Feature
Driver qualification files that are never quietly out of date
DQ files, CDL and medical expiry, clearinghouse dates and the random testing pool — all reading from one roster that knows who has left.
Free for up to 3 trucks. No card required.
The problem
A driver leaves, HR types a termination date, and they stay in the DQ file, the random testing pool and the compliance count because nothing joined those up.
What changes
What Tezify does
One roster, honoured everywhere at once. Offboarding a driver removes them from the DQ file, the testing pool, inspection compliance and assignment suggestions in the same moment.
- DQ file per driver with CDL, medical card, MVR and clearinghouse dates
- Random drug and alcohol testing pool drawn from the live roster
- Expiry calendar for every document that lapses
- Offboarding honoured across every module simultaneously
- Accident register and incident records in the same system
What the rule says
What the regulation requires
- A driver qualification file must hold the employment application, the motor vehicle record obtained at hire, the road-test certificate (or an accepted equivalent), the motor vehicle record from the annual inquiry, a note of the annual review of the driving record, and the medical examiner's certificate.
- 49 CFR 391.51(b) — General requirements for driver qualification files (2024 CFR)
- The file is “retained for as long as a driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter”.
- 49 CFR 391.51(c) — Retention of driver qualification files (2024 CFR)
- At least once every 12 months a carrier must obtain each driver's motor vehicle record, covering at least the preceding 12 months, from every licensing authority where that driver held a commercial licence or permit in the period.
- 49 CFR 391.25(a) — Annual inquiry and review of driving record (2024 CFR)
- Obtaining that record and reviewing it are two separate duties: the carrier must also review each driver's motor vehicle record at least once every 12 months, and the file has to carry a note of that review.
- 49 CFR 391.25(b) and 391.51(b)(5) — Annual review and the note recording it (2024 CFR)
- Before the first time a driver performs safety-sensitive functions, they must be tested for controlled substances, and the employer must have received a verified negative result from the medical review officer or consortium before letting them work.
- 49 CFR 382.301(a) — Pre-employment testing (2024 CFR)
- Post-accident testing is automatic only where the accident involved the loss of human life. Otherwise it is required just when the driver receives a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident and the accident caused bodily injury treated away from the scene, or disabling damage requiring a vehicle to be towed away.
- 49 CFR 382.303(a)-(b) — Post-accident testing (2024 CFR)
- The citation window is not the same for both tests: 8 hours for the alcohol test, and 32 hours for the controlled substances test. The regulation spells the second one “thirty-two hours”.
- 49 CFR 382.303(a)(2) and (b)(2) — The citation windows (2024 CFR)
- An employer must run a pre-employment query of the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse before employing a driver for safety-sensitive work, and it must be a full query, which requires that driver's specific consent.
- 49 CFR 382.701(a) — Pre-employment Clearinghouse query (2024 CFR)
- A further query is required at least once per year for every employee subject to testing. That annual one may be a limited query, run with the driver's consent, rather than a full query.
- 49 CFR 382.701(b) — Annual Clearinghouse query (2024 CFR)
- A motor vehicle providing transportation requiring operating authority must not be operated without the required operating authority, or beyond the scope of the operating authority granted.
- 49 CFR 392.9a(a) — Operating authority required (2024 CFR)
- A carrier found operating a vehicle in violation of that is ordered out of service.
- 49 CFR 392.9a(b) — Penalties (2024 CFR)
- Separately, a commercial motor vehicle providing transportation in interstate commerce must not be operated without a safety registration and an active USDOT Number.
- 49 CFR 392.9b(a) — Safety registration required (2024 CFR)
- A safety audit is conducted on a new entrant once it has been operating long enough to have sufficient records for the agency to evaluate its basic safety management controls, a period that will generally be at least 3 months.
- 49 CFR 385.305(b) — When the safety audit happens (2024 CFR)
- All records and documents required for the safety audit are to be made available for inspection on request by an individual certified to perform safety audits.
- 49 CFR 385.305(c) — Records made available (2024 CFR)
- Nearly every violation on the automatic-failure table is marked single occurrence, meaning one instance fails the audit — including using a driver known to have tested positive, operating without the required minimum financial responsibility, knowingly using a disqualified or physically unqualified driver, and operating a vehicle declared out-of-service before repairs are made.
- 49 CFR 385.321 — Violations resulting in automatic failure (2024 CFR)
- Two entries on that table behave differently: failing to require a driver to make a record of duty status, and using a commercial motor vehicle not periodically inspected, each require a violation threshold of 51 per cent or more of examined records before they trigger automatic failure.
- 49 CFR 385.321 — The two threshold entries (2024 CFR)
- The table also reaches the driver vehicle inspection report: failing to correct out-of-service defects a driver listed on one, before the vehicle is operated again, is a single-occurrence automatic failure.
- 49 CFR 385.321 — DVIR defects (2024 CFR)
Quoted from the sources linked above. These are summaries, and exceptions apply that they do not cover — read the regulation itself, or ask the agency that issued your authority, before you rely on any of it.
Common questions
What problem does this solve?
- A driver leaves, HR types a termination date, and they stay in the DQ file, the random testing pool and the compliance count because nothing joined those up.
How does TEZIFY handle it?
- One roster, honoured everywhere at once. Offboarding a driver removes them from the DQ file, the testing pool, inspection compliance and assignment suggestions in the same moment.
Do I need an MC number or a DOT number?
- They answer different questions, and a carrier can hold one without the other. Operating authority - the MC number - is tied to the kind of transportation being provided, and running beyond the scope granted is its own violation rather than only running without any. The USDOT Number and safety registration are a separate requirement for operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce at all.
What has to be in a driver qualification file?
- The employment application, the motor vehicle record obtained at hire, the road-test certificate or an accepted equivalent, the motor vehicle record from the annual inquiry, a note of the annual review of the driving record, and the medical examiner's certificate.
How long do you keep a DQ file after a driver leaves?
- For as long as the driver is employed by that carrier and for three years afterwards.
How often does an MVR have to be pulled?
- At least once every 12 months, covering at least the preceding 12 months, from every licensing authority where the driver held a commercial licence in that period. Reviewing it is a second, separate duty on the same schedule, and the file must carry a note of the review.
When is post-accident drug and alcohol testing required?
- Automatically where the accident involved the loss of human life. Otherwise only where the driver receives a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident and the accident caused bodily injury treated away from the scene, or disabling damage requiring a vehicle to be towed away.
How long is the citation window for post-accident testing?
- It differs by test: 8 hours for the alcohol test and 32 hours for the controlled substances test.
Is the annual Clearinghouse query the same as the pre-employment one?
- No. The pre-employment query must be a full query, which needs the driver's specific consent. The annual query, required at least once per year for every employee subject to testing, may instead be a limited query run with the driver's consent.
Is this an add-on, or included?
- Included in every paid plan rather than sold separately, and available on the free tier for up to three trucks.
How much does TEZIFY cost?
- Free for up to 3 trucks, then $19 per truck per month. Every module is included in every paid plan — nothing is held back as an upsell.
Do I pay for each person who logs in?
- No. Pricing is per truck, so dispatchers, accountants, safety managers and mechanics all get their own login at no extra cost.
See it on your own loads
Run your real loads through it before you decide anything.
- Free tier
- Up to 3 trucks, permanently
- After that
- $19 per truck, not per seat
- Included
- Every module, on every plan