What Is an MVR Check and Why It Matters

November 21, 2025

What Is an MVR Check?

When you’re looking to hire a new driver, their MVR check is one of the most important documents you’ll review. So, what is an MVR check?

An MVR, or Motor Vehicle Record, is a driver’s official history, pulled directly from their state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Think of it as a driving résumé. An MVR report gives you a detailed look at everything from the driver’s license status and endorsements to any violations, convictions, and accidents they’ve had. This MVR background check is a foundational piece of the driver qualification process for any safety-conscious trucking fleet.

Your Driver’s Official Story

Building a team you can trust means getting the full story on every potential driver you hire. An MVR check isn’t just more paperwork; it’s a direct look into how a person behaves behind the wheel. It’s one of the first and most critical steps to ensure the person you’re about to put in a sixty-thousand-pound vehicle is qualified and responsible.

Simply put, the MVR report is your first line of defense in protecting your company, your assets, and the public.

American style semi-truck driving on a highway at sunset

What You Will Find on an MVR Report

A good MVR report is packed with data that helps you build a complete picture of a driver’s history. Knowing what to look for is key to making smart hiring decisions and maintaining a safe fleet.

The table below breaks down the typical data points you’ll find in a Motor Vehicle Record, helping you quickly understand what to look for when you review one.

Key Information Found in a Standard MVR Report

Information Category What It Tells You
Driver Information Confirms your driver’s full name, address, and date of birth. This helps verify their identity.
License Details Shows the license number, class (e.g., Class A CDL), issue and expiration dates, and current status (valid, suspended, revoked).
Endorsements/Restrictions Lists any special qualifications like Hazmat (H) or Tanker (N) endorsements, or restrictions like needing corrective lenses.
Violations & Convictions Details traffic violations like speeding tickets, reckless driving citations, and other moving violations.
Accident History Lists prior accidents, offering a glimpse into a driver’s past on-road incidents.
Serious Offenses Clearly notes major infractions like DUIs or DWIs, which often stay on a record much longer than minor violations.

This official record is a mandatory part of a driver’s file for a reason. It’s the authoritative source for verifying your driver’s qualifications and past behavior on the road.

The MVR check is a cornerstone of the driver qualification file, a required collection of documents that proves a driver is legally and safely qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Without a clean MVR, the entire qualification process comes to a halt. It really is the starting point for compliance.

Why an MVR Is Your First Line of Defense

It’s a huge mistake to think of an MVR check as just another piece of paperwork. Far from it. This report is your primary tool for managing risk before a driver ever climbs behind the wheel of one of your trucks. Think of it as your first real window into an applicant’s driving habits, their judgment on the road, and their overall safety mindset.

Hiring someone without pulling and reviewing their MVR is like buying a house without getting an inspection—you’re willingly accepting a massive, and completely avoidable, risk.

American style semi-truck driving on a country road.

Identifying Patterns of Risky Behavior

A single speeding ticket from a few years back probably isn’t a dealbreaker for most carriers. But an MVR that shows a consistent pattern of violations tells a very different story. Multiple speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, or reckless driving citations paint a clear picture of a high-risk individual.

This isn’t about passing judgment on someone. It’s about protecting your business, your equipment, and everyone else on the road. A proactive MVR review lets you spot these red flags early and make an informed hiring decision, not just a guess. This is a non-negotiable part of any solid process for how to hire truck drivers who will represent your company well.

By identifying and filtering out high-risk applicants, you’re not just filling a seat. You are actively preventing future accidents, reducing your liability exposure, and building a team that values safety.

This proactive approach has a direct impact on your bottom line, too. Insurance companies love to see a fleet with a squeaky-clean safety record, which starts with hiring drivers with clean MVRs. They see your commitment to safety as a sign of reduced risk, and they’ll often reward you with lower insurance premiums.

Protecting Your Business and Your Team

At the end of the day, every decision you make is about protecting your operation. An MVR check is much more than a compliance box to tick; it’s a critical business strategy. To properly shield your business and ensure your drivers meet professional standards, you also need to grasp related topics like Understanding Contractor Insurance Requirements, which almost always loop back to a driver’s MVR.

Making that MVR check a mandatory first step helps you:

  • Reduce Liability: It proves you’ve done your due diligence in hiring. That simple fact can be invaluable if one of your trucks is ever involved in a DOT recordable accident.
  • Prevent Accidents: Hiring drivers with a proven track record of safety is the single most effective way to keep your trucks out of the ditch.
  • Prevent Nuclear Verdicts: If your driver is involved in a serious crash, having all of the required driver documentation in good order helps reduce the chances of a nuclear verdict.
  • Lower Insurance Costs: A safer fleet leads to fewer claims. Fewer claims lead to lower truck insurance premiums over time.
  • Build a Reliable Team: Drivers with clean records tend to be more professional and dependable, which is the bedrock of a strong, positive company culture.

When you make the MVR check a non-negotiable part of your hiring process, you’re setting a high standard for safety right from the very beginning. That commitment sends a clear message to your entire team that safety is the foundation of your business.

MVR vs. PSP Report: Understanding the Difference

When you’re trying to get a complete picture of a driver’s safety profile, the MVR check is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s a crucial piece, but there’s another report that is essential for smart hiring: the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) report. While both are vital for your driver qualification process, they tell you very different things about a driver.

Think of it this way: the MVR tells you about their driving history in any vehicle, whether it’s their personal car or a commercial truck. It’s the official state-level record of traffic tickets, license status, and convictions. It shows you how they behave as a general driver on public roads.

The PSP report, on the other hand, is laser-focused on their professional life behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Managed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the PSP report gives you a detailed history of a driver’s roadside inspections and crash records over the last five years. This isn’t about a speeding ticket they got in their personal car; this is about their performance while on the clock, operating your equipment.

Comparing MVR and PSP Reports

Feature MVR Report PSP Report
Data Source State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS)
Vehicle Type All vehicles (personal and commercial) Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) only
Information Included Traffic violations, license status, endorsements, DUIs, at-fault accidents 5 years of reportable crash data and 3 years of roadside inspection history
Primary Focus General driving behavior and state-level convictions Professional on-duty performance and CMV safety compliance
Requirement Federally required for pre-employment and annual review Strongly encouraged but not federally required for pre-employment

 

Why You Need Both Reports

Relying on just one of these reports leaves a massive blind spot in your hiring process. The MVR shows you how a driver behaves on their own time, which can reveal patterns of risky behavior like frequent speeding or DUIs. A driver who is reckless in their personal car isn’t likely to suddenly become a saint the moment they climb into your truck.

However, the PSP report gives you insights you simply can’t get from an MVR. It shows you specific, documented interactions a driver has had with law enforcement while operating a CMV. You can spot patterns of violations—like hours-of-service issues, equipment problems, or unsafe driving behaviors—that were flagged during official inspections. To get a better handle on the details, you can learn more about what’s in an FMCSA PSP report and why it’s so valuable.

Using both the MVR and the PSP report gives you a true 360-degree view of your applicant. You see the whole picture: how they drive on their own time and how they perform as a professional.

Ultimately, the MVR is required by law, but ordering a PSP is a best practice that the safest fleets in the country swear by. It helps you identify drivers who may have a clean MVR but a history of unsafe habits in a commercial setting. Using them together is the most effective way to ensure you’re putting a truly safe and qualified professional behind the wheel.

Annual MVR Requirements for Your Fleet

Getting that pre-employment MVR check is just the first step. To keep your fleet safe and compliant, the FMCSA requires that you review every driver’s record, every single year.

This isn’t a suggestion—it’s a requirement under federal regulation § 391.25. Think of it as your annual safety check-up to make sure your drivers are still qualified long after they’ve been hired. At least once every 12 months, you must pull a fresh MVR to check for new violations, any changes in license status, or patterns of risky driving that could spell trouble for your company.

Documenting Your Annual Review is Critical

Simply pulling the report and glancing at it isn’t enough. The DOT is clear: you have to document that a qualified person reviewed it. This creates the paper trail that proves you’re actively managing your drivers’ qualifications.

Your documentation process must include:

  • The Reviewer’s Signature and Date: The person who checks the MVR has to sign and date it.
  • A Note of Review: The signed MVR, along with a note of review, must be filed in the driver’s qualification file.

This piece of paper becomes incredibly important during an FMCSA audit. An auditor won’t just ask for the MVRs; they’ll want to see proof that you reviewed them and confirmed each driver is still qualified to drive for you.

What to Look for During the Annual Review

When you’re doing the annual MVR check, you’re looking for any red flags that popped up over the last year. You’ll want to zero in on:

  • New Moving Violations: Have they picked up any new speeding tickets or other moving violations?
  • Changes in License Status: Has their license been suspended, revoked, or downgraded?
  • Medical Certificate Changes: Any new restrictions or changes in their medical certificate certification status?
  • Accident History: Are there any new at-fault accidents on their record?

Staying on top of your annual MVR checks—and documenting them properly—ensures your team stays safe, qualified, and ready for any audit that comes your way. For fleets that want to take the headache out of this and other regulatory tasks, looking into professional trucking compliance services can make all the difference.

New DOT Medical Card Verification Rule (CDL Drivers): 15-Day MVR Check

If you employ CDL drivers operating in non-excepted interstate commerce, there’s a newer compliance step that ties the DOT medical certificate directly to the driver’s state MVR/CDLIS record.

What changed?

FMCSA’s Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC) integration rules require states to receive medical card information electronically and post the driver’s medical status to the CDLIS (the system that feeds the CDL MVR). Because that posting can take a few days, FMCSA allows a short “bridge period.”

Your fleet’s responsibility

When a CDL driver renews or receives a new DOT medical card:

  1. Driver gives you a copy of the new medical certificate immediately.

  2. You may rely on that paper certificate temporarily — but only for up to 15 days.

  3. Within 15 days of the certificate’s issue date, you must:

    • pull an updated CDL MVR from the driver’s licensing state, and

    • verify the MVR shows the current medical certification status (and correct self-certification category/tier if your state displays it).

  4. Place that updated MVR in the Driver Qualification File (DQF).
    After day 15, the MVR becomes the required proof of medical qualification for CDL holders—not the paper card.

Why this matters

If the state hasn’t posted the medical status yet (or it posts incorrectly), the driver can show as “not-certified” on the CDLIS MVR. That can trigger:

  • roadside out-of-service issues,

  • violations in a DOT compliance review, and

  • DQF deficiencies during DOT audits.

Practical tip: Many fleets wait about a week after the exam before pulling the MVR, but don’t let it run past day 15.

 

How to Get an MVR and Streamline Your Process

Now that you know what an MVR is and why it’s so important, let’s get into how you actually get one. The process itself is simple, but it all hinges on one critical first step: you must get the driver’s written consent.

Before you pull a record, you need a signed release form from your driver or applicant. This isn’t just a suggestion—it’s a federal requirement under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This signature is your proof that they’ve given you explicit permission to look into their driving history. Do not skip this step.

Your Options For Obtaining The Report

Once you have that signed consent, you’ve got a couple of ways to get the MVR.

  • Directly from the State DMV: You can go straight to the source and request the report from the Department of Motor Vehicles in the state where the driver is licensed. This option can be slow, especially if you’re managing drivers licensed in several different states.
  • Using a Third-Party Service: This is the route most fleets take. Working with a compliance partner to pull MVRs is faster and more efficient. These services connect directly to state DMV systems, giving you results almost instantly.

To keep your records straight, it’s a good idea to know the ropes of the process. For anyone wanting a deeper dive, this guide on how to check your driving record is a great resource.

This simple workflow breaks down the MVR process from start to finish.

An infographic showing the three-step MVR process of pulling the report, reviewing it, and filing the record.

As you can see, it’s a straightforward loop: get the report, review it for any red flags, and then file it securely in the driver’s records.

Going Beyond The Annual Check

The annual MVR is your safety baseline, but a lot can happen in 12 months. A clean record today doesn’t guarantee a clean record tomorrow, which is where continuous MVR monitoring changes the game.

Instead of a once-a-year snapshot, these automated systems give you near real-time alerts about new violations or suspensions as they happen. This lets you address a problem right away, rather than finding out about it a year too late during your annual review. Trying to manage all of this can get messy without the right systems in place. Using dedicated driver qualification file software can automate reminders, keep documents organized, and ensure you’re always ready for an audit.

MVR Check FAQ

Here are short answers to the most common questions fleet managers have about MVR checks.

What is an MVR check?

An MVR check is the process of obtaining and reviewing a person’s Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) from a state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). For trucking fleets, it’s a critical part of the driver qualification process to verify a driver’s history and license status.

What is an MVR report?

An MVR report is the official document containing a driver’s history. It includes details like license status, class, endorsements, traffic violations, convictions, and accidents. It’s also known as a driving record.

What is the main difference between an MVR and a PSP report?

An MVR report details a driver’s history from their state DMV, covering violations in any vehicle. A PSP report shows a driver’s 5-year crash and 3-year roadside inspection history specifically from their time operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), sourced from the FMCSA.

How do you get an MVR?

To get an MVR, you must first obtain written consent from the driver. Then, you can request the MVR report directly from the state’s DMV or, more efficiently, use a third-party compliance service that provides MVR checks for employers.

What is a clean MVR?

A “clean MVR” generally means the driver’s record has no moving violations, at-fault accidents, suspensions, or revocations within the last 3 years. The exact definition can vary depending on your company’s safety policy and insurance provider’s requirements.

Is an MVR background check required?

Yes, the FMCSA requires motor carriers to perform a pre-employment MVR check as part of the driver qualification process and to conduct another review at least once every 12 months for every driver you employ.

How far back does an MVR check go?

The lookback period for an MVR varies by state but typically covers 3 to 7 years. Serious offenses like a DUI can remain on the record for 10 years or longer, depending on state law.

Regulatory References

For your convenience, here are the direct links to the key federal regulations concerning driver records and qualifications referenced in this post.

Juggling MVRs, PSP reports, and all the other compliance paperwork can feel like a full-time job in itself. Let My Safety Manager handle the heavy lifting so you can get back to what you do best—running your business. Find out how we can make your DOT compliance a whole lot simpler!

About The Author

Sam Tucker

Sam Tucker is the founder of Carrier Risk Solutions, Inc., established in 2015, and has more than 20 years of experience in trucking risk and DOT compliance management. He earned degrees in Finance/Risk Management and Economics from the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University. Drawing on deep industry knowledge and hands-on expertise, Sam helps thousands of motor carriers nationwide strengthen fleet safety programs, reduce risk, and stay compliant with FMCSA regulations.