Set up a commercial driver file (Driver Qualification and Hours of Service)

What a commercial driver file is

A commercial driver's file (a Driver Qualification, or DQ, file) holds the records a regulated carrier must keep for each driver, plus their Hours of Service. The app tracks which records are on file, watches the renewal dates, and flags a driver with deficiencies until the file is complete and current.

Step 1: Make sure the Transport module is on

Commercial driver files live in the Transport section. If you do not see Transport in the side nav, switch on the Commercial Vehicles / Transport module in settings (it is a per-tenant toggle).

Step 2: Add the driver

Go to Transport, then Drivers, and open Add Driver. Enter:

• Full name (required)
• Licence number and licence class (for example Class 1)
• Licence expiry date
• Hired on date
• Linked app user (optional): connect the driver to their worker login so renewal reminders reach them directly
• Notes

Save. The driver now has their own file (click the row). The list shows a Complete or X deficiencies badge beside each driver.

Step 3: Build the Driver Qualification (DQ) file

Open the driver's file. The DQ section lists every required record with its status. Upload each as a PDF or photo. The required DQ records are:

• Application for employment
• Initial commercial abstract (the driver's abstract at hire)
• Annual abstract update, refreshed at least every 12 months (date tracked, with a 45 day reminder)
• Pre-employment work history
• Conviction and penalty records
• Reportable collision records
• Safety training and competency log
• Training certificates (MELT, TDG, air brake, and any others)
• Medical fitness verification, a current medical certificate (date tracked, with a 45 day reminder)

For each record, upload the file and, where it applies, set the renewal date so the app can warn you before it expires.

Step 4: Hours of Service

The Hours of Service section holds the driver's records of duty status (daily logs) and supporting documents.

• If you have connected an ELD (Motive and others), duty status flows in automatically. See "Connect your fleet's Motive ELD".
• Otherwise, log duty status by hand on the driver's HOS panel.
• Set the driver's HOS cycle on their file.

Records of duty status are required. Supporting documents are optional but recommended.

Step 5: Medical records are restricted

Medical documents can be held in the restricted Medical Vault on the driver's file. Only users with Medical vault access (or the driver themselves) can open them. Grant that access with the Medical vault checkbox on a permission profile.

Reading the file and staying ahead

• Driver list: each driver shows Complete (green) or X deficiencies (red). A deficiency is any required record that is missing or expired.
• Transport hub: a compliance snapshot shows drivers with deficiencies and the open missing and expired counts.
• Reminders: the app warns managers, and the linked driver, 45 days before an annual abstract, a medical, or a licence expires.

Keeping the file current

A driver reads as complete only when every required record is on file and unexpired. The recurring tasks are:

• Refresh the annual abstract every 12 months.
• Renew the medical before it expires.
• Keep training certificates and the licence current.