Compliance experts in a recent webinar pointed out several major changes expected to affect trucking companies and drivers this year. Changes addressed included English Language Proficiency (ELP) testing, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) and CDL training registries, CSA scoring, and the recent final rule from the FMCSA final rule from the FMCSA in February that largely eliminates CDL eligibility for non-citizens.
In the wake of these shifting regulations, several tech providers have launched or updated their platforms with solutions to give trucking companies and their drivers visibility into licensing statuses and more. However, many trucking companies may be under the impression that this help is not available.
Mike Kucharski, co-owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, said his company is not aware of a comprehensive technology solution that fully manages non-domiciled CDLs or foreign worker document tracking in one place. The company relies heavily on structured processes and close coordination with its payroll provider to ensure documentation is collected and verified at the time of hire. When a driver is onboarded, their information runs through payroll systems that verify Social Security and employment eligibility; the company also conducts standard background checks, including Motor Vehicle Records (MVR).
“Much of the ongoing compliance, such as monitoring CDL expiration dates, work authorization documents, and annual motor vehicle record checks, is still a largely manual process across the industry,” Kucharski said. “Given the complexity and regulatory exposure involved, I do believe trucking companies would benefit from more advanced, integrated technology to help manage compliance proactively rather than reactively.”
Integrated compliance solutions
Fleetworthy, the fleet management software provider that hosted “Fleet Compliance: What 2026 Will Demand from Fleets” webinar, can help fleets with compliance around non-domiciled CDLs, ELP and medical cards within its safety and compliance offering. Its offerings include driver qualification file management; driver onboarding and ongoing qualification; expiration tracking with automated monitoring of required documents and alerts to prevent lapses and compliance gaps; and management of testing programs, records and reporting to support DOT and FMCSA requirements.
Fleet management and driver safety platform Motive recently rolled out new advanced AI capabilities as part of its expanded Workforce Management product that aim to give organizations a single place to track and manage compliance documentation, timecards and training, including automated record pulls for each driver.
The new capabilities include integrated Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs), allowing companies to initiate and manage MVR pulls directly in the Motive dashboard, with records automatically organized, kept up to date and tracked with expiration alerts; driver walkthrough, which helps ensure drivers are properly qualified by automatically preventing vehicle access or duty status when required documents are missing or expired; AI-powered document capture, which allows drivers to upload documents like licenses, medical cards and MVRs directly in the app at which point AI extracts key details to reduce manual entry and prevent compliance errors; and a new workforce management hub that connects driver profiles and workforce information in one place, with AI-powered insights to help leaders spot compliance risks, guide coaching and improve productivity.
“If all these documents are sitting in a filing cabinet, how do I know which ones are expired or expiring soon? Now that we've got this all in the dashboard... that visibility exists,” said Motive Director of Product Management Dinesh Coca. He noted the platform also tracks immigration documents for non-domiciled CDL holders and assists with the new electronic transmission of medical cards from examiners to state agencies.
Streamlining the hiring process
Spotter AI has introduced a new platform called Sentinel, built specifically for trucking fleets looking to reduce recruiting costs and streamline compliance.
"Sentinel was designed specifically to help fleets adapt to shifting safety and compliance requirements by transforming raw driver data into actionable risk intelligence,” said Spotter Product Manager Janali Ashrafov.
Sentinel allows recruiters to review a driver in as little as 30 seconds. Uploading a CDL automatically pulls MVR, Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP), FMCSA data, and Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) checks. The "Driver Board" provides real-time visibility into the driver pipeline, enabling carriers to track hiring status and monitor DOT compliance.
“Regarding CSA updates, including the consolidation of the Drug & Alcohol BASIC with the Unsafe Driving BASIC... Sentinel helps fleets proactively identify behavioral and compliance risks before they affect safety performance,” Ashrafov said.
The case for continuous monitoring
Brandon Wiseman, president of TruckSafe Consulting, recommended during the Fleetworthy webinar that clients take stock of their current driver pool and identify how many are operating with a non-domiciled CDL. He argued that the only real solution to maintaining compliance is continuous license monitoring.
“I don't know why this isn't a federal requirement yet, but this is a service that will notify fleets... if there's any kind of negative action taken against one of their enrolled driver’s licenses,” Wiseman said. “Otherwise, you're just relying on the driver telling you that something has happened... continuous license monitoring, I think, is worth its weight in gold.”
