Commercial Driver’s License Information System
The FMCSA requires a three-year driving history on all driver applicants, which means that an employer must obtain and review a record from every state in which a driver has held a license during the past three years. Yet, some drivers choose not to disclose one or more of the states where they’ve been licensed in order to hide bad records.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has developed
and issued standards for the
testing and licensing of CDL holders. These standards require
States to issue CDLs to certain CMV drivers only after the driver
passes knowledge and skills tests, administered by the State and
related to
the type of vehicle the driver expects to operate. Drivers are
required to obtain and hold a CDL if they operate in
interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce if they drive a
vehicle that
meets any of the classifications of a CMV described below.
Classes of License:
The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:
Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided
the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle
towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles,
that does not meet the
definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to
transport 16
or more passengers, including the driver, or is transporting
material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and
is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 CFR Part 172 or is
transporting any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or
toxin in 42 CFR Part 73.
Common uses:
- Prevents oversight by verifying a driver’s current license
- Identifies additional states where MVRs should be requested
- Searches multiple sources of public and proprietary information
- Reports driver’s license history and uncovers omitted records