Employer guideRead at source, 3 September 2026
Driver Qualification File Checklist: Every 49 CFR 391 Document, Deadline and Retention Period
The driver qualification file is not a folder of whatever seems relevant. 49 CFR 391.51(b) lists eight things, and three of the most commonly published rules about them changed on 22 and 23 June 2025. Two more items that almost every checklist puts in the DQF do not belong there at all: the previous-employer safety history goes in a separate file under 391.53, kept in a secure location with controlled access, and the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse query is a part 382 obligation, not a part 391 one. The whole file is kept for as long as the driver is employed and three years afterwards, except five items that may come out three years after execution. Every rule below was read in the eCFR text of 49 CFR parts 391 and 382 on 3 September 2026.
The eight items 391.51(b) actually requires
Read the subsection literally and the list is shorter than most checklists suggest, because several familiar documents live in other files or other parts. Here is what the regulation names, with the deadline and the retention rule for each.
| Item | Regulation | When | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application for employment | 391.51(b)(1), 391.21 | At application | Employment plus 3 years |
| MVR from each licensing authority at hire | 391.51(b)(2), 391.23(a)(1) | Inquiry and filing within 30 days of the date employment begins, covering the prior 3-year history from every state the driver was licensed in | Employment plus 3 years |
| Road test certificate, or an accepted equivalent | 391.51(b)(3), 391.31(e), 391.33 | Before driving. A valid CDL may be accepted instead, but not for double or triple trailer or tank endorsements; or a road test certificate issued within the preceding 3 years | Employment plus 3 years |
| MVR from the annual inquiry | 391.51(b)(4), 391.25(a) | At least once every 12 months, covering at least the preceding 12 months | May be removed 3 years after execution |
| Note of the annual review | 391.51(b)(5), 391.25(c)(2) | At least once every 12 months. The note must carry the name of the person who did the review and the date | May be removed 3 years after execution |
| Medical examiner certificate, or the CDLIS record | 391.51(b)(6), 391.43(g) | Before the driver operates a CMV. For CDL holders this is the CDLIS motor vehicle record from the current licensing state, not a paper copy | May be removed 3 years after execution |
| Skill performance evaluation or medical exemption | 391.51(b)(7), 391.49 | Where the certification rests on a variance | May be removed 3 years after execution |
| National Registry verification note | 391.51(b)(8), 391.23(m) | Non-CDL drivers only. For CDL drivers this requirement ran through 22 June 2025 | May be removed 3 years after execution |
| Previous-employer safety history | 391.53, not 391.51 | Within 30 days of the date employment begins, in a separate secure file | Employment plus 3 years |
| Clearinghouse pre-employment query | 382.701(a), not part 391 | A full query before the driver performs a safety-sensitive function | Per part 382 |
Three things that changed in June 2025
A great deal of currently published DQF guidance describes rules that expired last summer. All three sit in the same place, the shift of medical certification onto the electronic driver record.
- The National Registry verification note is no longer a CDL requirement. Section 391.51(b)(8)(ii) requires it “through June 22, 2025” for drivers required to have a CDL. It remains in force for non-CDL drivers under 391.23(m)(1), which still requires the certificate, any variance, and verification that the examiner was on the National Registry on the date of issue, all in the file before the driver operates a CMV.
- The fifteen-day paper certificate no longer works for CDL drivers. Section 391.23(m)(2)(iii) allowed a copy of the certificate submitted to the state to serve as proof for up to fifteen days, through 22 June 2025. What 391.23(m)(2) requires now, before the driver operates a CMV, is the CDLIS motor vehicle record from the current licensing state, verified for the driver self-certified type of operation and, where the driver certified interstate operation, for a valid certificate and any variances.
- A new trigger for re-examination. Section 391.45(h) adds, on or after 23 June 2025, any person found by a medical examiner not to be physically qualified under 391.43(g)(3). That sits alongside the standing triggers: never certified, not certified in the preceding 24 months, and any driver whose ability to perform normal duties has been impaired by injury or disease.
The two files people merge, and the third they forget
391.53 creates a driver investigation history file that is not the DQF. It holds the driver written authorisation to seek alcohol and controlled substances history and the responses from every previous employer, or documented good-faith efforts. The regulation requires it to be maintained in a secure location with controlled access, limited to people involved in the hiring decision, and says the data must only be used for the hiring decision. Your insurer may see it, except the alcohol and controlled substances data. Filing that material in the general DQF, which a roadside auditor or a supervisor may open, is a control failure whatever else is in order. And the Clearinghouse query is neither file: it is part 382, with its own records and its own annual cycle.
| Point in the hire | What has to happen | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| At application | The employment application in the form 391.21 prescribes, and the written authorisation to seek alcohol and controlled substances history | 391.21, 391.23(f)(1) |
| Before any safety-sensitive work | A full Clearinghouse query, which requires the driver specific consent | 382.701(a) |
| Before the driver operates a CMV | Medical certification in the file. Non-CDL: certificate, any variance, National Registry verification. CDL: the CDLIS record verified for self-certified operation type and, for interstate, a valid certificate | 391.23(m)(1), (m)(2) |
| Before the driver drives | Road test certificate, or a legible copy of the CDL or certificate accepted as equivalent. Doubles, triples and tank need an actual road test | 391.31(e), 391.33 |
| Within 30 days of the start date | MVR inquiry to every state the driver was licensed in over three years, and the record filed. No reply means documenting a good-faith effort | 391.23(a)(1), (b) |
| Within 30 days of the start date | Safety performance history investigation of every DOT-regulated employer of the previous three years, filed under 391.53. No prior DOT employment means documenting that no investigation was possible | 391.23(c)(1), (c)(4), (d), (e) |
| For 30 days after any query | The agency notifies the employer if new Clearinghouse information is entered about that driver | 382.701(c) |
| Every 12 months | MVR inquiry, review against 391.15, a note naming the reviewer and the date, and a Clearinghouse query | 391.25, 382.701(b) |
| Every 24 months | Medical examination and certification, or every 12 months for the exempt intracity, insulin and vision-alternative cases | 391.45(b), (c), (e), (f) |
What this driver file must contain
Retention: one rule, and five exceptions
Under 391.51(c) the qualification file is retained for as long as the driver is employed by that carrier and for three years afterwards. The separate investigation history file carries the same rule under 391.53(c). The exception at 391.51(d) is what lets a file stay a manageable size: five items may be removed three years after the date of execution, while the driver is still employed. They are the annual MVR, the annual review note, the medical certificate or CDLIS record, any medical variance or skill performance evaluation certificate, and the National Registry verification note.
Build the renewal calendar
The file is built during recruiting, and only two items come from the candidate
Here is where this becomes a recruiting question rather than a filing one. Of the ten items in the first table, exactly one originates with the candidate: the employment application. Add the written authorisation to seek alcohol and controlled substances history, required by 391.23(f)(1) and filed under 391.53, and the candidate supplies two documents in the whole process. Everything else arrives from somebody else on somebody else timetable — the licensing state, the medical examiner, the previous employers, the Clearinghouse, and a truck with an examiner in it.
That matters because of what a driver advertisement can realistically collect. A social instant form can capture licence class, endorsements held, the states the driver has been licensed in over three years, years of experience and consent to be contacted. It cannot capture a medical certificate, an MVR, a Clearinghouse result or a road test, and no amount of form-lengthening will change that, because those documents do not exist on the driver phone. Asking for them at the application stage does not accelerate the file. It just costs completions, in the role family that already has the lowest completion rate we measure: CDL campaigns run an 8 percent apply rate against a $26.86 median cost per applicant in our 2026 benchmark, against 31 percent for caregivers.
The sequence that works is the one our CDL recruiting page sets out: three questions on the form, a call within the hour, and the compliance sequence run after the conditional offer. The posting itself is on the CDL driver job description page, the testing rules that sit alongside the Clearinghouse are on drug testing laws by state, and what a screening check can and cannot legally return is on what is a background check.
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a driver qualification file?
Section 391.51(b) lists eight items: the employment application, the motor vehicle record obtained at hire, a road test certificate or accepted equivalent, the annual motor vehicle record, a note of the annual review, the medical examiner certificate or for CDL holders the CDLIS record, any skill performance evaluation or medical exemption, and for non CDL drivers a National Registry verification note. The previous employer safety history is not in this file. It goes in a separate file under 391.53.
How long do you keep a driver qualification file?
Under 391.51(c), for as long as the driver is employed by that carrier and for three years after. Five items may be pulled out earlier: under 391.51(d) the annual motor vehicle record, the annual review note, the medical certificate or CDLIS record, any medical variance or skill performance evaluation certificate, and the National Registry note may all be removed three years after the date of execution.
Is a DQF required for non CDL drivers?
Yes, if the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle. Under 49 CFR 390.5 that includes any vehicle used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater, as well as certain passenger vehicles and placarded hazardous materials loads. Part 391 also sets a requirement specifically for drivers not required to have a CDL at 391.51(b)(8)(i), which would make no sense if the file were a CDL only obligation.
Can a driver qualification file be electronic?
Yes. Section 390.31 says that records required under this subchapter must be kept for the specified periods and that, except as otherwise provided, copies which are legible and accurately reflect the required information may be kept instead of originals. Watch the exceptions: 391.51(b)(3) calls for the original of the written statement in the vision alternative case at 391.44(d)(3)(ii)(A), and 391.53 requires the investigation file to be held in a secure location with controlled access.
Do I need a road test if the driver has a CDL?
Usually not. Section 391.33 lets a carrier accept a valid CDL in place of a road test, provided the state issued it after a road test in the type of vehicle you intend to assign. There is an express carve out: the CDL equivalence does not extend to double or triple trailer or tank vehicle endorsements. A road test certificate issued within the preceding three years also works, and 391.33(c) lets you require a road test anyway as a condition of employment.
Who can do the annual review of driving record?
The regulation does not name a job title. What 391.25(c)(2) requires is a note in the file including the name of the person who performed the review and the date it was done. Section 391.25(b) sets what the review has to consider: whether the driver meets minimum requirements for safe driving or is disqualified under 391.15, any evidence of violations of the federal safety or hazardous materials regulations, and the accident record, giving great weight to speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence.
Is the PSP report part of the driver qualification file?
No. The Pre Employment Screening Program is a voluntary service that sells a driver crash and inspection history, and it appears nowhere in the list at 391.51(b). It is not the same thing as the safety performance history investigation, which is mandatory under 391.23(d) and (e), goes in the separate file under 391.53, and has to reach every Department of Transportation regulated employer of the previous three years within thirty days of the start date.
What are the penalties for an incomplete file?
Civil penalties for federal motor carrier safety violations are set under 49 CFR part 386 and are adjusted for inflation each year, so we are not going to quote a dollar figure we have not read at source today. The practical exposure is broader than the fine. Driver qualification records are a standard part of a compliance review, an unqualified driver on the road is a separate violation, and the investigation history file carries its own access controls whose breach is a problem in its own right.
Hiring drivers?
The file gets built after the offer, not on the application form. We put the ad where drivers actually are, keep the form to three questions, and tell you what each applicant cost.
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