Tools

Commercial driver checker

List your drivers' ages, experience, violations and accidents and see which ones commercial auto underwriters would likely question, and what to do about each.

Runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent or stored by this site. Results are estimates for planning, not a quote or advice.

How to use it

Have each driver's motor vehicle record (MVR) in front of you. For each driver, enter:

  • Name, optional. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
  • Age and years licensed.
  • CDL, if the driver holds a commercial driver's license.
  • Major violations in the past 3 years and in the past 5 years: DUI or impaired driving, reckless driving, a license suspension or revocation, and leaving the scene of an accident.
  • Minor violations in the past 3 and 5 years: other moving violations, such as speeding or an improper lane change.
  • At-fault accidents in the past 3 years.

The 5-year counts include the 3-year ones. Use Add a driver for more rows.

On the left are the screening points: 3 minor violations in 3 years, 2 at-fault accidents in 3 years, 3 minor violations and accidents combined, drivers under 25, and fewer than 2 years licensed. They are typical examples of how commercial auto underwriters screen drivers, not rules. Each insurer sets its own guidelines and does not publish them, so ask your broker for the carrier's and replace these.

The logic

Each driver gets one of three results, from the most serious reason found:

  • Likely unacceptable as listed: any major violation in the past 3 years; minor violations or at-fault accidents at the screening point; minor violations and accidents together at the combined point; or a CDL holder under 21. Federal rules (49 CFR 391.11) require interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers to be at least 21.
  • Review with the carrier: a major violation 3 to 5 years ago (many carriers look back 5 years or more, longer for DUI); one fewer minor violation than the point; one at-fault accident; a pattern of minor violations over 5 years; a driver younger than the age point; or fewer years licensed than the experience point.
  • Within these points: nothing above.

Each result comes with what to do. For a driver under review, that means carrier approval, training (a defensive driving course, coaching with telematics), restricting the driver to lighter vehicles or local routes, and checking the MVR every 6 to 12 months. For a driver who is likely unacceptable, the options are to keep the person off the road until the carrier reviews the MVR, take them off driving duties, ask the carrier to accept with a surcharge, or use a named driver exclusion where the state and the policy allow it.

Hypothetical: a 23-year-old with five years licensed and two speeding tickets in three years comes back as "review": one ticket short of the point, and under 25.

Assumptions and limits

  • Guidelines vary by insurer. A driver one carrier declines, another may accept with a surcharge. The tool shows where a question is likely, not the answer.
  • State point systems vary by state. What an MVR shows, how long it shows it and how a state counts points all differ, so the tool counts violations by type and does not use any state's point table.
  • Named driver exclusions. Not every state or policy allows them. An excluded driver who drives anyway can leave the business without coverage, and for motor carriers the MCS-90 endorsement can make the insurer pay an injured member of the public and then seek repayment from you. See The MCS-90 endorsement explained: what it guarantees and what it doesn't.
  • The federal floor. For commercial motor vehicles, FMCSA requires an MVR within 30 days of hire and a review at least every 12 months (49 CFR 391.23 and 391.25). Background checks through a screening company also bring Fair Credit Reporting Act duties. See Driver selection, MVRs and your commercial auto premium.

Write the standard down and apply it to everyone, as building a fleet safety program that insurers notice describes, and read commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out for how drivers affect the policy.

Last reviewed October 24, 2026

Related guides

Driver selection, MVRs and your commercial auto premium How motor vehicle records, driver standards and annual reviews shape commercial auto pricing and liability, plus the FMCSA hiring rules and FCRA steps for MVRs. Building a fleet safety program that insurers notice The parts of a fleet safety program, which FMCSA rules apply to which vehicles, and what underwriters look for in driver standards, maintenance and crashes. Commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out How a business auto policy works: liability, physical damage, who counts as an insured, which vehicles are covered, common gaps and what drives the premium. The MCS-90 endorsement explained: what it guarantees and what it doesn't The MCS-90 guarantees an injured member of the public can collect a judgment from the trucker's insurer, which can then bill the trucker back. How it works. Telematics and dashcams in commercial auto insurance What fleet telematics and cameras record, how insurers use the data in pricing and claims, what research shows, and the privacy and evidence rules to plan for.

Terms used here

Fleet A group of business vehicles insured together under one commercial auto program, often five or more, and rated more on the group's losses than on any one unit. Exclusion A policy provision that removes coverage for specified perils, property, people or types of loss that the insuring agreement would otherwise include. MCS-90 A federal endorsement on a trucker's liability policy that guarantees payment of judgments to the public up to the federal minimum, even for excluded losses. Loss run An insurer-issued report listing every claim on a policy over a period, with dates, amounts paid, reserves held and whether each claim is open or closed.

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