DQ File Checklist

Updated March 2024

Contents
Applications 1
Pre-Hire Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) 2
Previous Employment Verification 2
Road Test 3
Commercial Driver's License (CDL) 3
Medical Card/Medical Examiner's Certificate 4
Annual MVR 4
Certificate of Violations/Annual Review 5
Other Record Types 6
Rehired Drivers 6
Non-DQ Items 6
COVID-19 Extension Waiver 7
Applications

□ Driver’s name, date and signature

□ Name and address of the Employing Motor Carrier
□ Driver’s date of birth and SSN (SSN not needed if religious practices indicated)
□ 3 years of residence history without gaps
□ 3 years of previous employment plus up to an additional 7 years (total of 10) if the
driver worked in a safety sensitive position
□ Each employer includes:

□ Company name
□ Address
□ Supervisor
□ Contact information
□ Reason for leaving

□ Any gaps in the employment history greater than 30 days need to be explained

□ Current license information for each active license:

□ Issuing state
□ Number
□ Expiration on each unexpired commercial license
□ Driver must note if any license was suspended, revoked, or forfeited within the
past 3 years

□ Driving experience and type of equipment driven

□ 3 year driving history of violations and suspensions
□ Hours worked last eight days before hire

1
Pre-Hire Motor Vehicle Report (MVR)

□ Report covers most recent 3 year period (in every state that driver held a license in
the past 3 year period)
□ Report order date is within 30 days of a driver’s official date of hire

□ If a driver is not hired within that period of time, you must run a new MVR before
the driver is permitted to drive

□ Confirm your Compliance Management System provides a time stamp for when a
company employee reviews the results

Previous Employment Verification

Up untill recently, the FMCSA required employers to make previous employer inquiries
on dates of employment, safety performance history, and drug and alcohol history.
But starting January 6, 2023, as an employer, you are no longer required to make drug
and alcohol inquiries to previous employers directly. Instead, you’ll obtain drug and
alcohol history by running a pre-employment full query through the Drug and Alcohol
Clearinghouse .
Any safety sensitive positions a driver has held over the past 3 years must be verified. If
you’re not sure if a driver’s previous employment was a safety-sensitive position or not,
always err on the side of caution.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

□ Obtain authorization from the applicant allowing the former employer to release
information to you.
□ Document the dates of employment for each safety-sensitive position

□ Document a “good faith” effort for each previous employer

□ Document accident history, as defined by 49 CFR 390.5T, for each safety sensitive
position and include date, location, # injuries, # fatalities, and any Hazmat related spills
if possible, for each accident

□ Document “good faith” efforts to reach each previous employer. “Good faith” is
subjective, so our best practice is three separate phone calls and a follow-up email/fax
for written documentation. Document the evidence in your Applicant Tracking System.

□ Reporting employers must sign and date the PEV request and send it back within 30
days of receiving.
□ Complete documented efforts within 30 days of the date of hire

2
Road Test

□ If the road test is successfully completed, the person who gave it shall complete
a certificate of driver’s road test that is signed and dated by the driver and trainer
completing the road test

□ A copy of a current and valid CDL can be used in lieu of the Road Test

□ Review your company’s policy and your state’s individual rules regarding road
testing-they may be more demanding than the DOT. Many states, for example,
require occasional road tests to track driver skill over time.

□ If your company runs their own initial road tests, or a driver has a road test conducted at
a third party site (not the BMV) you must retain this documentation in the DQ folder.

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)

□ Non-expired CDL with proper endorsements and class

□ Scan both sides of a CDL (if your state has endorsements or restrictions on the back)

□ Drivers may only have one valid CDL at a time (unless they are granted a special
exemption from the DOT, which you need to keep in the DQ folder as well)

□ It is a good practice to retain the original CDL of a driver in the DQ folder for as long as
the driver is employed with your company

□ Non-CDL drivers should also have their valid (not expired) state driver’s license on file
with appropriate endorsements if applicable

3
Medical Card/Medical Examiner’s Certificate

□ Complete DOT approved physicals no less than every two years and more frequently if
a physician deems it necessary .

□ The physician must completely fill out and sign a Medical Examiner’s Certificate
(commonly known as a Med Card). No fields can be left blank.

□ The doctor conducting the physical must be in the National Registry and can be
searched with the registry number on the med card. Some states have restrictions such
as not allowing chiropractors to qualify, even if they are in the registry.
□ The driver must sign and complete the bottom section of the Med Card.

□ The accompanying physical documentation (long form) as well as exemptions and

waivers must be stored in a driver’s separate Medical folder unless state law dictates
otherwise.

□ Add to your checklist state’s laws for any special waivers.

□ Non-CDL drivers must still have physicals conducted if they are interstate drivers (i.e.
they cross state lines) .

□ Drivers who drive in excepted interstate/intrastate are not required to have DOT
physicals conducted. You must still have a waiver in their DQ file stating this.

Annual MVR

□ MVRs should be run at least once a year starting on day 365 after the hire date.

□ MVR should contain all recent driver history and up-to-date medical information for that
driver .

□ MVR should contain the correct self-certification for the driver. Consult the full DOT
descriptions for each of the four categories of drivers if you aren’t sure how certain
drivers should self-certify with the state licensing agency

4
Certificate of Violations

Prior to May 9, 2022, at least once every 12 months, drivers were to submit a list of all
convicted violations of motor vehicle traffic laws and ordinances during the previous 12
months . Click here for more information on this rule change .

Carriers were to review this and compare it with the driver’s annual MVR, typically during the
drivers Annual Review.
As of May 9, 2022, the requirement is now eliminated.
Motor carriers must retain all COV’s obtained before May 9, 2022, in the DQ File for 36
months from the document date.

Annual Review

□ The Annual Review is held at least every 12 months between both the driver and
manager. The manager is to review the MVR to determine whether the driver still meets
the minimum requirements for safe driving, and to confirm they are not disqualified
pursuant to 49 CFR 391 .15 .

□ Ideally, a new Annual MVR should be completed the same day as the Annual Review.
Prior to May 9, 2022, a driver supplied Certificate of Violation was also used to
complete the Annual Review.

□ Managers must sign and date the Annual Review document on the same day.

□ The Annual Review should list all of the violations (regardless of vehicle type or
ownership) a driver had in the past year that are on the MVR. It should also include out-
of-state violations reported by the driver.

□ If a driver had no violations, this must be indicated on the form. Most DOT-approved
forms have a box to check for no violations.

5
Disclosure and Authorization Forms

□ The DOT requires drivers to receive a document that lists all of the inquiries that will be
made. This must be signed and dated and in the file.
□ Inquiries fall under the four major categories of employment history (both previous
employment for safety sensitive purposes and also for character and work experience),
personal history (residence verification, credit/financial history and Social Security
verification), criminal background check and driving history.
□ These forms may be combined into one document or be several separate documents.
However, each one must be signed and dated by the driver and must be separate from
the application .

Other Record Types

There are several other records you will or may have to collect during a driver’s hiring
process. Some of these, such as the criminal background check, typically are stored in
separate paperwork from the Driver Qualification folder in a distinct HR folder of kind.
These kinds of documents, as well as training documents, may often be kept in the DQ
folder if you wish. Others, such as drug and alcohol test results, must be kept separate in
their own specific folder per DOT rules for privacy and legal reasons. Consult both the
DOT regulations and your state’s regulations regarding some of these specific records in
order to make the best decisions regarding how to organize these other record types.

Rehired Drivers

Rehired drivers (who have left the company for more than 30 days) must have a new
and separate DQ Folder created upon their return to your company. This requires new
documentation for all pre-hire records. You may use a valid CDL in lieu of a road test and
an old previous employment verification for a required previous safety sensitive position if
that PEV was successfully conducted. Drivers who left the company for more than 30 days
must undergo a new drug test.

6
Non-DQ Items

In addition to these necessary items for your driver qualification files, you will also want to
have the following critical items accounted for:
□ An up-to-date copy of FMCSA inspections for all commercial vehicles
regulations in operation and 90 days of post-trip
inspection reports for any vehicles with
□ MCS 90 form with your current liability issues or defects
insurance
□ A current DOT security plan
□ Drug and alcohol testing paperwork,
including your company policy and □ Drug and alcohol training materials and
testing procedures, all driver pre- policies with a signed driver receipt for
employment test results, and an up-to- them (from before hire)
date summary of the past calendar year
of random tests □ A current and up-to-date accident file

□ 6 Months of all driver logs □ Documented policies for hiring,

discipline, and removal/reinstatement
□ Complete maintenance records, of unqualified drivers from service
including 14+ months of annual

7
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