How closely are you paying attention to driver safety? The FMCSA has strict compliance requirements designed to protect the nation’s roadways, but those rules alone don’t guarantee that your drivers are always operating safely and compliantly.
Case in point: nearly one in five audit violations is entirely preventable with an MVR Monitoring program. While these programs aren’t mandatory, more carriers are adopting them as a way to gain real-time visibility into driver records. The goal is to ensure that every time a driver heads out on the road, they’re fully qualified and compliant.
What Is Continuous MVR Monitoring?
Continuous MVR monitoring provides around-the-clock visibility into each driver’s motor vehicle record. Instead of waiting until the annual review, carriers receive alerts whenever there’s a change, or “hit,” on a driver’s record.
These updates might include positive actions, such as a CDL or medical card renewal, or they could reveal critical risks like:
- An expired, revoked, or suspended CDL
- An expired medical certificate
- A motor vehicle accident
- Driving infractions such as speeding, improper lane changes, or reckless driving
How Many FMCSA Audit Violations Could MVR Monitoring Prevent?
From 2023 to 2025, nearly 41,000 audit violations were directly tied to issues that could have been prevented with an MVR Monitoring program. Year over year, the percentage of preventable violations has stayed remarkably consistent at around 17%. However, 2025 showed a noticeable uptick to almost 19%.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total violation count | 81,784 | 81,288 | 67,715 |
| MVR-related violations | 14,255 | 14,169 | 12,806 |
| Share of total | 17.4% | 17.4% | 18.9% |
When you average across all three years, that means nearly one in five violations could have been avoided with continuous driver monitoring. And it’s not just a matter of compliance; avoiding these violations is also a win for overall safety, liability, and business practices.
What Are the Most Common Violations Preventable with MVR Monitoring?
#1: Violation of Local Laws
This violation has held the top spot for years, making it the most frequently cited issue in FMCSA audits. In 2025 alone, it accounted for 11.6% of all audit violations.
A citation under 392.2 doesn’t just reflect a driver’s unsafe behavior, like speeding, reckless driving, or multiple accidents. It also points to a carrier’s failure to take corrective action, such as coaching or safe driver training, when those issues surface.
How MVR Monitoring Helps: With continuous monitoring, carriers are alerted to violations as soon as they’re posted to a driver’s record. While drivers are required to self-report, many don’t—and waiting for an annual review could mean months of missed opportunities to intervene.
Monitoring also sends a strong signal to auditors that you’re not ignoring violations, you’re tracking and addressing them. Demonstrating that you took swift corrective action goes a long way toward reducing penalties in an audit.
#2: Operating with a Suspended or Invalid CDL
It goes without saying, but drivers must hold a valid CDL to operate legally. Allowing someone to drive with a suspended, revoked, or otherwise invalid license is a serious violation—and one of the most frequently cited in FMCSA audits.
In 2024, auditors cited 1,423 instances of drivers operating with suspended or invalid CDLs. In 2025, that number dipped slightly to 1,205 violations, but it still represented a significant share of total findings.
How MVR Monitoring Helps: Continuous license monitoring is one of the clearest advantages of an MVR program. If a CDL is suspended due to a DUI, excessive points, or unpaid fines, the monitoring service notifies the carrier right away. The same applies if a license expires or if an endorsement (like hazmat or tanker) is missing.
With that visibility, carriers can immediately pull unqualified drivers off the road—preventing violations, avoiding liability, and proving to auditors that they have strong oversight in place.
#3: Missing or Expired Medical Certificates
Every CDL driver must be medically qualified to drive, which means passing a DOT medical exam and holding a current Medical Examiner’s Certificate. If that certificate expires, the driver is no longer legally authorized to operate a CMV. Auditors regularly cite 391.45 violations for “using a driver not medically examined/certified” or for “expired Medical Examiner’s Certificates.” These account for hundreds of violations each year.
How MVR Monitoring Helps: Many states automatically link CDL status to medical certification. When a driver’s medical card expires and isn’t updated, the CDL may be downgraded or suspended. Continuous monitoring catches those changes right away, alerting carriers before an unqualified driver ends up on the road.
Even better, monitoring can be paired with internal tracking to flag upcoming expirations. In practice, carriers with MVR monitoring are rarely caught with drivers missing current medical cards, as they receive alerts in time to send drivers for renewal or remove them from service. The result is fewer violations, safer roads, and full confidence that every driver behind the wheel is medically fit for duty.
#4: Failure to Review and Retain Driving Records
By law, every carrier has to pull each driver’s MVR at least once a year, review it, and keep both the record and the review note in the driver qualification (DQ) file.
When that paperwork is missing, it’s a violation. In 2025, “inquiries into driving record not kept in DQ file” accounted for 1.65% of all audit violations.
How MVR Monitoring Helps: A monitoring program takes the manual work out of this requirement. Because the system automatically pulls updated MVRs from the state, each driver’s file is always current—often refreshed monthly, or immediately after a new citation or update posts. That means if an auditor asks, you can show up-to-date records on the spot.
This kind of automation not only reduces busywork but also removes the risk of missing annual checks. The nearly 2% of violations tied to missing MVRs or incomplete files could effectively disappear with continuous monitoring in place.
Why Does Continuous MVR Monitoring Matter for Carriers?
MVR Monitoring may not be required by FMCSA, but it’s quickly becoming essential. Beyond avoiding nearly 20% of all audit violations, continuous monitoring also:
- Closes the visibility gap between annual MVR checks
- Reduces crash risk and liability by identifying at-risk drivers early
- Strengthens your insurance position with proactive risk management
- Builds a safer culture through targeted coaching and accountability
How Can US Compliance Help Carriers Get Started?
When you manage drivers, what you don’t know can cost you—in insurance claims, downtime, fines, lost contracts, and reputational damage. Our MVR Monitoring program keeps a live pulse on your drivers’ records so you can act before small issues become expensive problems.
Instead of pulling MVRs once or twice a year and hoping nothing changed, we deliver continuous, automated updates on license status, medical certifications, and violations. You’ll know when a risk appears, who’s affected, and what to do next.
Compliance is the baseline of what’s expected of you as a motor carrier. Protecting your people, brand, and revenue is the real goal. With US Compliance, you’ll have the tools and expertise to stay compliant, keep qualified drivers on the road, and safeguard your business.
To learn more about our MVR Monitoring program, contact our team of compliance experts today.