Driver qualification file
Every motor carrier must keep a qualification file for each driver it employs. 49 CFR 391.51 says what goes in one and how long it is held — and the retention rule has two halves that are easy to collapse into one and get wrong.
What the file must contain
49 CFR 391.51(b)
The file may be combined with the driver’s personnel file — 391.51(a) allows that explicitly. What it may not do is omit any of these.
- 01
The driver's application for employment
49 CFR 391.21
- 02
A copy of the motor vehicle record from each licensing authority
49 CFR 391.23(a)(1)
- 03
The road test certificate, an accepted equivalent, or the written statement that no road test was required
49 CFR 391.31(e), 391.33, 391.44(d)
- 04
The motor vehicle record from the annual driver record inquiry
49 CFR 391.25(a)
- 05
A note relating to the annual review of the driving record
49 CFR 391.25(c)(2)
- 06
The medical examiner's certificate, or a legible copy
49 CFR 391.43(g)
- 07
A Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate, or a federal Medical Exemption document
49 CFR 391.49, part 381
- 08
A note verifying the medical examiner's listing on the National Registry
49 CFR 391.23(m)
The retention rule is two rules
The file is retained for as long as the driver is employed by that carrier, and for three years after that. That is 391.51(c), and it is the part most summaries stop at.
Five specific records inside it may be removed three years after the date of execution, under 391.51(d) — while the file itself carries on being retained. The two clocks run independently: one from the end of employment, one from the date each record was executed.
- · The annual inquiry motor vehicle record
- · The note on the annual review of the driving record
- · The medical examiner's certificate, or the CDLIS MVR obtained in its place
- · Any FMCSA medical variance, including a Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate
- · The note verifying National Registry listing
49 CFR 391.51(c) and (d)
Two provisions in this section have dated windows
391.51(b)(6)(ii) and (b)(8)(ii) each contain allowances written as running “through June 22, 2025”. Those windows are in the past, and this page deliberately does not restate them as though they were live.
It is worth knowing why that matters. Sunset language sits inside the current regulation text rather than being struck from it, so a summary written by reading quickly can present a lapsed allowance as a live one. For CDL holders in particular, the medical certification requirements in (b)(6) turn on the CDLIS motor vehicle record — read the current text of that paragraph directly rather than any summary of it, including this one.
Source: 49 CFR 391.51, retrieved from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations at ecfr.gov. A reference, not legal advice — Part 391 has been amended repeatedly and carries dated provisions, so check the current text before relying on it.
Tezify holds driver files against the driver, with expiry dates surfaced before they lapse rather than discovered at an audit. See which FMCSR part covers what, or read the hours-of-service limits.