If you have commercial drivers in California, compliance comes from two directions: the state's Employer Pull Notice (EPN) program and the FMCSA's federal annual MVR requirement. Different regulators enforce each one, often through different tools. Meeting one requirement doesn't automatically satisfy the other, and many employers end up juggling the DMV's EPN system for the state side and a separate process for federal MVR compliance. How do you meet both requirements without bouncing between two systems?
The solution is to manage continuous driver monitoring, FMCSA compliance, and the California EPN program in one system, and we've built new tools to make that possible.
Key Takeaways
- SambaSafety acts as your EPN agent, automatically pulling California notices into your account.
- The same platform also satisfies your federal FMCSA annual MVR requirement through the ENS.
- Review and acknowledge EPNs one at a time, or download a batch to work through together.
- Every viewed EPN is stamped with who reviewed it and when, ready for an audit request.
- Alerts and driver profiles link directly to the EPN tied to that activity.
- Beyond EPN, the same platform covers CSA monitoring and driver training.
EPN and FMCSA Compliance: Two Birds, One Stone
SambaSafety can be your one-stop shop for monitoring your drivers' licenses. When you use SambaSafety as your agent for the California EPN program, we build a digital bridge to California's DMV system. You manage your entire roster in the platform, adding new drivers and archiving former drivers, and those updates sync automatically on the state's side. The system handles your annual EPN request, so you're not chasing down a manual request every year.
The federal side works the same way. With SambaSafety's continuous driver monitoring, you also satisfy the FMCSA's annual MVR requirement across 23 states, including California, through what's known as the Employer Notification System (ENS).
A Quick Tour of the EPN Management Tool
SambaSafety's EPN Management tool lets you view EPNs one at a time, automatically recording each one as viewed by the logged-in user. A bulk downloader is also built in, and EPNs are available from related workflows like Alerts.
If you have a large number of drivers and need to review EPNs regularly, the tool is built for that pace. Work down the list by clicking "View EPN," and each one is stamped with a digital signature showing who reviewed it and when.
Download and Acknowledge EPNs in Bulk
When EPN review falls behind, the "Bulk Download and Acknowledge" tool makes it simple to catch up. Select the EPNs you want, download them as a single PDF, and the system marks them as viewed by the logged-in user.
Acknowledge EPNs via Alerts and Driver Profiles
The most common workflow starts with Alerts. If an alert has an associated EPN, you can download it directly from there, which marks it as viewed by the logged-in user. You can also view the EPN from the driver's profile at any time. However you view it first, whether from an Alert or a Driver Profile, it's marked as viewed and available afterward under "Viewed EPNs" in the EPN Management tool.
The Faster, Easier Way to Acknowledge EPNs
Enrolling in EPN gets you the required visibility. Managing what comes after, reviewing, signing, and archiving every notice, is where the work adds up, especially if CHP asks for proof it happened. SambaSafety's EPN tools handle that day-to-day workflow inside the same platform you already use for continuous monitoring, so EPN review is one more screen, not a separate process.
Beyond EPN and MVR: What Else Comes With It
Once your California EPN and federal MVR requirements run through SambaSafety, the same platform covers considerably more ground. CSA monitoring tracks roadside inspections, citations, and DOT reportable crashes alongside your license and violation data, so a compliance issue surfaces in the same place as everything else, instead of a separate FMCSA portal.
When monitoring surfaces a risk, you can also assign targeted training from a catalog of more than 400 courses without leaving the platform. Customers using monitoring and training together see a 77% reduction in violations after 12 months, nearly double what monitoring alone delivers.
If you're interested in learning more about how SambaSafety can help you with compliance and make your company safer, schedule a demo below.
