Why is PSP different from an MVR?

The MVR is state-DMV-centric. Each MVR returns the record for one state. A driver with a multi-state license history needs one MVR per state where they held a license during the prior 3 years (caught up by a CDLIS query).

PSP is federal and driver-centric. One PSP report covers every roadside inspection on the driver during the last 5 years and every reportable DOT crash during the last 3 years, regardless of which carrier the driver was operating under at the time. A driver who worked for two carriers in the last three years has both sets of inspection events on the same PSP report.

In practice, MVR catches license-action events the inspector doesn't see - DUI conviction reported by a state court, a suspension for unpaid child support, a license withdrawal for medical certification lapse. PSP catches HOS violations, pre-trip violations, and equipment-violation patterns that never become court cases.

For pre-employment under §391.23(d), the regulation requires a "good-faith effort" to investigate the driver. That effort is most defensible when the carrier runs both MVR and PSP - the two reports together cover the full driver-record surface. PSP requires written FCRA-compliant driver consent before pulling.