There is a requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that almost every carrier believes they are meeting, and that a surprising number are actually failing: the annual review of a driver’s motor vehicle record.
The confusion is understandable. Carriers hear “annual MVR” and pull the record. But 49 CFR §391.25 requires two separate things — obtaining the record, and documenting a review of it. Doing the first without the second is a finding.
What 49 CFR §391.25 Requires
The regulation breaks into three obligations.
§391.25(a) — The Annual Inquiry
Each motor carrier shall, at least once every 12 months, make an inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record of each driver it employs. The inquiry goes to the licensing authority of every state in which the driver held a commercial license or permit during that period.
Note the phrasing: at least once every 12 months. This is a rolling obligation tied to each driver, not a January housekeeping task you do for the whole fleet at once.
§391.25(b) — The Annual Review
The carrier must review the driving record at least once every 12 months to determine whether the driver still meets minimum safety standards. The rule tells you what to weigh:
- Violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
- The driver’s accident history and motor vehicle law violations — “giving great weight to violations, such as speeding, reckless driving, and operating while under the influence.”
That last phrase matters. The regulation does not ask you to note violations. It asks you to weigh them, and it names the ones that carry the most weight.
§391.25(c) — The Documentation
A copy of the motor vehicle record must be maintained in the driver qualification file. Separately, the carrier must retain a note including the name of the person who performed the review and the date of the review.
This is the step that gets missed. The MVR proves you pulled the record. The note proves a qualified person looked at it and made a judgment.
Why the Review Note Is the Most Common Finding
Cross-reference §391.25 with the DQF rule and the reason becomes obvious. §391.51(b)(4) requires the annual inquiry response in the file. §391.51(b)(5) separately requires the documentation of the annual review.
They are two different line items in the checklist an investigator is working from. A file containing a stack of MVRs and no review notes is visibly incomplete the moment it is opened.
What “Giving Great Weight” Should Look Like in Practice
The regulation asks for a judgment, not a filing action. A defensible review considers:
- Serious traffic violations — speeding, reckless driving, and impaired operation are named in the rule itself.
- Pattern versus incident. One violation is a data point. Three in twelve months is a trend.
- License status changes. A downgrade, suspension, or restriction that appeared mid-year is exactly what the annual inquiry is designed to surface.
- Consistency with other records. An MVR that conflicts with a PSP report or CDLIS record deserves a closer look.
Continuous Monitoring vs. the Annual Pull
Pulling a record once a year means you can be up to twelve months behind a driver’s actual license status. A driver can be convicted, suspended, or downgraded in February, and a carrier on a December cycle will not know until the following December.
Continuous monitoring closes that window by surfacing changes as they are reported rather than on an annual schedule. Carriers increasingly use monitoring alongside the annual requirement — the annual inquiry and documented review still have to happen, but monitoring means you are not discovering a problem eleven months late.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is an MVR review required?
At least once every 12 months for each driver, under 49 CFR §391.25(a) and (b).
What documentation does the annual review require?
Per §391.25(c), a copy of the MVR in the driver qualification file, plus a note identifying the person who performed the review and the date it was performed.
Is pulling the MVR enough to satisfy §391.25?
No. Obtaining the record satisfies §391.25(a). The review under §391.25(b) and the review note under §391.25(c) are separate requirements, and §391.51(b)(4) and (b)(5) list them as separate items in the driver qualification file.
What should the review consider?
Violations of the FMCSRs and Hazardous Materials Regulations, and the driver’s accident record and motor vehicle law violations — giving great weight to speeding, reckless driving, and operating while under the influence.
Does continuous monitoring replace the annual review?
The annual inquiry and documented review remain regulatory requirements. Monitoring is used to catch changes between annual pulls so a carrier is not operating on a record that is months out of date.
Never Miss an Annual Review Again With Vertical Identity
The annual MVR requirement is not difficult. It is just easy to lose track of across a roster of drivers with 12-month clocks that all started on different dates.
Vertical Identity handles MVR pulls and driving record monitoring and keeps the results — and the review documentation — in a driver qualification file that is ready when an investigator asks. No missed deadlines, no stack of records with no review notes attached.
Call (602) 899-1606 or enroll today to put your annual reviews on autopilot.