# How to Handle a Failed Pre-Employment Screening (PSP, MVR, or CDLIS)

Canonical: https://www.fastdriverscreening.com/guides/how-to-handle-a-failed-pre-employment-screening
Category: Hiring
Published: 2026-04-15
Updated: 2026-05-01
Read time: 7 min

## TL;DR

> When a pre-employment PSP, MVR, or CDLIS report shows a problem, follow the FCRA pre-adverse-action process: classify the issue, send the report and Summary of Rights to the driver, wait the dispute window, then take final adverse action with the §1681m notice. Document everything in the file.

## Key takeaways

- A current §391.15 disqualification (suspended/revoked license, no medical card) is an automatic stop — no procedural FCRA waiting period changes that.
- If the issue is discretionary, FCRA §1681b(b)(3) requires you to send the report and the Summary of Your Rights before declining the hire.
- Five business days is the FTC's informal minimum dispute window; if the driver disputes, the consumer reporting agency has 30 days under §1681i.
- The final adverse-action letter must name the screening agency, note that the agency did not make the decision, and tell the driver they have 60 days to request a free copy.
- Document the entire process — original report, classification, pre-adverse package, response, final letter — and retain alongside the §391.51 file.

## Cited entities

- Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 USC §1681) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1681)
- 49 CFR §391.15 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-391.15)
- 49 CFR §391.21 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-391.21)
- 49 CFR §391.51 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-391.51)
- 49 CFR §383.51 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-383.51)
- FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) (https://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov)
- Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS)
- Motor Vehicle Record (MVR)
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov)

## Excerpt

A pre-employment screening report comes back, and there is a problem. Maybe it is a recent DUI on the [MVR](/glossary/mvr), a multi-state CDL on the [CDLIS](/glossary/cdlis) check that the driver did not disclose, or a string of preventable accidents on the [FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP)](/glossary/psp) report. Now what? The answer is a structured, FCRA-compliant process — not a phone call telling the driver they did not get the job. Skipping the procedural steps is the single most common source of FCRA litigation against motor carriers, and the statutory damages are substantial.

This guide walks through the process from "the report came back bad" to "the file is closed and the documentation is complete." Use it any time a pre-employment report shows a potential disqualifier.

## Step 1: Read the report carefully

Before you do anything else, make sure you actually understand what the report shows. The most common false alarms:

- An MVR shows what looks like a DUI but is actually a reduced-charge wet-reckless or careless-driving conviction
- A PSP report shows a serious crash but the driver was not at fault (the PSP report is not adjudicated — it includes accidents regardless of fault)
- A CDLIS check shows a CDL in another state that the driver disclosed but in different words on the application
- A status code is unfamiliar but not actually a disqualification

If after a careful read the report still shows a problem, proceed to step 2.

## Step 2: Classify the issue under federal rules

The federal disqualification framework determines whether the driver is automatically barred or whether the decision is at your discretion. The categories are:

- Currently disqualified under [§391.15](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-391.15): license suspended, revoked, cancelled, or under §383.51 disqualification, or no current medical card. The driver cannot legally operate a CMV.
- Currently within a [§383.51](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/

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