MVR (investigations and inquiries)

Scope

This regulation applies to drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce and the motor carriers of these drivers.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR 391.23 — Investigations and inquiries

Key definitions

• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): A self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway, in interstate commerce, that meets any one of the following criteria:
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight rating (GCWR), or gross vehicle weight (GVW) or gross combination weight (GCW), of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver), and not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
  • Is transporting hazardous materials of a type or quantity which requires placarding.

• Motor vehicle record (MVR): A report of the driving status and history of a driver. This report is generated from the driver record provided to users, such as drivers or employers.

Summary of requirements

Each motor carrier must make the following investigations and inquiries for all newly hired drivers:

• An inquiry into the driver’s motor vehicle record (MVR) during the preceding three years with each state in which the driver held a motor vehicle operator’s license or permit; and
• An investigation of the driver’s safety performance history with Department of Transportation (DOT)-regulated employers during the preceding three years.

MVR inquiry. A copy of the driver’s MVR(s) obtained in response to the motor carrier’s inquiry to each state must be placed in the driver’s qualification file within 30 days of the date that the driver’s employment begins. If no MVR exists from the state(s), the motor carrier must document a good faith effort to obtain this information and certify that no record exists for the driver in the state(s).

Safety performance history (SPH) investigation. The investigation may consist of personal interviews, telephone interviews, letters, or any other method of investigating that the motor carrier deems appropriate.

The motor carrier must make a written record with respect to each previous employer contacted, or good faith efforts to do so. The record must include the:

• Previous employer’s name and address;
• Date the previous employer was contacted or the attempts made; and
• Information received about the driver from the previous employer.

Replies to the investigations of a driver’s safety performance history or documentation of good faith efforts to obtain the information, must be placed in the driver investigation history file within 30 days of the date that the driver’s employment begins.

For a driver with no previous employment experience working for a DOT-regulated employer during the preceding three years, documentation that no investigation was possible must be placed in the driver history investigation file within 30 days of the date the driver’s employment begins.

The prospective employer must investigate (at a minimum) the following information from all previous employers:

• General driver identification and employment verification information; and
• Accident data for accidents the driver was involved in for the three-year period preceding the date of the employment application (includes accidents as defined in §390.5T and any other accident information the previous employer chooses to provide).

If, in a previous position, the driver performed a safety-sensitive function that required alcohol and drug testing as specified in Part 40, the prospective employer must also investigate the following information:

• Whether, within the previous three years, the driver had violated the alcohol and drug prohibitions of Part 40 or Part 382, Subchapter B; and
• Whether the driver failed to undertake or complete a rehabilitation program prescribed by a substance abuse professional (SAP) per Part 40 or Part 382 requirements. (This information may be obtained from the previous employer or, if the employer does not have this information, directly from the driver.)

If the driver has successfully completed a SAP’s rehabilitation referral, and remained in the employ of the referring employer, the prospective employer must investigate whether the driver had the following testing violations after completion of the SAP’s referral:

• Alcohol tests with a result of 0.04 or higher alcohol concentration;
• Verified positive drug tests;
• Refusals to be tested (including verified adulterated or substituted drug test results).

As of January 6, 2023, employers subject to §382.701(a) must use the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to comply with the requirements of this section with respect to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)-regulated employers.

If a driver is subject to follow-up testing and has not successfully completed all follow-up tests, the prospective employer must request the driver’s follow-up testing plan directly from the driver's previous employer in accordance with §40.25(b)(5).

If the driver was subject to an alcohol and controlled substance testing program under the requirements of a DOT mode other than FMCSA, the employer must request alcohol and controlled substances information directly from those employers regulated by a DOT mode other than FMCSA.

In order to obtain the driver’s alcohol and drug testing information, the prospective motor carrier must provide the driver’s written consent per §40.321(b). If the driver refuses to provide written consent, the prospective motor carrier may not allow the driver to operate a CMV.

If a driver refuses to grant consent for the prospective motor carrier employer to query the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the prospective motor carrier employer may not allow the driver to operate a CMV.

Failure to contact or report. Failure to contact a previous employer or failure by a previous employer to provide the required safety performance history information must be documented and maintained in the individual’s driver investigation history file.

A prospective employer should report the failure of a previous employer to respond to an investigation to FMCSA according to §386.12. A copy of the report should be maintained in the driver investigation file as part of the good faith effort to obtain the required information.

Proof of physical fitness. Before allowing a driver to operate a CMV, the motor carrier must:

• Get an original or a copy of the driver’s medical examiner’s certificate, including any medical variance on which the certificate is based (non-CDL driver);
• Obtain an MVR from the state in which the driver is currently licensed that includes information on the driver’s medical certificate (CDL driver);
• Verify that the driver was certified by a medical examiner listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners as of the date of the issuance of the driver’s medical examiner’s certificate; and
• Place the records in the driver’s qualification file.

• Non-excepted interstate
• Excepted interstate
• Non-excepted intrastate or
• Excepted intrastate.

As of May 21, 2014, through June 22, 2025, the motor carrier must verify and document in the driver’s qualification file that the driver was certified by a medical examiner listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners as of the date of the issuance of the driver’s medical examiner’s certificate.

As of January 30, 2015, through June 22, 2025, if the driver holds a CDL and has given the motor carrier a copy of the current medical examiner’s certificate that was submitted to the state, the motor carrier may use that certificate as proof of medical certification for up to 15 days.

If there is a conflict between the medical certification information provided electronically by FMCSA and the paper copy of the medical examiner’s certificate, the electronic certification is considered the correct document.

Previous employer responsibilities. A previous employer is required to respond to each request for safety-performance history information within 30 days of receiving the request.

If there’s no safety performance history to report for a driver, the previous employer must send a response confirming the nonexistence of such data, including the driver identification information and dates of employment.

The previous employer must take reasonable precautions to ensure the accuracy of the records and provide specific contact information in case the driver chooses to contact the previous employer regarding correction or rebuttal of data.

A record of each request and response, including the date, the party to whom the information was released, and a summary of what was provided must be retained for one year.

Release of information. The release of information may take any form that reasonably ensures confidentiality including letter, fax, or e-mail.

The previous employer and its agents and insurers must all take precautions to protect the driver safety performance history records from disclosure to any person not directly involved in forwarding the records.

Note: Alcohol and drug information may not be forwarded to an insurer.

Driver rights. The prospective employer must notify drivers with DOT-regulated employment during the past three years (via the employment application or other written documentation prior to any hiring decision) that the driver has the following rights regarding the investigative information that will be provided to the prospective employer:

• The right to review information provided by previous employers;
• The right to have errors in the information corrected by the previous employer and for that previous employer to resend the corrected information to the prospective employer; and
• The right to have a rebuttal statement attached to the alleged erroneous information, if the previous employer and the driver cannot agree on the accuracy of the information.

Drivers who have DOT-regulated employment history over the past three years and wish to review previous employer-provided investigative information must submit a written request to the prospective employer. This may be done at any time, including when applying, or as late as 30 days after being employed or notified of being denied employment.

The prospective employer must provide this information within five business days of receiving the written request. If the prospective employer has yet to receive the information from pervious employers, the five business days begin when the prospective employer receives the information.

If the driver doesn’t arrange to pick up the information within 30 days of its availability, the prospective employer may consider the driver to have waived therequest.

Correcting erroneous information. Driversr wishing to correct erroneous information in their safety performance history records must send the request for correction to the previous employer that provided the records to the prospective employer.

The previous employer must either correct and forward the information to the prospective motor carrier employer, or notify the driver within 15 days of receiving a driver’s request to correct the data that it does not agree to correct the data.

If the previous employer corrects and forwards the data as requested, that employer must also retain the corrected information as part of the driver’s safety performance history record and provide it to subsequent prospective employers when requests for this information are received. If the previous employer corrects the data and forwards it to the prospective motor carrier employer, there is no need to notify the driver.

To rebut information in records received, a driver must send the rebuttal to the previous employer with instructions to include the rebuttal in that driver’s safety performance history.

Within five business days of receiving a rebuttal from a driver, the previous employer must:

• Forward a copy of the rebuttal to the prospective motor carrier employer; and
• Append the rebuttal to the driver’s information in the carrier’s appropriate file, to be included as part of the response for any subsequent investigating prospective employers for the duration of the three-year data retention requirement.

The driver may submit a rebuttal initially without a request for correction, or subsequent to a request for correction.

The driver may report failures of previous employers to correct information or include the driver’s rebuttal as part of the safety performance information, to FMCSA following procedures specified in §386.12.

Use of information. The prospective motor carrier employer must only use the safety performance history information as part of the decision-making process when deciding whether to hire the driver.

The prospective motor carrier employer, its agents, and its insurers must take all precautions reasonably necessary to protect the records from disclosure to any person not directly involved in deciding whether to hire the driver.

The prospective motor carrier employer may not provide any alcohol or controlled substances information to the prospective motor carrier employer’s insurer.

Legal protections. No action or proceeding for defamation, invasion of privacy, or interference with a contract that is based on the furnishing or use of safety performance history information may be brought against:

• A motor carrier investigating the information of an individual under consideration for employment as a CMV driver;
• A person who has provided such information; or
• The agents or insurers of a motor carrier or person who provided the information, except insurers are not granted a limitation on liability for any alcohol and controlled substance information.

The protections listed above do not apply to persons who knowingly furnish false information, or who are not in compliance with the procedures specified for these investigations.