Driver qualification file

Definition

The folder a carrier holds on every driver, and keeps for three years after they leave.

Why It Matters

49 CFR 391.51(a) requires each motor carrier to maintain one for each driver it employs, and 391.51(b) names eight things it holds: the employment application, the motor vehicle record pulled at hire, the road test certificate, this year's driving record inquiry and the note reviewing it, and the medical examiner's certificate. The clause a buyer should read twice is 391.51(c), which keeps the file for as long as the driver is employed and for three years thereafter. An asset purchase that leaves the seller's cabinet behind therefore inherits drivers with no provable history, so ask for the files by name and count them against the payroll before closing.