bg-psp-pre-employment-screening

name	bg-psp-pre-employment-screening
description	Use this skill to use the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) for evaluating driver applicants. Covers what PSP shows, cost, and how to interpret reports.

Using FMCSA PSP for Pre-Employment Screening

PSP is an FMCSA-run service that provides 5 years of driver crash + inspection history. Useful as a complement to MVR + driver-disclosure information.

What PSP contains

• 5 years of driver's crash history (DOT-reportable crashes)
• 5 years of driver's inspection history (roadside inspections)
• All violations cited against the driver
• Out-of-service designations
• Driver's CSA Driver Fitness BASIC contribution (if any)

What PSP does NOT contain

• Criminal background
• Civil history (court cases)
• Employment history (use § 391.23 inquiry for that)
• Personal information beyond crash/inspection data

Cost + how to obtain

• $10 per record per driver
• Available via PSP-Online (paid subscription)
• Available via NICB membership
• Available via JJ Keller, Foley, other vendors
• Most commonly: FMCSA portal directly

When to use

• Pre-employment screening (driver applicant evaluation)
• Driver investigation (post-incident review)
• Comparison against driver's stated history
• Identifying patterns (driver claims they're clean; PSP shows otherwise)

How to interpret a PSP report

• Look for pattern (frequent inspections, multiple OOS designations)
• Pay attention to violation severity (driver was OOS = high concern)
• Compare to driver's self-reported history (consistency check)
• Note "preventable" designation on crashes (driver was at fault)

What raises concerns

• 3+ DOT-recordable crashes in 5 years
• 2+ OOS designations
• Pattern of HOS violations (suggests pattern of behavior)
• Driver licensing/medical issues
• Multiple disqualifying offenses

What's normal

• 0-1 crashes in 5 years
• 0-2 inspections
• Minor violations (faded reflector, expired permit) typically resolved

FCRA considerations

• PSP is a "consumer report" under FCRA
• Driver consent required before pulling
• If used in adverse action, FCRA disclosure process applies

Compass background tracker

• Integrates PSP for pre-employment workflow
• Cross-references against driver's application
• Flags discrepancies for investigation
• Generates FCRA-compliant adverse action documentation if needed

CFR citations

• 49 CFR § 385
• FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program

How Compass surfaces this

Searchable in Compass Ask. Runs against carrier fleet data when invoked from the relevant tracker. Read-only; no actions without explicit user approval.

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X3 Compass turns these skills into a complete operational platform: driver qualification files, drug & alcohol consortium, MVR pulls, hours-of-service tracking, hazmat shipping, IFTA filing, FMCSA audit prep, and DataQ dispute drafting — all CFR-cited, all in one place.

This skill is published under the X3 Compass open skills initiative. Contributions welcome at https://github.com/x3fleetsafety/skills