MVR & State Driver Records
MVRs are the foundation of every Driver Qualification file. The Motor Vehicle Record is the state DMV transcript that determines whether a CDL driver is qualified under 49 CFR §391.15, and it is the first document FMCSA auditors examine when they open a DQ file.
A pre-employment MVR is required from every state where the driver held a license or permit during the prior three years. An annual MVR is required from every state where the driver currently holds (or held during the prior twelve months) a license. Both are signed and dated by the carrier's reviewer; the separate driver List of Violations (former §391.27) was removed from the rules in 2022, so the MVR is now the record the annual review rests on.
The MVR cluster below covers the full lifecycle: how to read each section line-by-line, how MVRs differ from CDLIS history files, how to apply the §391.15 disqualification analysis to convictions and administrative actions, and how to cross-walk MVR data into the PSP / clearinghouse pre-employment query workflow.
For most carriers the MVR is also the renewable annual signal: the §391.25 Annual Driver Review uses the prior 12 months of MVR to confirm continued qualification (the driver's written certification of violations under former §391.27 was removed in 2022 and is now optional). A clean MVR plus the carrier's signed review note closes out the file for another year.
Pricing-wise, a single-state MVR runs $40 in the MVR Basic package; the MVR + CDLIS bundle fills the multi-state gap by hitting every state where the driver has held a CDL since 1996 in one query.
Articles in this cluster
- How to Read an MVR: A Line-by-Line Guide for Motor Carriers
Decode every section of a Motor Vehicle Record - license status codes, class and endorsements, restrictions, accidents, citations, and suspensions.
MVR · 9 min read · Updated 2026-08-17
- How to Run an MVR Check on a Driver: The Employer's Step-by-Step
How employers run an MVR check: written consent, every state of licensure in three years, DMV vs screening service, turnaround, look-back, yearly re-pull.
MVR · 9 min read · Updated 2026-08-17
- CDLIS vs MVR: Why a Single-State Record Is Not Enough
A Motor Vehicle Record only shows what one state knows. CDLIS is the federal database of every CDL ever issued. Here is what each report catches.
CDLIS · 7 min read · Updated 2026-06-12
- MVR Comes Back With a Violation: A Decision Tree
A step-by-step framework for evaluating violations on a Motor Vehicle Record against the FMCSA disqualification criteria in 49 CFR §391.15 and §383.51.
Compliance · 8 min read · Updated 2026-08-20