If an existing employee transfers into a regulated driving position, do we need to create new hire documents?

Yes. Even though the driver is not new to the company, he or she is new to the regulated position. A driver-specific application is needed, using the current date as a point of reference. The driver would not use the original hire date to base their responses on the driver application. In fact, your motor carrier must be listed under the former employers within the previous three years.

To communicate to the FMCSA that this employee was in a non-regulated position previously, it is important that the driver list:

• Their other job title with you,
• The original hire date to present, and
• The reason for leaving as “transferring to a driving position.”

The driver would check “no” to being subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Part 40 testing.

Without this clarification, it could appear to the FMCSA that the employee was operating a commercial motor vehicle without a complete driver qualification file, and you are just now creating one after the fact.