
- What the rule requires
- Subject to applicable exceptions, obtain the relevant state driving records and review continued safe-driving qualifications at least every 12 months. Keep the record and the reviewer/date notation; downloading an MVR alone does not complete the review.
(a) (a) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, each motor carrier shall, at least once every 12 months, make an inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record of each driver it employs, covering at least the preceding 12 months, to each driver's licensing authority where the driver held a commercial motor vehicle operator's license or permit during the time period.
(b) (b) Except as provided in subpart G of this part, each motor carrier shall, at least once every 12 months, review the motor vehicle record of each driver it employs to determine whether that driver meets minimum requirements for safe driving or is disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle pursuant to § 391.15.
(c)(1) (c)(1) A copy of the motor vehicle record required by paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained in the driver's qualification file.
(c)(2) (2) A note, including the name of the person who performed the review of the driving record required by paragraph (b) of this section and the date of such review, shall be maintained in the driver's qualification file.
Uses a fixed source edition; check the original and statutory history for operative dates and exceptions.
Retain the file beyond the last day of employment
- What the rule requires
- Generally retain the qualification file throughout employment and for three years afterward. Certain periodically renewed items may be removed three years after execution under §391.51(d); that does not authorize deleting the entire file after three years.
(a) (a) Each motor carrier shall maintain a driver qualification file for each driver it employs. A driver's qualification file may be combined with his/her personnel file.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, each driver's qualification file shall be retained for as long as a driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter.
(d) The following records may be removed from a driver's qualification file three years after the date of execution:
Uses a fixed source edition; check the original and statutory history for operative dates and exceptions.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Schedule the follow-up work when a driver is hired
Illustrative scenario: a small carrier has a new driver’s application and license and needs to organize the remaining work.
Build a checklist, not a photo pile
List the applicable application, driving record, prior-employer inquiry, road test or permitted equivalent, and medical qualification items, with separate completion states.
Set hiring and annual dates
Schedule the 30-day inquiry/file deadline and subsequent 12-month record and qualification reviews; retain genuine unsuccessful inquiry attempts.
Documents received, inquiries completed and qualification reviewed are different states.
Common mistakes in day-to-day work
“No reply means no record is needed”
The rule permits documentation of specified good-faith inquiry attempts; it does not permit skipping the inquiry or its record.
Full text and sources
REGULATION TEXT · ENGLISH
§ 391.21 Application for employment.
§ 391.21 Application for employment.
- Source edition date
- 2026-10-08
- Captured
Edition noteOfficial-source snapshot; current consolidated law and subsequent amendments have not been verified.
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REGULATION TEXT · ENGLISH
§ 391.23 Investigation and inquiries.
§ 391.23 Investigation and inquiries.
- Source edition date
- 2026-10-08
- Captured
Edition noteOfficial-source snapshot; current consolidated law and subsequent amendments have not been verified.
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REGULATION TEXT · ENGLISH
§ 391.25 Annual inquiry and review of driving record.
§ 391.25 Annual inquiry and review of driving record.
- Source edition date
- 2026-10-08
- Captured
Edition noteOfficial-source snapshot; current consolidated law and subsequent amendments have not been verified.
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REGULATION TEXT · ENGLISH
§ 391.51 General requirements for driver qualification files.
§ 391.51 General requirements for driver qualification files.
- Source edition date
- 2026-10-08
- Captured
Edition noteOfficial-source snapshot; current consolidated law and subsequent amendments have not been verified.
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Drafted from linked official texts and agency guidance. Both language interpretations are CTAC AI-assisted drafts pending human review; examples are illustrative, not member records. Capture dates are not legal effective dates.