Compliance Information Forms
The purpose of this site is to assist our customers with compliance in connection with the acquisition and use of motor vehicle records (MVRs).
MVRs provide invaluable insight into driver risk and driver qualification. SambaSafety proudly provides MVRs to help employers manage risk and safety and help the insurance industry manage and price risk. In all cases, MVRs are based on data from public entities, and access and use of MVRs are strictly regulated. MVRs are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and various state-equivalent statutes.
A summary of end user obligations under the FCRA can be found here. End user obligations for Canadian consumers can be found here. MVR’s are only available from SambaSafety for the specified permissible purpose for which they are acquired (Employment or Insurance) and may only be used for the specified permissible purpose. Employers must be familiar with requirements to provide applicants/employees written disclosures as required under the FCRA and to obtain written permission to acquire an MVR. Employers are also required to comply with FCRA requirements for pre and post adverse action notices. There are certain exceptions for the trucking industry. Insurers must be familiar with the use limitations for the insurance permissible purpose and the notice requirements for adverse action.
A summary of reseller obligations under the FCRA can be found here. Resellers must be aware of disclosure requirements when ordering MVRs and must confirm MVRs will be used only for permissible purposes as defined under the FCRA. The FCRA also requires that resellers comply with reasonable procedures to ensure that the MVR will be resold only for permissible purposes. Resellers must also be familiar with requirements regarding accuracy and completeness and its reinvestigation obligations in the event of a consumer dispute.
For more information regarding the FCRA, please visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) website.
SambaSafety Simplifies Compliance
While it’s critical for you to know the legal requirements for background checks, you should also know that SambaSafety takes much of this burden for you with the Authorization for Enrollments process. As part of our monitoring solution, SambaSafety, you have a secure website link for your drivers to enter their license info, then view and electronically sign the required authorizations and disclosures. The signed documents are then stored with the driver’s profile, making it simple to maintain for your records.
Instead of chasing down signatures and manually uploading documents, SambaSafety makes it easy to:
- Collect driver information and required releases straight from the driver
- Accelerate enrollment of drivers into monitoring
- Store compliance documents online in the driver profile
FCRA Compliant Releases and Adverse Action
Those businesses who obtain MVRs for employment purposes must obtain written authorization from the consumer before ordering the MVR. The authorization must meet specific requirements set forth by the federal and state law. The Authorization for Enrollment process in SambaSafety lets your drivers electronically sign the required authorizations and disclosures online. You can find a sample authorization form here.
For more information on the importance of authorizations, please download our free white paper, Disclosure and Authorization Forms: Getting it Right and Lessons Learned. The white paper includes sample disclosure and authorization forms which you are free to use.
Regardless of which permissible purpose you are buying an MVR for, a decision to take an adverse action pursuant to a consumer report requires that you follow a particular procedure. Prior to taking any adverse action, a notice must be sent to the consumer informing them that an adverse action is being considered. Once the adverse action has been taken, you must notify the consumer of the adverse action, the reason for the adverse action and inform them of their rights under the FCRA.
Driver Safety Policies
A key compliance component for many companies is a driver safety policy. For commercial carriers, the safety policy ensures compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, but we strongly recommend that all companies with drivers adopt a driver safety policy. A well-drafted driver safety policy sets forth criteria for hiring, safety practices for drivers and disciplinary processes. This provides certainty in how drivers will be treated and gives companies a framework for administering this treatment fairly across its employees. To view a sample driver safety policy, download our recent white paper, Driver Safety Policies: Best Practices and Drafting Considerations.
State-Specific Compliance
There are a few states which have specific requirements regarding driver authorizations for an employer to acquire an MVR. If you’re using the Authorization for Enrollment process, SambaSafety will present the appropriate documentation for electronic signature for each state, based on the license information provided by the driver. Several states have mandatory disclosures and Washington requires a countersignature by the employer. To learn more about these disclosures and state-specific requirements, please download our Disclosure and Authorization packet. Please note that these forms are updated from time to time, so please bookmark this page and check back frequently to ensure that you have the most current form.
Some states have a compulsory requirement that certain classes of drivers (for example, commercial drivers and drivers for transportation network companies) be enrolled in a state employer notification service (Driver Monitoring Service).
SambaSafety’s Driver Monitoring Services includes the California Employer Pull Notice (EPN) Program and the New York License Event Notification Services (LENS). These states, along with Utah and Pennsylvania, have unique requirements which are listed below:
California:
New York:
Utah:
Pennsylvania:
Monitoring Meets MVR Check Rules for CDL Holders
The FMCSA requires companies with CDL drivers to pull and review an MVR annually. Since continuous driver monitoring services like SambaSafety check state DMVs more frequently, the FMCSA has said that use of such a system meets those standards. For specific details, please review our informational guide about the FMCSA, Annual MVRs and “Employer Pull Network” states.
Manual Order Processing
For our customers, there is a manual order process for certain United States territories and Canadian provinces. The process for these manual orders is as follows:
- Customer has the individual driver complete the appropriate driver release form.
- Customer creates their order electronically (via SambaSafety WebMVR or API)
- Submit the driver release to the Manual Order Processing Department via fax at 888-522-8668 or secure email at mopcustomer@sambasafety.com
The appropriate releases for manual order processing are as follows:
US Territories:
Canadian Provinces:
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nunavut
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Quebec (en français)
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
For additional details on manual order processing, click here.
Driver Resources
How do I request a free copy of my report?
If Safety Holdings Inc (d/b/a/ SambaSafety) previously prepared your report, you may request a free copy of that report. Visit our website, select Consumer Report Request and follow the instructions in order to obtain a copy of that report.
How do I dispute the accuracy of a report?
If you already have a copy of your report and you believe that any information in your consumer report contains inaccurate information or is incomplete, you may file a dispute here. The dispute investigation process may take up to 30 days, depending on the nature, scope and source of the information being disputed.
Employer Resources
The Authorization for Enrollment process in SambaSafety simplifies compliance for you with a hands-off process. All the needed authorizations and disclosures — including state-specific documents — are presented and e-signatures collected. It then stores the documents with the newly-created driver profile in SambaSafety.
A summary of employer obligations under the FCRA can be found here.
Employers can access a white paper on driver safety policy best practices which includes sample safety policies that you can adapt for your company.
Employee authorizations in Minnesota and Oklahoma must include a “check the box” option for the employee to request a copy of the employee’s MVR. If the employee checks the box, you may use this form to request that a copy of the employee MVR is sent directly to the employee.
Background Screener Resources
A summary of background screener obligations under the FCRA can be found here.
For escalation of consumer disputes, please use this form.
Encourage your customers to download our driver safety policy best practices.