By Justin Seyl, Certified Director of Safety, CDL Manager, with 25+ years in CDL compliance.
Justin has personally overseen more than 650,000 citations and directed more than 10,000 Safety Fitness Determination upgrades.
A driver can have a valid CDL and still leave a carrier with an unresolved qualification question: can the driver handle the English communication required on the road? Waiting for an inspection to answer that question puts dispatch, safety, and the driver in a difficult position.
A practical carrier process starts before the next load. Check which rules apply, evaluate job-related communication, record what actually happened, and make someone responsible for resolving concerns. The workflow below is a recommended internal practice. FMCSA’s roadside assessment is an enforcement procedure; it does not prescribe this exact company checklist.
Start with the current rule and guidance
49 CFR 391.11(b)(2) requires that a driver read and speak English well enough to converse with the general public, understand highway signs and signals, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records. Section 391.11(a) also provides that a motor carrier may not require or permit a person who is not qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
For roadside enforcement, use FMCSA’s policy MC-SEE-2026-0002, last updated April 16, 2026. It rescinds and replaces the May 20, 2025 memorandum (MC-SEE-2025-0001). FMCSA’s English proficiency FAQs, dated October 6, 2026, add Question 5 on drivers excepted from Part 391.
Neither update creates a November compliance deadline. Review old handbooks and training links now so staff are working from the current sources.
Confirm applicability before assessing a driver
Begin with the driver’s operation, not the language spoken at home or the country that issued the license. Have your safety lead identify the applicable qualification requirements and any specific exception.
FMCSA’s October 6 FAQ (Question 5) says the enforcement policy does not apply to drivers specifically excepted from Part 391 requirements, with examples such as certain agricultural, apiary and custom-harvesting operations under 49 CFR 391.2 and drivers under specific exemptions in 49 CFR 390.3T(f). Exceptions are operation-specific; an agricultural connection alone does not establish one. Intrastate operations also require a separate check of applicable state rules.
The April policy also preserves guidance for drivers granted an exemption from the hearing standard: inability to communicate orally in English alone does not make them unqualified under the ELP requirement when they can read and write English. See the official policy PDF, pages 2 and 6.
Treat the U.S.–Mexico border commercial-zone provision separately. Under FAQ Question 1, a driver whose current trip does not involve, and has not involved, U.S. transportation outside the commercial zones is cited for the violation but not placed out of service. A trip that has involved or will involve transportation outside those zones does not receive that treatment. This applies regardless of the country of domicile or license. The zones are defined in 49 CFR Part 372, Subpart B. FAQ Question 1c directs readers to section 372.241 for the general municipal-zone approach and sections 372.237, 372.247 and 372.245 for the additional named border zones. Check the provision that applies to the actual route.
Use a realistic interview before dispatch
FMCSA’s roadside process begins with an English interview. Per FAQ Question 2, if a driver cannot respond sufficiently to official inquiries in that first step, the inspector does not proceed to the sign assessment.
During the roadside driver interview, the policy directs inspectors not to use interpreters, cue cards or translation applications that could mask the driver’s English communication ability. This instruction concerns that interview, not a general ban on translation during training.
For an internal review, use ordinary work situations, such as asking a driver to explain a sample pickup and delivery assignment in their own words. This is a practice example, not an official test script. Focus on understanding rather than a memorized answer. An accent or a different speaking style does not, by itself, tell you whether the driver understood the question.
Keep training and assessment distinct. Translation may support learning; the readiness check should establish what the driver can do independently, with any applicable exemption handled correctly.
Assess what the driver understands from signs
FMCSA’s roadside sign assessment includes MUTCD signs and electronic changeable-message signs. The April revision removed examples with little or no wording. Some assessment details in the public policy are redacted; company exercises should not be presented as reproductions of those undisclosed materials.
Company exercises should assess understanding of word-based signs and the driving decisions they call for, not just recognition of shapes or colors. Do not label an exercise “FMCSA approved” or assign it an official passing score without a specific, verifiable basis.
Keep a useful record of the qualification decision
Paperwork should help a safety manager reconstruct a decision. A checkmark that says “English passed” gives the next reviewer little information about what was evaluated.
As a recommended company practice, retain enough evidence to explain what was evaluated, who made the qualification decision, and how any unresolved concern will be addressed. The appropriate documentation depends on the operation and the facts of the review.
Keep notes factual and limited to the work being evaluated. “Could not explain the displayed detour instruction” is more useful than a vague judgment about someone’s background. Store the record where authorized safety staff can retrieve it and keep access limited to people who need it.
Section 391.51 lists the required DQ-file contents. It does not list a stand-alone ELP certificate or prescribe the supporting record suggested here. Your supporting record should complement the required qualification records, with a retention approach reviewed for your operation. Avoid presenting a company form as a federally mandated certificate.
Close the corrective action before closing the file
When an internal review identifies a concern, give it an owner and a next step. Specify the communication task that needs improvement, the training to address it, and how readiness will be reassessed. If qualification remains unresolved, escalate the dispatch decision to safety management before the driver is assigned covered work.
A roadside out-of-service order needs immediate operational attention. A driver must not operate while an out-of-service order applies, and a course-completion email alone should not be treated as proof that the condition has been resolved. The policy tells inspectors to advise an out-of-service driver not to resume interstate CMV operation until the condition is remedied. Have the responsible reviewer confirm, from the order and the current FMCSA policy, what is required before the driver returns to operation.
Your response plan should identify who receives the inspection report, who alerts dispatch, and who arranges a lawful alternative for the load. Preserve the original report and supporting records, document the basis for the decision, and communicate the resulting status to dispatch.
Afterward, examine the process. Was a concern missed during onboarding? Did dispatch rely on an outdated status? Did training address the actual difficulty? Use the answer to improve the workflow for the next driver.
Give the workflow a clear owner
Recruiting, safety and dispatch need clear responsibility for referring concerns and confirming readiness. Review the handoffs against your actual operation rather than adopting a generic checklist unchanged.
CDL360’s fleet compliance services include DQ-file management, DOT audit preparation, corrective-action support, and company-policy review. Talk with CDL360 about company-policy review and how your qualification decisions, supporting records, and dispatch controls fit together. Bring the unresolved questions from your operation so the discussion can focus on where your process needs support.
This article provides general compliance information. Confirm the requirements and any exceptions for your operation with a qualified compliance professional or legal adviser.