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Pre-hire vetting

Two ways to vet a new CDL driver.

Every motor carrier reaches the same fork: run the FMCSA-required minimum, or pull the deeper file that your contracts, your insurer, and your safety culture probably already expect. This page explains the difference — what's in each, what it costs, and which one is right for the hire in front of you.

Option A · Minimum required

Option B · Recommended for company drivers

Pre-Hire Screening

The DOT minimum.

What FMCSA requires before you put a driver behind the wheel. Fast, lean, federally compliant.

$95–$121

per driver*

MVRState driving record · 49 CFR 391.23 $14.25–$39.75
DOT pre-employment drug test5-panel urinalysis · 49 CFR 40 / 382.301 $69
Clearinghouse query (admin)Full query · 49 CFR 382.701(a) $12

Best fit Owner-operators onboarding themselves. You don't need to run a criminal background on yourself, and the FMCSA-required checks are sufficient to put you legally on the road.

* Two things to know MVR is priced by the state's DMV — order from the state where the CDL was issued. Range here is $14.25 (CA) to $39.75 (OK). See full state list → Clearinghouse: the $12 is our admin fee. You must also have your own Clearinghouse account enrolled in your member portal and pre-purchase $1.25 queries from FMCSA — we can't buy those on your behalf.

Order in member portal → Not a member yet

Pre-Hire Vetting · Full

The company-driver standard.

Everything in the minimum, plus the two checks most fleets and freight contracts actually expect to see.

$154–$180

per driver*

MVRState driving record · 49 CFR 391.23 $14.25–$39.75
DOT pre-employment drug test5-panel urinalysis · 49 CFR 40 / 382.301 $69
Clearinghouse query (admin)Full query · 49 CFR 382.701(a) $12
PSP reportPre-Employment Screening Program · 5-yr crash + 3-yr inspection history $20
Criminal background checkNational criminal database, SSN trace, sex-offender + watchlist $39

Best fit You're hiring a driver who'll operate your equipment, represent your brand, or move freight where the broker, shipper, or insurer requires vetted drivers. PSP and a criminal check fill the two gaps the DOT minimum leaves open.

Order in member portal → Not a member yet

What does each pre-hire check actually do?

Plain-language summaries — what the check is, what it surfaces, and which option includes it.

In both

49 CFR 391.23 / 391.25

MVR

State-issued driving record. Surfaces moving violations, suspensions, accidents, and CDL endorsements/restrictions for every state where the driver has held a license.

In both

49 CFR 40 / 382.301

DOT Drug Test

5-panel pre-employment urinalysis at a SAMHSA-certified lab. Marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, PCP. Required before the driver performs any safety-sensitive function.

In both

49 CFR 382.701(a)

Clearinghouse

Full query of the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Surfaces any drug/alcohol violation in the driver's history that hasn't been resolved through the return-to-duty process. Carrier must hold their own Clearinghouse account and pre-purchased queries.

Deep only

FMCSA · MAP-21 §32308

PSP Report

Pre-Employment Screening Program: 5 years of roadside inspection results and 5 years of reportable crashes. Reveals unsafe driving patterns the MVR doesn't capture — out-of-service violations, log issues, brake defects.

Deep only

FCRA-compliant

Criminal Background

County, state, and federal criminal records search. Standard 7-year scope. Surfaces felony and misdemeanor convictions that could disqualify the driver under your policy or your shipper's contract.

Which one is right for the hire in front of you?

Think about who you're vetting, what they'll be driving, and what your contracts require.

Go with the DOT minimum Option A

The federally-required floor. Right when one of these is true:

✓ You're an owner-operator onboarding yourself (no need to run a criminal check on yourself).
✓ You're an owner-op with your own authority and your contracts don't require a vetted-driver standard.
✓ You need a driver legal to dispatch today and will follow up with deeper vetting if you decide to hire long-term.
✓ Cost matters more than insurance/contract leverage and the risk profile is low.

Go with the full vetting Option B

The standard most fleets land on. Right when one of these is true:

✓ You're hiring a driver who will operate your equipment and represent your company.
✓ Your shippers, brokers, or insurer require vetted drivers or background-cleared crews.
✓ The freight is high-value, hazmat, food-grade, or otherwise carries elevated security expectations.
✓ You want to see the driver's roadside-inspection history (PSP) before you put them on a truck.

Ready to onboard?

Either option is ordered the same way — through your member portal. Pick what fits the hire, we run the checks, results land in your account.

Existing member

Order checks for a new driver

Go to member portal → members.verticalidentity.com/account

Not yet a member

Enroll in 5 minutes

Set up your carrier account and you'll be ordering screening packages on the same day. No long-term contract.

Start enrollment → members.verticalidentity.com/enroll

Frequently asked.

Is the DOT minimum legally enough to put a driver on the road?

For an owner-operator running under their own authority, yes — MVR, pre-employment drug test, and a Clearinghouse query satisfy 49 CFR's pre-hire requirements. For a company driver, you also need the rest of the Driver Qualification file (application, road test, medical exam, prior-employer verifications, etc.) within 30 days. Pre-hire screening is one piece of the larger DQF. Talk to us about full DQ file management if that's what you need.

Why isn't PSP required by FMCSA?

PSP is a tool FMCSA provides but doesn't mandate. It exists because Congress created it under MAP-21 (§32308) so carriers could see a driver's roadside-inspection and crash history before hiring. Carriers that pull PSP before hiring report measurably lower crash rates — that's why most insurers and shippers expect to see it on file even though regulation doesn't force you to run it.

Why does a criminal background check matter for a driver?

Two reasons. First, drivers represent your brand at every loading dock and every fuel stop — a felony record may matter to your shippers and your customers. Second, certain freight contracts (food-grade, hazmat, high-value, government, port) require vetted drivers as a condition of the load. Running a criminal check before the hire prevents you from finding out at dispatch.

Can we run the minimum first and add PSP / criminal later?

Yes. Order Option A to get the driver dispatchable, then order PSP and a criminal background separately if your hire moves from probationary to long-term. The order forms in the member portal let you add individual checks at any time.

How fast do results come back?

Most checks return same-day to next-business-day. MVR and Clearinghouse are real-time. PSP returns within a few hours. A criminal background check usually completes in 1–3 business days depending on jurisdiction. The DOT drug test is paced by the driver getting to a SAMHSA-certified collection site — typically 24–72 hours.

What about the rest of the Driver Qualification file?

Pre-hire screening is just the entry point. A complete DQ file under 49 CFR 391.51 includes 11 documents — application, road test, medical exam, annual MVR review, employment history, and more — and we manage that whole file separately. See DQ File Management →