📘 FMCSA Record of Violations

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS:

Annual Certificate of Violations is no longer required.
Driver Applicants will need to provide prospective carriers a list of all CDL licenses held over the past 3 years, including those issued by U.S. states and foreign authorities (ie. Canada, Mexico, etc.)
Carriers must make inquiries to all states and/or foreign authorities to obtain and review the drivers' driving records and will have to make similar inquires annually.

FMCSA amended its regulations to eliminate the requirement that drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce prepare and submit a list of their convictions for traffic violations to their employers annually. This requirement is largely duplicative of a separate rule that requires each motor carrier to make an annual inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record (MVR) for each driver it employs from every State in which the driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit in the past year.

To ensure motor carriers are aware of traffic convictions for a driver who is licensed by a foreign authority rather than by a State, the Agency amends the rule to provide that motor carriers must make an annual inquiry to each driver’s licensing authority where a driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit.

Section 391.25 requires each motor carrier to make an annual inquiry to obtain the MVR for each driver it employs from every State in which the driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit in the past year. The motor carrier must review the MVR obtained and maintain a copy of it in the driver’s qualification file. Section 391.25 applies to all motor carriers, domestic and foreign, but is limited to inquiries for drivers licensed by a State.

To ensure motor carriers are aware of traffic convictions for a driver who is licensed by a foreign authority rather than by a State, FMCSA amends § 391.25(a) to require motor carriers to inquire annually of each driver’s licensing authority where a driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit. This change requires motor carriers to request MVRs from Canadian and Mexican driver’s licensing authorities.

To maintain consistency within part 391 with respect to requests for MVRs, FMCSA makes conforming changes to the hiring process. The Agency amends § 391.23 (Investigation and inquiries) to require a motor carrier to make an inquiry to each driver’s licensing authority where the driver holds or has held a motor vehicle operator’s license or permit during the preceding 3 years to obtain the driver’s MVR when a motor carrier is hiring a driver.

FMCSA changes § 391.21 (Application for Employment) to require each driver to provide on the employment application the issuing driver’s licensing authority of each unexpired CMV operator’s license or permit that has been issued to the driver