• Some drivers may be exempt from FMCSRs.
• Motor carriers are responsible for compliance, including temporary or driver-leasing agency drivers.

Certain drivers and/or operations may be exempt from all or portions of the driver qualification rules in Part 391, in addition to those who are exempt from all Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The exemption may be based on:

• The type of vehicle being operated,
• The type of transportation being performed,
• The period of employment,
• The frequency of driving, or
• Other special circumstances.

Major exceptions

Section 390.3 describes the types of operations that are exempt from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs):

• All school bus operations (home to school or school to home), as defined in 390.5;
• Transportation performed by the federal, state, or local government (but not including contractors doing work for the government);
• The occasional transportation of personal property by individuals when there is no compensation involved and the transportation is not business-related;
• The transportation of human corpses or sick and injured people;
• The operation of fire trucks and rescue vehicles while involved in emergency and related operations;
• The operation of commercial motor vehicles designed to transport between 9 and 15 passengers (including the driver), not for direct compensation (though, these operations are not completely exempt from the FMCSRs); and
• Drivers of vehicles used to respond to a pipeline emergency or used primarily to transport propane winter heating fuel, but only if the regulations prevent the driver from responding to an emergency situation requiring immediate response.
  • Under 390.38, drivers of pipeline welding trucks are also exempt from driver qualification requirements.

Refer to 390.5 for important definitions of many of the terms used above.

Drivers hired before January 1, 1971

A complete driver qualification (DQ) file is not needed for any currently employed driver who has been continuously employed as a driver since before January 1, 1971. Documents not specifically required are:

• Driver’s application for employment (391.21);
• Initial driving record/motor vehicle report (MVR) from driver licensing authority or authorities obtained at the time of hire (391.23);
• Previous employer information obtained on driver-applicants as required prior to October 29, 2004 (391.23); and
• Road test form and certificate (391.31(g)), or license or certification accepted in lieu of a road test (391.33).

Are temporary agency (temp) drivers exempt?

All Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)-regulated motor carriers must be aware of their responsibility when using temp drivers. A temp agency, or staffing service, can assist the motor carrier in creating, and even storing, contents of the DQ file for drivers as the carrier’s agent. However, the carrier remains responsible to qualify the driver and create the DQ file for any driver from a temp agency, including having the carrier’s name on the DOT application and other documents as required by the FMCSRs in Part 391 for any driver operating the carrier’s CMVs.

NOTE: A carrier may not use the temp agency’s personnel file or DQ file created at the time the driver originally went to work for the temp agency.

If a driver is part of many motor carriers’ safety programs, especially if this type of employment occurred over a three-year period, the carrier is responsible for contacting all DOT-regulated former employers who used the temp driver during those three years.

For additional information on DOT drug and alcohol testing when using a driver from a staffing service, see DOT drug and alcohol testing.

What is the multiple-employer exception?

A multiple-employer driver is a driver who, in any period of seven consecutive days, is employed or used as a driver by more than one motor carrier. The regulations have two possible DQ file recordkeeping options for drivers who qualify.

A DQ file for a driver working for multiple carriers and employed under the rules in 391.63 must include:

• Medical exam certificate (original or copy (391.43(h)) or driving record showing medical qualification status (when required), as well as documentation or any variances;
• Road test form and certificate (391.31 (g)), or license or certificate accepted in lieu of road test (391.33);
• Driver’s name and Social Security number; and
• Identification number, type, and issuing licensing authority of the motor vehicle operator’s license.

When a driver is furnished by another carrier, meaning the driver has a single (primary) employer, the secondary employer may use the exception in 391.65.

Under the terms of 391.65, the secondary employer does not have to create a DQ file if the primary employer certifies that the driver is fully qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in a written statement as prescribed in 391.65(a)(2)(vii).

The certificate is no longer valid if the driver leaves the employment of the motor carrier which issued the certificate or is no longer qualified under the rules in Part 391.