Attachment C - 49 CFR § 391.51 titled, “General requirements for driver qualification files.”

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, DOT

Subpart F—Files and Records

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§ 391.51 General
requirements
driver qualification files.

for

(a) Each motor carrier shall maintain
a driver qualification file for each driver it employs. A driver’s qualification
file may be combined with his/her personnel file.
(b) The qualification file for a driver
must include:
(1) The driver’s application for employment completed in accordance
with § 391.21;
(2) A copy of the motor vehicle record
received from each State record pursuant to § 391.23(a)(1);
(3) The certificate of driver’s road
test issued to the driver pursuant to
§ 391.31(e), or a copy of the license or
certificate which the motor carrier accepted as equivalent to the driver’s
road test pursuant to § 391.33;
(4) The motor vehicle record received
from each State driver licensing agency to the annual driver record inquiry
required by § 391.25(a);
(5) A note relating to the annual review of the driver’s driving record as
required by § 391.25(c)(2);
(6) A list or certificate relating to
violations of motor vehicle laws and
ordinances required by § 391.27;
(7)(i) The medical examiner’s certificate as required by § 391.43(g) or a legible copy of the certificate.
(ii) Exception. For CDL holders, if the
CDLIS motor vehicle record contains
medical certification status information, the motor carrier employer must
meet this requirement by obtaining the
CDLIS motor vehicle record defined at
§ 384.105 of this chapter. That record
must be obtained from the current licensing State and placed in the driver
qualification file. After January 30,
2015, a non-excepted, interstate CDL
holder without medical certification
status information on the CDLIS
motor vehicle record is designated
‘‘not-certified’’ to operate a CMV in
interstate commerce. After January 30,
2015, and through June 21, 2021, a motor
carrier may use a copy of the driver’s
current medical examiner’s certificate
that was submitted to the State for up
to 15 days from the date it was issued
as proof of medical certification.

§ 391.51

(iii) If that driver obtained the medical certification based on having obtained a medical variance from
FMCSA, the motor carrier must also
include a copy of the medical variance
documentation in the driver qualification
file
in
accordance
with
§ 391.51(b)(8);
(8) A Skill Performance Evaluation
Certificate obtained from a Field Administrator, Division Administrator,
or State Director issued in accordance
with § 391.49; or the Medical Exemption
document, issued by a Federal medical
program in accordance with part 381 of
this chapter; and
(9)(i) For drivers not required to have
a CDL, a note relating to verification
of medical examiner listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical
Examiners required by § 391.23(m)(1).
(ii) Through June 21, 2021, for drivers
required to have a CDL, a note relating
to verification of medical examiner
listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners required by
§ 391.23(m)(2).
(c) Except as provided in paragraph
(d) of this section, each driver’s qualification file shall be retained for as
long as a driver is employed by that
motor carrier and for three years
thereafter.
(d) The following records may be removed from a driver’s qualification file
three years after the date of execution:
(1) The motor vehicle record received
from each State driver licensing agency to the annual driver record inquiry
required by § 391.25(a);
(2) The note relating to the annual
review of the driver’s driving record as
required by § 391.25(c)(2);
(3) The list or certificate relating to
violations of motor vehicle laws and
ordinances required by § 391.27;
(4) The medical examiner’s certificate required by § 391.43(g), a legible
copy of the certificate, or for CDL drivers any CDLIS MVR obtained as required by § 391.51(b)(7)(ii);
(5) Any medical variance issued by
FMCSA, including a Skill Performance
Evaluation Certificate issued in accordance with § 391.49; or the Medical
Exemption letter issued by a Federal
medical program in accordance with
part 381 of this chapter; and

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§ 391.53

49 CFR Ch. III (10–1–19 Edition)

(6) The note relating to verification
of medical examiner listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical
Examiners required by § 391.23(m).
(Approved by the Office of Management and
Budget under control number 2126–004)
[63 FR 33277, June 18, 1998, as amended at 69
FR 16721, Mar. 30, 2004; 73 FR 73127, Dec. 1,
2008; 75 FR 28502, May 21, 2010; 77 FR 24133,
Apr. 20, 2012; 79 FR 2380, Jan. 14, 2014; 80 FR
22822, Apr. 23, 2015; 83 FR 28782, June 21, 2018;
84 FR 51434, Sept. 30, 2019]

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§ 391.53 Driver
file.

investigation

history

(a) Each motor carrier must maintain records relating to the investigation into the safety performance history of a new or prospective driver pursuant to § 391.23(d) and (e). This file
must be maintained in a secure location with controlled access.
(1) The motor carrier must ensure
that access to this data is limited to
those who are involved in the hiring
decision or who control access to the
data. In addition, the motor carrier’s
insurer may have access to the data,
except the alcohol and controlled substances data.
(2) This data must only be used for
the hiring decision.
(b) The file must include:
(1) A copy of the driver’s written authorization for the motor carrier to
seek information about a driver’s alcohol and controlled substances history
as required under § 391.23(f)(1).
(2) A copy of the response(s) received
for investigations required by paragraphs (d) and (e) of § 391.23 from each
previous employer, or documentation
of good faith efforts to contact them.
The record must include the previous
employer’s name and address, the date
the previous employer was contacted,
and the information received about the
driver from the previous employer.
Failures to contact a previous employer, or of them to provide the required safety performance history information, must be documented.
(c) The safety performance histories
received from previous employers for a
driver who is hired must be retained
for as long as the driver is employed by
that motor carrier and for three years
thereafter.

(d) A motor carrier must make all
records and information in this file
available to an authorized representative or special agent of the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
an authorized State or local enforcement agency representative, or an authorized third party, upon request or as
part of any inquiry within the time period specified by the requesting representative.
(Approved by the Office of Management and
Budget under control number 2126–004)
[69 FR 16721, Mar. 30, 2004, as amended at 84
FR 51434, Sept. 30, 2019]

§ 391.55 LCV Driver-Instructor qualification files.
(a) Each motor carrier must maintain a qualification file for each LCV
driver-instructor it employs or uses.
The LCV driver-instructor qualification file may be combined with his/her
personnel file.
(b) The LCV driver-instructor qualification file must include the information in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of
this section for a skills instructor or
the information in paragraph (b)(1) of
this section for a classroom instructor,
as follows:
(1) Evidence that the instructor has
met the requirements of 49 CFR 380.301
or 380.303;
(2) A copy of the individual’s currently valid CDL with the appropriate
endorsements.
[69 FR 16738, Mar. 30, 2004; 69 FR 28846, May
19, 2004; 83 FR 16227, Apr. 16, 2018]

Subpart G—Limited Exemptions
§ 391.61 Drivers who were regularly
employed before January 1, 1971.
The provisions of § 391.21 (relating to
applications for employment), § 391.23
(relating to investigations and inquiries), and § 391.33 (relating to road tests)
do not apply to a driver who has been
a single-employer driver (as defined in
§ 390.5 of this subchapter) of a motor
carrier for a continuous period which
began before January 1, 1971, as long as
he/she continues to be a single-employer driver of that motor carrier.
[63 FR 33278, June 18, 1998]

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