49 CFR § 391.27
Record of violations [Reserved]
This section was removed. It is marked [Reserved] in the Code of Federal Regulations.
FMCSA removed 49 CFR § 391.27 effective , in the final rule “Record of Violations” at 87 FR 13192. Nothing new was added. FMCSA removed the section as duplicative of the annual inquiry and review of the driving record at 49 CFR 391.25, which remains in force and was amended by the same rule to reach every licensing authority that issued the driver a CMV licence or permit, including foreign ones.
Citation checked against eCFR and the Federal Register on 2026-09-09.
What 49 CFR § 391.27 used to require
49 CFR 391.27 no longer exists. Open it in the Code of Federal Regulations today and it reads [Reserved]. FMCSA removed the annual driver-furnished list of violations effective May 9, 2022, in the Record of Violations final rule, on the reasoning that it duplicated the annual review of the driving record the carrier already has to run under 49 CFR 391.25. A carrier that stopped collecting the driver's annual list is compliant. A DQF checklist that still lists 391.27 is out of date, and a carrier cannot be cited for not having the form.
Regulation text (summary)
Reserved. 49 CFR 391.27 carries no regulatory text. Until 2022-05-09 it required each motor carrier to have every driver prepare and furnish, at least once every 12 months, a signed list of the driver's traffic convictions and bond forfeitures for the preceding 12 months, or a written certification that there were none. FMCSA removed the section in the Record of Violations final rule at 87 FR 13192.
Read full regulation at eCFR.govWho has to comply with 49 CFR § 391.27 now?
Nobody. The obligation was removed. What survives is 49 CFR 391.25: at least once every 12 months, the carrier obtains the motor vehicle record from each licensing authority that issued the driver a CMV licence or permit during the period, reviews it against the disqualification standards in 49 CFR 391.15, and files both the record and a dated note naming the person who did the review. Those two items are the DQF elements at 49 CFR 391.51(b)(4) and (b)(5).
Can you still be cited under 49 CFR § 391.27?
Nothing. There is no requirement here to violate and no penalty attaches to a reserved section. Carriers occasionally worry about the reverse case, keeping old lists on file. Retaining a signed list a driver furnished before May 2022 is not itself a violation; the record is simply no longer required and no longer has a retention clock of its own.
Common misinterpretations
- Misinterpretation: 'My DQF checklist lists 391.27, so I still need the annual violation list.' Reality: the checklist is out of date. FMCSA removed the section effective May 9, 2022. The current list of driver qualification file contents at 49 CFR 391.51(b) has eight items and none of them is a driver-furnished list of violations.
- Misinterpretation: 'Removing 391.27 means the annual driver review went away.' Reality: it did not. 49 CFR 391.25 still requires the annual motor vehicle record inquiry, the carrier's review of it, and a dated note naming the reviewer. The same 2022 rule amended 391.25 to reach every licensing authority that issued the driver a CMV licence or permit, not only States, which is the change carriers with foreign-licensed drivers actually had to make.
- Misinterpretation: 'The employment application's violation list was removed too.' Reality: no. 49 CFR 391.21 still requires the applicant to list traffic violations at hire. That is a one-time hiring document with its own 3-year lookback, and it is a different record from the annual list that 391.27 used to require.
- Misinterpretation: 'I should purge the old 391.27 lists from my files.' Reality: there is no purge obligation, and no rule against keeping them. They are simply not evidence of anything an auditor will ask for. If an old list is the only thing in the file for a given year, it does not satisfy 391.25, which needs the motor vehicle record itself plus the reviewer note.
Frequently asked questions
Is the annual driver list (certificate) of violations still required?▾
No. 49 CFR 391.27 was removed effective May 9, 2022 by FMCSA's Record of Violations final rule at 87 FR 13192. The section now reads [Reserved]. Carriers no longer collect a driver-furnished annual list of traffic convictions, and a carrier cannot be cited for not having one.
What did 49 CFR 391.27 require before it was removed?▾
It required each motor carrier to have every driver prepare and furnish, at least once every 12 months, a signed list of the traffic violations (parking excluded) the driver had been convicted of, or had forfeited bond or collateral on, during the preceding 12 months, including the date, nature, location and jurisdiction of each. If the driver had none, the driver had to certify that in writing.
Why did FMCSA remove it?▾
Because it duplicated an obligation the carrier already had. FMCSA's stated reasoning in the final rule is that the driver-furnished list was largely duplicative of the annual inquiry under 49 CFR 391.25, which requires the carrier to obtain the driver's motor vehicle record from the licensing authority directly. The same rule closed the one gap that created: 391.25 was amended so the annual inquiry reaches every licensing authority that issued the driver a CMV licence or permit, including a foreign authority, rather than only States.
What do I do now for the annual driver review?▾
Run 49 CFR 391.25. At least once every 12 months, obtain the motor vehicle record from each licensing authority where the driver held a CMV licence or permit during the period, review it against the disqualification standards at 49 CFR 391.15, and put both the record and a dated note naming the reviewer in the driver qualification file. Those are the two DQF elements at 49 CFR 391.51(b)(4) and (b)(5).
What should I do with the 391.27 lists already in my driver files?▾
Leave them or remove them; neither is a violation. They are no longer a required record and no longer carry a retention period of their own. The one thing to check is that each driver's file has the 391.25 motor vehicle record and reviewer note for the years in question, because an old driver-furnished list does not stand in for them.
Can an auditor still cite me for a missing 391.27 list?▾
No. There is no requirement in a reserved section. If a checklist, a broker packet or a third-party audit report asks for a 391.27 certificate, the answer is that FMCSA removed it effective May 9, 2022, and the current record is the annual review under 391.25.
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Primary source: eCFR.gov: 49 CFR § 391.27
Reviewed by Chad Griffith (Founder + CEO, FileFlo) on