By Justin Seyl, NATMI Certified Director of Safety, 25+ years in CDL compliance.
Reading an MVR means working through it section by section: driver ID info, license class and endorsements, current license status, medical certification status for CDL holders, and a timeline of convictions, accidents, and suspensions. I've personally overseen more than 650,000 citations in 25+ years running compliance programs, and the one constant is this: the drivers and safety managers who get burned are the ones who skim an MVR top to bottom once and call it done, instead of checking each section against what the job actually requires.
That's the mistake I see over and over at MVRs Online. A fleet orders a record, glances at it, doesn't spot anything alarming in the first few lines, and moves on. Later a disqualification turns up that was sitting right there in the conviction history the whole time, just coded in a format nobody recognized. Our ordering and review process is built to help catch that: pull the record, confirm it reported correctly for that state, and flag anything that needs a second look before it turns into a hiring or compliance problem.
What Identifying Information Appears at the Top of an MVR?
Every state MVR opens with the basics: full name, date of birth, license number, address, and the state that issued the license. There's no federal rule dictating exactly how this section has to look. States build their own printout layouts, which is part of why MVRs from different states can look very different. Don't assume a blank field means missing data. It might just be a field your state doesn't report in that spot.
How Do You Read License Class, Endorsements, and Restrictions?
License class tells you what size and type of vehicle a driver's legally allowed to run. Federal rule defines three CDL vehicle groups under 49 CFR 383.91: Group A covers combinations with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more when the towed vehicle is over 10,000 pounds GVWR; Group B covers single vehicles of 26,001 pounds or more GVWR; and Group C covers smaller vehicles designed to carry 16 or more people including the driver or used to haul placarded hazardous materials.
Endorsements show extra testing a driver passed for specific vehicle or cargo types: doubles/triples, passenger, tank, hazmat, and school bus. These fall under 49 CFR 383.93, which lays out the knowledge and skills tests required for each one. Restrictions work the opposite way. They limit what a driver can do. A familiar one is the air brake restriction required by 49 CFR 383.95, shown on the license with the code "L" under 49 CFR 383.153. See an "L" restriction and a job that requires air brakes? That driver's not qualified for it, full stop.
What Does License Status Actually Tell You?
Status is the single most important field on the page: valid, suspended, revoked, or disqualified. A disqualified CDL holder can't legally drive a commercial vehicle, and an employer must not knowingly allow one to. That prohibition, and the disqualification triggers tied to it, comes straight from 49 CFR 383.51. Disqualifications under that section are triggered by convictions, so don't assume a clean-looking "current" status means the driver was never disqualified. Check the history underneath it too.
How Do You Check Medical Certification Status for CDL Holders?
CDL holders have to self-certify into one of four federally defined categories under 49 CFR 383.71: non-excepted interstate, excepted interstate, non-excepted intrastate, or excepted intrastate. That category decides whether the driver even needs a medical examiner's certificate on file, which ties back to the exam standards in 49 CFR 391.45.
States have to record that self-certification, post the medical certificate information, and show the medical certification status (certified or not-certified) on the driver's record under 49 CFR 383.73. If a driver's status lapses to not-certified, the state has to notify the driver that CDL privileges will be removed unless the driver is medically certified or changes self-certification to excepted or intrastate commerce (where the state allows). The current wording of that notice in 383.73(o) applies on or after June 23, 2025. The state then starts its downgrade procedure, and 383.73(o) requires the downgrade to be completed and recorded within 60 days of the status becoming not-certified. See "not-certified" on an MVR? That clock's already running. Don't sit on it.
How Do You Read Convictions, Violation Dates, and Conviction Dates?
This is where most reading mistakes happen. Every conviction entry carries two dates: when the violation happened and when the conviction landed. They're often different, and disqualification under 49 CFR 383.51 turns on the conviction. An older violation that only recently ended in a conviction can still matter for disqualification purposes.
States use their own violation codes on their printouts, which is why the same offense can look different from one state's record to the next. For exchanging records between states, AAMVA maintains the ACD (AAMVA Code Dictionary), a common set of codes used in systems such as the Commercial Driver's License Information System. That's how a conviction in one state gets onto the driver's record in the licensing state.
This is also where a lot of employers realize they're over their heads on a code they've never seen, and that's the right moment to get a second set of eyes on the file instead of guessing. If a code doesn't match anything in your reference materials, order the full record through MVRs Online and let us confirm what it actually means before you make a hiring or retention call based on a guess.
Do Accidents Show Up on an MVR?
Some states report accident history directly on the MVR, others don't, and some only report accidents tied to a conviction, like a careless driving citation issued after a crash. There's no federal mandate forcing every state to include accident data on the standard record. If accident history matters to your hiring decision, don't assume the MVR alone covers it. You may need a separate state accident report or your own driver-reported accident history to fill the gap.
How Do Suspensions and Withdrawals Appear on the Record?
Suspensions, revocations, and other license withdrawals show up as separate entries from convictions, each with its own effective date and, where it applies, a reinstatement date. These matter just as much as conviction history for figuring out current qualification. How long these entries stay on a record varies by state and by the type of offense, which is one more reason an old-looking entry shouldn't get dismissed without checking.
What Is an Employer Required to Do With an MVR Once It's Pulled?
Pulling the record is only half the job. Under 49 CFR 391.23, a motor carrier has to make an inquiry within 30 days of a driver's start date to get the record from each state where that driver held a license over the prior three years. That pre-employment MVR becomes part of the driver qualification file required under 49 CFR 391.51.
After hire, the obligation doesn't stop. 49 CFR 391.25 requires a motor carrier to get and review an updated MVR on every driver it employs at least once every 12 months, to determine whether the driver meets minimum requirements for safe driving or is disqualified under 49 CFR 391.15. Worth noting: the older requirement under former 49 CFR 391.27, which had drivers submit their own annual list of violations, was rescinded by FMCSA effective May 9, 2022, because it duplicated the annual MVR pull. The annual review under 49 CFR 391.25 is the whole job now. Don't go looking for a separate violations list from the driver. It's not required anymore.
How MVRs Online Helps Employers Read and Act on an MVR
When you order a record through MVRs Online, we don't just hand you a printout and wish you luck. We review the record against what your state actually reports, confirm it was pulled and formatted correctly for that jurisdiction, and flag any section (medical certification status, conviction coding, disqualification triggers) that needs a second look before you act on it.
If something on the file looks off, like a code you don't recognize, a status that doesn't match what the driver told you, or a disqualification period that doesn't line up with the conviction date shown, we help you figure out whether there's a real dispute worth taking to the state, or whether the record's accurate and you're looking at a genuine compliance issue. Either way, you get a clear next step instead of a guess. Sitting on a record you don't fully understand is how a coding question turns into a missed disqualification or a bad hire. Get your file in front of us before that happens, not after.
FAQ
What's the difference between violation date and conviction date on an MVR?
The violation date is when the offense happened. The conviction date is when a court or agency finalized the finding. Disqualification under 49 CFR 383.51 is triggered by the conviction, so a recently adjudicated older offense can still lead to a current disqualification.
Why do MVR violation codes look different from state to state?
States use their own codes on their printouts. For sharing records between states, AAMVA's ACD (AAMVA Code Dictionary) gives a common code set used in systems like CDLIS, which is how a conviction follows a driver across state lines.
How often does an employer have to pull a driver's MVR?
Federal rule under 49 CFR 391.25 requires motor carriers to get and review an updated MVR on every employed driver at least once every 12 months, to determine whether the driver meets minimum safe-driving requirements or is disqualified. A separate pre-employment pull is also required under 49 CFR 391.23.
What happens if a CDL holder's medical certification status shows "not-certified"?
Under 49 CFR 383.73(o), the state notifies the driver that CDL privileges will be removed unless the driver gets medically certified or changes self-certification, and the downgrade must be completed and recorded within 60 days of the status becoming not-certified.
Do all states report accident history on an MVR?
No. Accident reporting on the standard MVR varies by state, and some states only show an accident if it resulted in a conviction. There's no federal mandate requiring uniform accident reporting on the record, so check with the issuing state if accident history matters to your decision.
Is the old annual list of violations requirement still in effect?
No. Former 49 CFR 391.27, which required drivers to submit their own annual list of violations, was rescinded by FMCSA effective May 9, 2022, as duplicative of the annual MVR review already required under 49 CFR 391.25.
Justin Seyl is a NATMI Certified Director of Safety and NATMI Certified Audit Specialist with 25+ years in CDL compliance. He has personally overseen the review of more than 650,000 citations and directed over 10,000 Safety Fitness Determination upgrades. He is the founder of CDL Consultants, CDL360, and CDL Manager.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- 49 CFR Part 383.91
- 49 CFR Part 383.93
- 49 CFR Part 383.95
- 49 CFR Part 383.51
- 49 CFR Part 383.71
- 49 CFR Part 391.45
- 49 CFR Part 383.73
- 49 CFR Part 391.23
- 49 CFR Part 391.51
- 49 CFR Part 391.25
- 49 CFR Part 391.27