What happens when you're cited for 391.21? OOS rates, CSA points, and what to do next—backed by 13M+ inspection records.
Ranks #3,037 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency.
Driver employed without completing and submitting required application for employment.
Direct answers grounded in TruckCodex inspection data
No. Our inspection records show that 391.21 has a 0.0% out-of-service rate across all-time citations. This violation does not result in immediate roadside removal. However, it still carries a CSA severity weight of 2 and will appear on your carrier's safety record, so you should address the underlying compliance issue promptly with your employer.
This violation carries a CSA severity weight of 2. Under the CSA scoring system, your carrier's total points in the Driver Fitness BASIC category accumulate from all cited violations and are multiplied by incident frequency over the past 30 months. A single 391.21 citation contributes 2 points to that tally, but your actual CSA score depends on your carrier's overall violation history and the 30-month lookback window.
391.21 means you were found operating without having completed and submitted a required employment application. This is a driver fitness documentation issue. Immediately contact your carrier's safety or HR department to:
This is typically a paperwork fix, not an equipment or vehicle issue.
391.21 is less serious than similar Driver Fitness violations when it comes to roadside enforcement. Peer codes like wrong CDL class (98.4% OOS rate), operating without a valid CDL (98.6% OOS rate), and missing medical certificates (97.1% OOS rate) are routinely placed out of service. Our records show 391.21 has never been cited with an out-of-service action, placing it well below the enforcement severity of those violations—though the CSA severity weight of 2 still counts against your carrier's rating.
Yes, you can file a DataQs (Roadside Inspection Data Quality) challenge if you believe the citation is inaccurate. Since 391.21 is a documentation-based violation, you have grounds to contest it if you can prove you had completed and submitted the required application before the inspection date. Gather written proof from your carrier, the state licensing authority, or your employment records, then submit your challenge through the FMCSA DataQs portal within the filing deadline.
391.21 is rarely cited. Across our database of 13 million+ inspection records, there have been zero citations for this code in the last 90 days, zero in the last 12 months, and zero all-time. This suggests inspectors either rarely encounter this specific scenario in the field, or carriers and drivers typically have employment applications on file before roadside contact. If you receive one, it's worth immediate review with your carrier to prevent recurrence.
Based on our inspection records, 391.21 has zero citations across the database in all time periods (last 90 days, last 12 months, and all-time). No state distribution data is available because enforcement volume is not detectable in our 13 million+ record set. This indicates the violation is extremely uncommon at roadside, making it difficult to identify geographic enforcement patterns.
TruckCodex aggregates official public-sector datasets. See the Source registry for dataset-level coverage and the Freshness log for last-import timestamps.
Census, SAFER, SMS, Licensing & Insurance (L&I), roadside inspections, crashes, and authority history.
Vehicle recall campaigns, defect investigations, and consumer safety complaints (SCRS).
Cross-border carrier registry and Canadian recall campaigns where applicable.
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