Federal rules require every carrier to keep a file proving each driver is qualified to drive a commercial vehicle. The file has a specific list of contents, each item has a moment it must be added, and each has a retention period. The file applies to every driver including the owner, if the owner drives. In a new entrant audit or a compliance review, an incomplete driver qualification file is one of the most common findings, and several of the missing items are ones that cause an automatic failure. Here is what has to be in there.
At hiring
- Driver's employment application, on a form that asks for the specific history the regulations require: addresses, employers, driving experience, accidents and violations for the required look-back periods.
- Motor vehicle record from every state where the driver held a license in the past three years, requested within thirty days of hire.
- Previous employer safety performance inquiries covering the past three years, including drug and alcohol testing history, sent within thirty days and with the responses kept in the file.
- Road test certificate, or a copy of the CDL accepted in place of a road test.
- Medical examiner's certificate, and verification that the examiner is listed on the national registry.
- For CDL drivers, a pre-employment Clearinghouse full query, completed before the driver operates, with the record kept.
- A pre-employment drug test result, negative, before the first drive.
Every year
At least once every twelve months, pull a new motor vehicle record for each driver and review it. The review is a written note, signed and dated, stating that the record was examined and whether the driver still meets the minimum requirements. Both the record and the note go in the file. A Clearinghouse limited query is also required at least annually for every CDL driver, with the driver's consent on file.
When something changes
A new medical certificate replaces the old one whenever the driver is re-examined. A driver who receives a violation must notify you within thirty days, and that notice goes in the file. If a driver's license is suspended or revoked, they must tell you the next business day, and the driver comes off the road until it is resolved.
The owner who drives needs a file too, and it is the one most often missing. Fill out your own application, pull your own record, and put your own medical card in a folder with your name on it. Auditors ask.
How long to keep it
- 01The file as a whole: for the entire time the driver works for you and for three years after they leave.
- 02Medical certificates and the annual record reviews: three years from the date each was placed in the file, so older ones can be purged as newer ones arrive.
- 03Drug and alcohol testing records are kept separately, in a confidential file, with their own retention periods.
- 04The Clearinghouse query records: three years.
Frequently asked questions
Can the file be electronic?
Yes, as long as every document is retrievable, readable and producible on request. A folder of scanned PDFs organized by driver works. A pile of photos on a phone does not.
My driver came from another carrier. Can I use their file?
No. You build your own from the date of hire. What you can do is send the previous carrier the required safety performance inquiry and keep their response.
A previous employer will not respond to my inquiry. Am I out of compliance?
Not if you can show you tried. Keep a record of each attempt, the dates and the method. A documented good-faith effort satisfies the rule even when the answer never comes.
We build these files
Driver qualification files, MCS-150 updates and audit preparation are all part of our DOT compliance service. Call (432) 257-7547 or come by 700 C Andrews Hwy in Midland. English and Spanish.
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