Within 30 days of the date employment begins, a US motor carrier must inquire into the driver’s driving record with each state that issued a licence, and investigate safety performance history with DOT-regulated employers from the previous three years. Keep the requests, the responses, and a written good-faith record when a prior employer does not reply. A blank “references” line is not an investigation.
Two investigations, different sources
391.23 is easy to under-do because it sounds like a phone screen. It is two formal inquiries.
- State driving record: request the MVR from each licensing authority that issued a licence in the lookback the rule and your policy require.
- Prior DOT employers (three years): safety performance history, including accident data as the rule specifies, and drug and alcohol history when Part 382 applies.
Consent and the 30-day clock
You need the driver’s authorization to contact prior employers for safety performance history. Launch the inquiries as soon as that consent is in, not after the first loaded mile “when we have time.”
Place the resulting MVR in the qualification file within 30 days of the date employment begins. If you are still waiting on a prior employer at day 30, the file should already show the dated request and follow-up, not an empty slot.
When the previous employer never writes back
This is the most common 391.23 finding. The rule expects a good-faith effort, not a miracle. Date the first request, follow up, and keep both. Note the phone number or portal you used. If the company is defunct, write that down too.
Do not invent a response. A documented unsuccessful attempt beats a forged “no accidents” email.
Safety performance history vs a criminal background check
391.23 is a motor-carrier safety investigation. A criminal or credit check is a different product, a different consent, and (in this family of sites) a different domain. Do not skip 391.23 because a background-check PDF arrived. Do not skip a background check your policy requires because 391.23 is done.
FAQ
Does the driver have a right to see what prior employers said?
Safety performance history has specific driver-review and rebuttal mechanics. Build a process for that request instead of arguing about it when it arrives. Keep rebuttals with the history they answer.
What if the driver had no prior DOT employer?
Document the employment history they gave you and that no DOT-regulated prior employer existed in the three-year window. You still need the state MVR inquiry.
Related guides
When you are ready for software
Editorial links to the TruckerPro product site (separate intent from these guides):
- Store inquiry dates and follow-ups in the driver file (truckerpro.ca)
Related reading on truckerpro.ca
Deeper regulatory articles and the software side of the same job, on our product site:
- Clearinghouse query tracking (truckerpro.ca)
Keeping annual and pre-employment queries evidenced against each driver. - Driver file management in a TMS (truckerpro.ca)
Expiry tracking, audit packets and version history without the binder. - Surviving a new-entrant safety audit (truckerpro.ca)
What an auditor asks a new carrier for, and the order they ask for it in. - TMS for US carriers (truckerpro.ca)
The same records under FMCSA rules, for US-authority fleets.
Ready to digitize driver files?
TruckerPro tracks licences, medicals, abstracts/MVRs, and expiries for US and Canadian fleets — free company signup, free demo on request.