Quick Answer
A driver qualification (DQ) file is the record FMCSA requires a motor carrier to keep on every CDL or CMV driver under 49 CFR 391.51. It must hold the signed employment application, a 3-year MVR from each licensing authority, a road test certificate or accepted CDL, proof of medical certification, and each annual MVR with a dated review note. Keep it during employment plus 3 years.
Key Takeaways
- Every motor carrier must keep a DQ file for every driver it employs, including an owner-operator who is the only driver (391.51(a)).
- The pre-hire MVR must cover the driver's prior 3 years from every licensing authority and be in the file within 30 days of the start date.
- At least once every 12 months you must pull a new MVR, review it, and file a note with the reviewer's name and the date.
- The annual "list of violations" drivers used to sign (old 391.27) was eliminated in March 2022. There is nothing to collect for it now.
- Keep the file while the driver works for you and for 3 years after. Annual MVRs, review notes, and medical records can be removed 3 years after the date they were created.
- Electronic DQ files and e-signatures are allowed under 49 CFR 390.32 if the records can be reproduced on request.
“A driver qualification file holds the driver's signed application, a 3-year MVR from every licensing authority, a road test certificate or accepted CDL, medical certification, and each annual MVR plus a dated review note. Keep it while the driver works for you and 3 years after; annual items can be purged after 3 years.”
What is a driver qualification file?
A DQ file is your proof that a driver was qualified before driving for you and stayed qualified. Auditors check it during safety audits and compliance reviews.
It may be combined with the personnel file. Previous-employer responses go in a separate, access-controlled driver investigation history file under 391.53.
Paper or digital both work. Section 390.32 allows electronic records and signatures if they can be accurately reproduced when an investigator asks and include proof of the driver's consent to electronic records.
What goes in a driver qualification file?
This is the 391.51(b) checklist plus the related hiring records.
Item | When | Regulation | How long to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
Signed employment application | Before the first trip | 391.21 | Employment + 3 years |
MVR from every licensing authority, prior 3 years | Within 30 days of start date | 391.23(a)(1), (b) | Employment + 3 years |
Road test form and certificate, or copy of accepted CDL / road test certificate | Before the first trip | 391.31, 391.33 | Employment + 3 years |
Medical certification: CDLIS MVR (CDL holders) or medical examiner's certificate copy (non-CDL) | Before the first trip, then at each renewal | 391.23(m), 391.43, 391.51(b)(6) | 3 years from date created |
National Registry verification note (non-CDL drivers) | Before the first trip | 391.23(m)(1), 391.51(b)(8) | 3 years from date created |
Medical variance or Skill Performance Evaluation certificate, if any | With the medical certification | 391.49, 391.51(b)(7) | 3 years from date created |
Annual MVR from each licensing authority | At least every 12 months | 391.25(a) | 3 years from date created |
Annual review note (reviewer name and date) | At least every 12 months | 391.25(b), (c)(2) | 3 years from date created |
Previous-employer safety history and drug/alcohol consent (separate investigation file) | Within 30 days of start date | 391.23(c), 391.53 | Employment + 3 years |
Clearinghouse pre-employment full query, then annual query | Before the first trip, then yearly | 382.701 | 3 years (kept for you if your Clearinghouse registration is valid) |
What are the DQ file requirements when you hire a driver?
Some items must be done before the first trip; others have a 30-day window. Work in this order:
- Application and rights notice. Have the driver complete the application, and tell them in writing that previous employers will be contacted and that they can review, correct, and rebut what comes back (391.21(d), 391.23(i)).
- Clearinghouse full query and pre-employment drug test. No safety-sensitive work until the full query is done (382.701(a)) and you have a verified negative result (382.301). See our Clearinghouse guide.
- Medical certification. For CDL holders, pull the CDLIS MVR from the current licensing state and confirm medical status and self-certified operation type. For non-CDL drivers, file the certificate and verify the examiner on the National Registry. See DOT physical and medical card.
- Road test or equivalent. Give the 391.31 road test, or accept a valid CDL for the vehicle type, or a road test certificate from the past 3 years (391.33). A CDL doesn't cover doubles/triples or tank work.
- 3-year MVR. Request it from every licensing authority where the driver held a license in the past 3 years, within 30 days of the start date. Document your effort if a state doesn't respond.
- Previous employers. Request 3 years of safety performance history from every DOT-regulated employer and file replies or documented attempts within 30 days.
- Calendar reminders for the annual MVR, review, and medical card expiration.
Finishing steps 5 and 6 before dispatch is safer. A bad MVR found on day 20 still means you dispatched a driver you shouldn't have.
What must the driver application include?
Section 391.21 requires a signed application with:
- Name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and addresses for the past 3 years
- Each unexpired license or permit, and driving experience by equipment type
- Accidents and violation convictions in the past 3 years, plus any license suspension or revocation
- Employers for the past 3 years with dates, reason for leaving, and whether the job was FMCSR-covered and drug-tested
- For CDL drivers, CMV employers for the 7 years before that (10 years total)
- The certification statement and signature
How has the drug and alcohol history check changed?
Since January 6, 2023, the Clearinghouse query covers the drug and alcohol history from FMCSA-regulated employers (382.413). You still ask employers directly for a follow-up testing plan the driver hasn't finished, or for history under another DOT agency's program.
How do MVR reports work for CDL drivers?
You pull MVRs at two points. At hire, 391.23(a)(1) requires an MVR covering the prior 3 years from every licensing authority where the driver held a license. A driver who moved from Ohio to Texas last year needs both states' records.
After that, 391.25(a) requires a new MVR at least once every 12 months from each authority where the driver held a CMV license during that period.
For CDL holders, the MVR does a second job. Since June 23, 2025, medical examiners no longer issue CDL and CLP drivers a paper certificate; the result goes electronically to the state's CDLIS record. That CDLIS MVR is the medical document in the file (391.51(b)(6)(ii)), and if it conflicts with a paper card, the electronic record controls.
What is the annual review of driving record?
Once every 12 months, you look at each driver's new MVR and decide whether they still meet minimum safe-driving standards or are disqualified under 391.15. You must weigh the accident record and violations, giving "great weight" to speeding, reckless driving, and impaired driving.
File a note with the reviewer's name and the review date. A one-line signed form works.
Two related annual points:
- Clearinghouse annual query. Run a limited or full query on every tested driver at least yearly. If a limited query shows a record, run a full query within 24 hours or pull the driver.
- No annual list of violations. Older checklists still list a driver-signed "annual certification of violations." FMCSA removed it (former 391.27) in a March 2022 final rule.
How long do you keep driver qualification files?
Keep the whole DQ file for as long as the driver works for you and for 3 years after (391.51(c)). If a driver leaves on March 1, 2026, you keep that file until March 1, 2029.
Some items can be removed 3 years after the date they were created, even while the driver still works for you (391.51(d)):
- Annual MVRs
- Annual review notes
- Medical examiner's certificates, or CDLIS MVRs used as medical proof
- Medical variances and Skill Performance Evaluation certificates
- National Registry verification notes
The application, pre-hire MVR, road test certificate, and previous-employer histories (391.53(c)) stay for the full period.
Do owner-operators need a DQ file on themselves?
Yes, if you run under your own authority. You are both carrier and driver, and FMCSA's Motor Carrier Safety Planner says owner-operators need an application like any other driver.
- Road test. A driver who is the motor carrier must be tested by someone else (391.31(b)). Many owner-operators instead file a copy of their CDL as the 391.33 equivalent.
- Annual review. Pull your own MVR every 12 months and write the note.
- Drug and alcohol. A one-driver carrier must be in a random testing pool of two or more drivers (382.103), which means joining a consortium.
If you're leased on to another carrier, that carrier keeps the DQ file on you.
About ELDT: drivers getting a first Class A or B CDL since February 7, 2022 had to train with a Training Provider Registry provider (380.609), and the state checks this before the skills test. Part 391 doesn't list an ELDT certificate as a DQ item. See Class A vs Class B CDL.
What happens if your DQ files are incomplete?
Missing paperwork shows up as recordkeeping violations. Some failures are worse. In the new entrant safety audit, a single instance of any of these is an automatic failure under 49 CFR 385.321:
- Knowingly using a disqualified driver (391.15(a))
- Knowingly using a physically unqualified driver (391.11(b)(4))
- Knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL (383.23(a))
- Using a driver who refused a required drug or alcohol test, or who is known to have tested positive (382.211, 382.215)
A complete DQ file is how you prove none happened. Civil penalties are in 49 CFR part 386, Appendix B.
Educational content, not legal advice. Confirm requirements against current FMCSA regulations and your state's rules.
FAQ
What is a DQ file?
The record a motor carrier keeps to prove each driver is qualified under 49 CFR Part 391: application, MVRs, road test or CDL copy, medical certification, and annual review notes.
How often do you need to pull an MVR on a CDL driver?
At hire, covering 3 years from every licensing authority, then at least every 12 months with a documented review.
How long do you keep driver qualification files?
For the length of employment plus 3 years. Annual MVRs, review notes, and medical records can be removed 3 years after the date they were created.
Can driver qualification files be electronic?
Yes. 49 CFR 390.32 allows electronic records and signatures if they can be accurately reproduced on request.
Is the annual certification of violations still required?
No. FMCSA eliminated the driver's annual list of violations (former 391.27) in a March 2022 final rule. The annual MVR and review note replace it.
Can a driver start before the MVR comes back?
The pre-hire MVR and previous-employer histories have a 30-day window. The application, Clearinghouse query, drug test, medical certification, and road test or equivalent come before the first trip.
