Trucking complianceRead at source, 24 September 2026

PSP Report: What the Pre-Employment Screening Program Shows, What It Costs, and How Carriers Use It

This is for carriers and bus companies screening CDL drivers. A PSP report is a driver’s five-year crash history and three-year roadside inspection history, pulled from FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System through the Pre-Employment Screening Program. Using it is voluntary and allowed only for pre-employment screening. You must first give the driver FMCSA’s mandatory stand-alone disclosure and get their signed authorization. A record costs $10, with volume discounts for carriers with more than 100 power units, plus a $25 or $100 annual subscription depending on fleet size. PSP does not replace the MVR, the previous-employer check or the Clearinghouse query.

What a PSP report is

PSP stands for Pre-Employment Screening Program. Congress required it in 2005, in the SAFETEA-LU highway bill, at 49 U.S.C. 31150, which tells the Secretary of Transportation to give “persons conducting preemployment screening services for the motor carrier industry” electronic access to crash reports and inspection reports in FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). FMCSA says it launched PSP in 2010 to give “trucking and bus companies secure, instant access to commercial drivers’ safety history records for pre-hire screening purposes” (FMCSA).

The report itself is a PDF. The PSP site describes it this way: “PSP records contain a commercial driver’s 5-year crash and 3-year inspection history. The PSP record does not contain a score.” NIC Federal, LLC, which the site calls “the exclusive agent for online access,” runs the service under contract to FMCSA.

Two limits written into the law

The statute sets two limits that shape how you use it. First, 31150(c): “Use of the process shall not be mandatory and may only be used during the preemployment assessment of an operator-applicant.” You may not pull PSP reports on current drivers for ongoing monitoring. Second, 31150(b) says no screening without “the operator-applicant’s written consent,” and that information must be released in line with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The PSP site puts it directly: “PSP is subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Privacy Act, and any other applicable Federal laws.”

What is on a PSP report, and what is not

Two details change how you read a report. The disclosure form says the PSP report “does not report, or assign, or imply fault,” so a crash on the report is not a finding that the driver caused it. And a clean inspection is useful information: inspections without violations appear too, so a driver with several clean inspections has evidence of safe operation, not just the absence of problems.

The data is refreshed from monthly MCMIS extracts, according to DOT’s privacy impact assessment, so a very recent crash or inspection may not show yet.

How to order a PSP report

1. Enroll as a monthly account holder

Carriers enroll on the PSP website, sign the Monthly Account Holder Enrollment Agreement, and set up payment. Under that agreement you certify you will use the information only for pre-employment screening and will follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Screening companies can enroll as Industry Service Providers and order on a carrier’s behalf, under the same consent rules.

2. Get the driver’s signed disclosure and authorization, on FMCSA’s form

This is the step PSP audits. The site says: “Prior to requesting a driver’s PSP record, a company must disclose to the driver the intent to request the driver’s PSP record and obtain the driver’s written authorization using the FMCSA mandated disclosure & authorization form.” It adds that the form “must be a stand-alone document, and may NOT be altered or appear on the same page as any other documents.” A valid form shows the driver’s name, the driver’s signature (electronic or handwritten), the FMCSA-required language, and a date on or before the date of the PSP request.

Do not fold PSP language into your general background check release. Use FMCSA’s form exactly as published. PSP says audits happen monthly and that failing to use the mandatory form “will result in penalties including warnings and suspension or termination from the PSP service.”

3. Request the record and certify consent

You need the driver’s license number and state. At the request, you certify “under penalty of perjury” that you disclosed and got authorization. The record comes back at once as a PDF and can be viewed for five days (120 hours) after purchase, so save it to the driver’s hiring file straight away. Keep the signed form with it.

PSP report cost

The fee table on the PSP enrollment page reads:

Billing is a monthly emailed invoice for records requested, and the subscription is charged once a year. The site notes that “quantity discounts are available for simultaneous record requests.” Drivers can buy their own record for $10, or get the same information free by filing a Privacy Act request with the Department of Transportation.

PSP report vs MVR vs Clearinghouse

Carriers often ask whether PSP can stand in for one of the required checks. It cannot. PSP is optional. The others are not.

PSP also does not replace the investigation of the driver’s safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers from the previous three years, required by 49 CFR 391.23(a)(2). The PSP crash list can help you check what a previous employer tells you, and the other way around. The details of each required check are on our MVR check, FMCSA Clearinghouse and driver qualification file checklist pages.

How to read a PSP report in a hiring decision

FMCSA’s program page cites its own 2013 study, which found that “carriers using PSP have, on average, decreased crash rates by 8 percent, and driver out-of-service (OOS) rates by 17 percent” (FMCSA). How much weight you put on any one item is your call. A few practical rules:

• Write your standard before you pull reports. Decide which items would disqualify, which need a conversation, and which you ignore, and apply that to every applicant for the same job.
• Look for patterns, not single events. One crash in five years where the driver was rear-ended reads differently from repeated driver-related out-of-service violations.
• Check the not-preventable notes. A crash FMCSA has found not preventable is marked on the record.
• Compare with what the driver told you. Ask about crashes and inspections in the interview. A report that matches the driver’s own account is a better sign than a report with surprises. Our truck driver interview questions include how to ask.
• Remember the time lag. MCMIS data is refreshed monthly, so pair PSP with the MVR and your previous-employer responses.

If you decide not to hire because of a PSP report

Because PSP is covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the adverse action rules apply. FMCSA’s disclosure form spells out both versions, and they match 15 U.S.C. 1681b(b)(3):

• If the driver applied in person, before any final adverse action you give the driver a copy of the report and a written summary of their FCRA rights. If you then take the adverse action, you tell the driver it was based in whole or in part on the report.
• If the driver applied only by mail, telephone, computer or similar means, you must, within three business days of taking the adverse action, notify the driver that it was based on FMCSA information; give FMCSA’s name, address and toll-free number; say FMCSA did not make the decision and cannot give the reasons; and say the driver may request a free copy and dispute its accuracy. If the driver then asks you for a copy, you send it with a summary of rights within three business days.

That second route is a special FCRA rule for positions regulated by the Secretary of Transportation, and it applies only when the driver’s contact with you so far has been entirely by mail, phone, computer or similar means. The full two-step process for other roles is on our adverse action notice page.

When a driver says the PSP report is wrong

You cannot fix it, and neither can the PSP contractor. The disclosure form says so and points drivers to DataQs, FMCSA’s system for challenging safety data. If the crash or inspection was reported by a state, FMCSA cannot change it; DataQs forwards the request to that state. Drivers can also sign up for free PSP monitoring and get an email when their record changes. If a driver shows you a DataQs challenge in progress, note it in your file and decide whether to wait for the outcome.

Common PSP mistakes

• Using your own background-check release in place of FMCSA’s mandatory form, or editing the form.
• Putting the PSP disclosure on the same page as other documents.
• Pulling PSP on current drivers. The statute limits it to pre-employment assessment.
• Letting the PDF expire after five days without saving it.
• Treating any crash as the driver’s fault.
• Rejecting a driver on the report without the FCRA adverse action steps.
• Treating PSP as a substitute for the MVR, the previous-employer check or the Clearinghouse query.

Related: CDL recruiting, DOT drug testing requirements, CDL driver job description, what a background check covers and hiring compliance.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: 49 U.S.C. 31150; PSP website (psp.fmcsa.dot.gov) fee table, account holder terms and FMCSA mandatory disclosure and authorization form; DOT privacy impact assessment for PSP; FMCSA PSP program page and Crash Preventability Determination Program FAQ; 49 CFR 391.23; 15 U.S.C. 1681b; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. General information, not legal advice. Read at source 24 September 2026.