DAC report, Dak, DAQ – I’ve seen it spelled many different ways and I’ve heard it called by these names and other names that may have been spoken (yelled actually) in French.
Regardless of how it’s spelled or what it is called, the “DAC Report” is employment performance information sent by member motor carriers to HireRight, formerly known as USIS, formerly known as DAC Services. Trucking companies send this information when a driver’s employment/contract ends.
Professional drivers should understand the above paragraph-many drivers don’t.
1. The information on the DAC report is primarily employment information (although driving crashes/incidents and past driving license information can be listed). You will not see speeding tickets, driving license suspensions, criminal record information or credit history on a “DAC Report.” MVRs, Criminal Record Histories and Credit Reports are reports that may be delivered by DAC-but they are not DAC Reports.
2. Not all companies belong to DAC. It is a private company, not a government agency or contractor and use of DAC by employers is voluntary. As such, there are tens of millions of driving employments not stored by DAC. This can be good if you have a particularly bad reference, or it can be bad news if you have good experience and want a potential employer to see it quickly so you can go to work faster.
3. DAC reports are not a “running tally” of employment-member trucking companies will only submit information to DAC upon termination of employment. Let’s say you have been working for 3 years for an employer that is a member of DAC. Still employed, you decide to look for another job. Your 3 years’ of experience will not show up on the DAC Report for potential employers to see.
The DAC Report does contain the following categories of information:
Identification of Driver. (Name, SSN, DOB)
Identification of Contributing company (Address and phone number) and date contributed
Period of Service (Month/year)
License Number
Eligibility for rehire
Reason for leaving (e.g., driver quit or discharge, etc.)
Status (e.g., owner operator, company driver, etc.)
Driver Experience (e.g., single driver, team, etc.)
Equipment Operated (e.g., reefer, dry box, etc)
Loads Hauled (e.g., general commodity, etc)
Work Record (e.g., satisfactory, cargo loss, etc.)
A separate section of the report contains accident/incident information. It is divided into DOT recordable and non-DOT recordable information. DOT recordable records contributed by employers will contain accident details as stored in the accident register. Non-DOT recordable accidents may contain details (date, short description, etc) if provided by the past employer.
It will also be indicated whether this particular company stored DOT drug and alcohol testing information with USIS. If the information is stored, the potential employer must send a written release to USIS to get the actual drug and alcohol results.
The point of all this for the professional driver is not an academic exercise. When you need a job, sooner is better–and it’s important to understand what potential employers will see and the sources of the information. You need to review all the information a potential employer will see. You need to review it for accuracy and give yourself some time for correction if needed. To do that, you need to know the source of the information and what it may contain.