What changed

AAMVA released 2025 CDLIS data integrity findings in late September 2025. The most common gap: licensing events (suspensions, downgrades, conviction reports) take an average of 9 days to propagate across the CDLIS network from the originating state to the driver's current licensing state. The §384.105 10-day requirement is generally met, but only barely.

Practical effect: an MVR pulled the day before a state-issued suspension lands in CDLIS will look clean even though the driver should be flagged. A re-pull 30 days later would catch it.

How to handle the lag

Pull MVRs from the driver's current state of license at every annual re-pull (49 CFR §391.25). For drivers who have changed state of license in the prior year, pull from both the old and new states to catch any pending events.

Run pre-employment MVR through the state CDL agency's online portal where available. The state portal data is fresher than third-party MVR aggregators that pull from snapshot databases.

When to use third-party MVR services

Third-party MVR aggregators (HireRight, DriverHire, etc.) are convenient because they handle multi-state pulls in a single transaction. They are less timely than direct state pulls because they cache data on a 24-72-hour cycle. For high-volume hiring, the convenience generally outweighs the freshness gap.

For situations where MVR freshness matters (pre-dispatch verification of a driver returning from a suspended period), pull directly from the state DMV.

What to do next

Audit your MVR pulls. Confirm pulls are happening at hire and annually thereafter. Document the source (direct state vs third-party aggregator). Our /guides/eldt-cdl-training-requirements page covers MVR-related driver-fitness rules.