Pre-employment application and motor vehicle records
What the signed employment application must include under 49 CFR 391.21 and when to request and file each state MVR under 391.23.
- Published
- Published 2026-10-20
- Reading time
- 4 min read
Before a driver operates a commercial motor vehicle for you, federal rules require a completed application on your form and motor vehicle records from each licensing state (49 CFR 391.21, 391.23(a)(1)).
Short answer
Use your own application form, have the driver complete and sign it, and collect three years of addresses, licenses, experience, accidents, convictions, and employer history. Within 30 days of the start date, request a three-year driving history from every state that licensed the driver in the past three years, file each record in the qualification file within those 30 days, and document good-faith efforts when a state sends nothing. DQid stores submissions and review status; your team decides whether the file is complete.
Application contents carriers collect
Use the carrier’s form
49 CFR 391.21(b)The application must be on a form you furnish, completed by the applicant and signed. It includes identity, three years of addresses, each unexpired CDL or permit, driving experience, three years of accidents and convictions (other than parking-only), license denials or suspensions, and employer history.
Add the CDL employer lookback
49 CFR 391.21(b)(11)For drivers who need a CDL under Part 383, the form also lists employers for the seven years before the three-year block in paragraph (b)(10).
Notify before hiring
49 CFR 391.21(d)Before the application is submitted, tell the applicant that previous employers may be contacted for safety performance history and provide the written due-process notice required by § 391.23(i).
Request state MVRs
49 CFR 391.23(a)(1), (b)Within 30 days of the start date, obtain each required motor vehicle record and place copies in the driver qualification file within those 30 days.
When a state sends no record
If a licensing authority does not respond, document the good-faith effort you made to obtain the record. That documentation belongs in the qualification file with the other hire records.
Example in DQid
The employment application and each MVR can sit on one digital file with Not submitted, Under review, or Compliant status as your team records each item.
- Not submitted
- Under review
- Compliant
DQid organizes records and dates; it does not decide whether a driver meets qualification requirements.
Sources
- 49 CFR 391.21 — Application for employment (eCFR text reviewed 2026-10-20)
- 49 CFR 391.23 — Investigation and inquiries (eCFR text reviewed 2026-10-20)
- 49 CFR 391.51 — Driver qualification files (eCFR text reviewed 2026-10-20)
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