Hiring your first driver

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This page is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. It covers the main federal rules for an interstate carrier hiring a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). State rules, intrastate operations and special cases (hazmat, passengers, drivers under 21) can add requirements. Check the regulation itself or ask a compliance professional before you hire.

Under 49 CFR 391.11, a carrier may not let anyone drive a CMV unless that person is qualified. In short, the driver must:

• Be at least 21 years old (for interstate driving).
• Read and speak English well enough to talk with the public, understand road signs, answer officials and fill out reports.
• Be able to safely operate the type of CMV you'll assign, through experience or training.
• Be physically qualified, with a current medical certificate.
• Hold one valid CMV license, from only one state.
• Not be disqualified under 391.15.
• Have passed your road test, or given you a license or certificate you accept as equivalent.

Step 1: The application

The driver fills out and signs your application form before driving (49 CFR 391.21). The form must ask for at least:

• Your company's name and address, and the driver's name, address, date of birth and Social Security number.
• Every address where the driver lived in the last 3 years.
• Each unexpired CMV license or permit: state, number and expiration date.
• Driving experience and the types of equipment driven.
• All crashes in the last 3 years, with date, nature and any injuries or deaths.
• All traffic convictions in the last 3 years (other than parking).
• Any license denial, suspension or revocation, or a statement that there's been none.
• Employers in the last 3 years, with dates, reason for leaving, and whether the job was subject to the FMCSRs and DOT drug and alcohol testing.
• For CDL drivers, CMV driving jobs in the 7 years before those 3 years.
• The driver's signed certification that everything on the form is true and complete.

Before the driver applies, you must tell them that their past employers will be contacted about their safety history, and give them written notice of their rights to review and correct that information.

Step 2: MVRs and past-employer checks

49 CFR 391.23 requires two investigations for each new driver:

• Keep a written record of each employer you contacted: name, address, date and what they said, or your attempts if they didn't answer.
• Past employers must answer within 30 days, even if there's nothing to report.
• Since January 6, 2023, the drug and alcohol part of this check for FMCSA-regulated past employers is done through the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (391.23(e)(4)).
• If the driver had no DOT-regulated job in the last 3 years, document that no investigation was possible.
• Only people involved in the hiring decision may see the investigation file. Your insurer may see it too, except the drug and alcohol information.

Step 3: Drug test, Clearinghouse and consortium

These rules (49 CFR Part 382) apply to drivers who need a CDL. Do all of this before the driver does any safety-sensitive work, which includes driving and other on-duty tasks.

• Pre-employment drug test (382.301). You must have a verified negative result from the medical review officer (MRO) or your C/TPA before the driver starts. There's a narrow exception for a driver who was in a compliant testing program in the last 30 days and was tested recently or was in a random pool for the past 12 months, with no known violations, and you must get and keep records proving it. A pre-employment alcohol test is optional, but if you do it, you must test every new driver.
• Pre-employment Clearinghouse query (382.701(a)). Run a full query of the driver's record before hiring. It needs the driver's specific consent, given electronically in the Clearinghouse. The driver doesn't have to register for the Clearinghouse in general, but must register to give consent for a full query, including every pre-employment query.
• Annual query (382.701(b)). Query every driver at least once a year. A limited query is enough if the driver signed a consent for it. If the limited query shows there's information on file, you must run a full query within 24 hours or take the driver off safety-sensitive work.
• Prohibited drivers. If a query shows a violation (such as a verified positive test, an alcohol result of 0.04 or higher, or a refusal) and the driver hasn't finished the return-to-duty process, the driver can't do safety-sensitive work for you.
• Keep records. Keep a record of each query and the results for 3 years.

Consortium (C/TPA). A consortium/third-party administrator is a service agent that runs testing services for employers, such as a combined random testing pool. An owner-operator who is the only driver must be in a random pool with at least two people (382.103), which in practice means joining a consortium. FMCSA sets the minimum random testing rates. See the drug and alcohol checklist.

Step 4: Build the DQ file

49 CFR 391.51 lists what the driver qualification file must hold:

• Retention: keep the DQ file for as long as the driver works for you and 3 years after.
• Road test: the road test covers the pre-trip inspection, coupling and uncoupling if you run combinations, controls and emergency equipment, driving in traffic, turning, braking and backing, in the type of truck you'll assign. If you are the driver-owner giving the test, someone else must give it to you. A valid CDL for that vehicle type (without double/triple or tank endorsements) can be accepted instead, and you may still require a road test.
• Medical: drivers must be medically certified at least every 24 months, or sooner in the cases listed in 391.45.
• The DQ file can be combined with the driver's personnel file. Keep the safety history replies separate.

Use the DQ file checklist to build it.

Every year after: MVR and review

Under 49 CFR 391.25, at least once every 12 months you must:

• Get an MVR covering at least the last 12 months from each state where the driver held a CMV license or permit during that time.
• Review it to decide whether the driver still meets the minimum requirements for safe driving or is disqualified. Consider any FMCSR or hazmat violations, the driver's crash record and traffic violations, and give great weight to speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence.
• Put the MVR and a note with the reviewer's name and date in the DQ file.

Also run the annual Clearinghouse query. Putting both on the same calendar date for each driver makes them hard to miss.

Employee or independent contractor?

This is a tax and labor question, and it's separate from the DOT rules above. The IRS says you must look at the whole relationship under its common-law rules. Evidence of control and independence falls into three groups:

• Behavioral: do you control, or have the right to control, what the driver does and how the job is done? Detailed instructions and training point toward an employee.
• Financial: do you control the business side of the job, such as how the driver is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed and who provides the truck and supplies?
• Type of relationship: is there a written contract, are there employee-type benefits, will the relationship continue, and is the work a key part of your regular business?

No single factor decides it, and there's no magic number. Generally, you withhold income tax and pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes on an employee's wages, but not on payments to independent contractors. If you want the IRS to decide for a specific worker, you can file Form SS-8. Get a tax professional's help before you set up driver pay, and see the trucking tax basics guide for the owner-operator side.

Workers' compensation for private-sector workers is handled by state workers' compensation programs. The U.S. Department of Labor's federal programs cover federal workers and a few special groups. Check with your state's workers' compensation agency about what applies to you.

Insurance and getting on the road

• Call your insurance agent before the driver's first trip. Ask whether the driver must be approved or listed on your policy, what driving record and experience the insurer accepts, and whether adding the driver changes your premium. Get the answer in writing.
• Set up the driver's ELD account with the driver's own login. See the ELD checklist.
• Check the calendar: medical certificate expiration, annual MVR and review, annual Clearinghouse query.
• Keep files ready for a safety audit or investigation. See the new entrant safety audit checklist.

Fleetorica is a dispatch service. Once your driver is qualified, we find and book loads for the truck. If you want help finding drivers, see our driver hiring support.

Questions carriers ask