The free checklist
The DQ file checklist
Every document 49 CFR 391.51 requires and every date that expires, on one page. Read it here, print it, use it and owe me nothing.
- Driver employment application, every required field completed (391.21)
- Driving record ordered from every state of licensure in the past 3 years (391.23)
- Safety performance history inquiries sent to prior DOT-regulated employers within 30 days; responses and good-faith attempts documented (391.23)
- Road test certificate, or CDL accepted as equivalent (391.31 to 391.33)
- Medical examiner's certificate on file (391.43 to 391.45)
- Examiner verified on the National Registry; keep the printout
- CDL drivers: medical certification status confirmed on the CDLIS record
- Entry-level driver training verified for CDLs earned after February 7, 2022
- Pre-employment Clearinghouse query documented (382.701)
- Annual driving record ordered from each state of licensure (391.25)
- Annual review of the driving record, signed and dated (391.25)
- Medical certificate renewed and refiled before it expires
- Annual Clearinghouse limited query run and documented (382.701)
- A calendar that tracks every expiration for every driver, so nothing lapses quietly
The alert cadence
Written alert before anything expires.
- Generic job application missing fields 391.21 requires; most templates do
- Annual driving record review never documented, only the record itself pulled
- Medical card expired between renewals with no alert in place
- Prior-employer inquiries never sent, or sent with no proof kept
- Clearinghouse queries missed for leased owner-operators
- Files kept for current drivers only; retention runs 3 years past departure
Retention: keep the full file for as long as the driver works for you, plus three years after they leave. Leased owner-operators and 1099 drivers running under your authority need a file too. Audit math: critical violations found in 10% or more of reviewed files can downgrade your safety rating; in a small fleet, that is one or two bad files.
It'll cost you a name and an email. I like knowing who I'm helping, and that's the whole price.
No robocalls, and your info never gets sold. I may follow up once, a real person, to ask whether your files cover what they need to. Opt out any time and I'm gone.
If you'd rather drive
$149 per driver to set up, $39 per driver per month to keep it right.
About eight minutes. Card at the end. No sales call.
A two-minute form. I reply within one business day.