# driver's qualification file — How long federal regulations require records to be kept: retention periods, what starts the clock, and who they bind

For driver's qualification file, regulation is 49 CFR 391.51; regulator / programme is FMCSA; retention period is for as long as a driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter; who it binds is each motor carrier; exceptions and notes is certain records — annual motor vehicle records, annual review notes, medical examiner's certificates, medical variances, and National Registry verification notes — may be removed from the file three years after the date of execution, recorded from its source on 2026-08-11.

- **Regulation:** 49 CFR 391.51 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Regulator / programme:** FMCSA _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Record type:** driver's qualification file _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Retention period:** for as long as a driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Who it binds:** each motor carrier
- **Exceptions and notes:** certain records — annual motor vehicle records, annual review notes, medical examiner's certificates, medical variances, and National Registry verification notes — may be removed from the file three years after the date of execution

## What the source says

> ( c ) Except as provided in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-391.51#p-391.51(d)> paragraph (d) of this section, each driver's qualification file shall be retained for as long as a driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter.

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-391/subpart-F/section-391.51

Last verified: 2026-08-11. Review by: 2027-08-11.
Part of [How long federal regulations require records to be kept: retention periods, what starts the clock, and who they bind](https://referencesource.org/record-retention-periods-federal/).