FMCSA Proposes to Eliminate the Requirement for Certificate of Violation Form

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed to eliminate the annual record of violations requirement. This rule can be found in Part 391.27 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Drivers who operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) provide a list of all traffic violations they were convicted of during the previous 12 months to the motor carrier annually.

This rule elimination was suggested since motor carriers are regulated, by Part 391.25 of the FMCSRs, to run and review Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) annually for each of their drivers operating a CMV. An MVR is a driving history report from a state department of motor vehicles. It contains various information relating to an individual’s driving history and license information. Employers are required to review MVRs to determine if drivers meet the minimum requirements for safe driving of a CMV. The exclusion of the record of violations document will require motor carriers who employ drivers licensed of foreign authorities (i.e. Canada or Mexico) to request the MVR-equivalent document from the applicable foreign license authority.

FMCSA anticipates eliminating this requirement will reduce duplicate efforts made by motor carriers and alleviate some paperwork required by drivers. They do not believe this will have any adverse effects on CMV safety.

The proposed rulemaking to eliminate the annual record of violations requirement has been published in the Federal Register and will be open for comments until February 12, 2021.