AAMVA

Also known as: American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

By Korey Sharp-Paar · Reviewed by the Fast Trucking Compliance team

Definition

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is the non-profit association of state and provincial motor-vehicle and law-enforcement officials that operates CDLIS and several other interstate driver and vehicle systems on behalf of state DMVs. Founded in 1933, it runs CDLIS (the Commercial Driver’s License Information System), the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) and the State-to-State Verification Service used to enforce one-driver-one-license. AAMVA is a data steward, not a record holder: the driving records themselves stay with the issuing state DMV, and AAMVA’s systems are pointers and exchange protocols. For driver screening, the practical touchpoint is CDLIS: a cross-state CDL check is an AAMVA query that points to the state DMVs whose MVRs complete the driver’s history.

Authoritative source

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

CDLIS vs MVR

A Motor Vehicle Record only shows what one state knows. CDLIS is the federal database of every CDL ever issued. Here is what each report catches.

Related terms

CDLIS(Commercial Driver's License Information System)
MVR(Motor Vehicle Record)
49 CFR §391.23(Investigation and Inquiries)

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