Do I need driver consent to pull an MVR?
Yes. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 USC §2721) requires a permissible purpose plus, for almost every motor-carrier pre-employment use, written driver consent on file before the MVR is pulled. The Fair Credit Reporting Act adds a separate disclosure-and-authorization requirement for any consumer-report use including pre-employment screening.
The DPPA limits access to state DMV records to specifically enumerated permissible purposes. "Use by an employer or its agent or insurer to obtain or verify information relating to a holder of a commercial driver's license" is one permissible purpose; routine pre-employment screening for a CDL driver fits there.
Most states layer their own DMV-access law on top of the DPPA, and most require a signed driver authorization for the MVR to be released. The signature lets the DMV (and the screening agent) prove a permissible purpose if the driver later complains.
The FCRA adds a parallel requirement. When the MVR is bundled with PSP, CDLIS, or any third-party "consumer report," the carrier must give the driver a clear and conspicuous standalone disclosure that a consumer report will be used for employment, plus written authorization to obtain it (15 USC §1681b(b)(2)). Most carriers consolidate the DPPA + FCRA + PSP + Clearinghouse consent into a single intake form.
After the report is pulled, the FCRA pre-adverse-action and adverse-action notices apply if the carrier intends to refuse hire based on anything in the report. Sample-consent and adverse-action templates are bundled with the FastDriverScreening DQ File package at checkout.