Reviewed October 6, 2026. A planning guide for your provider conversation.
1. Map what your current provider handles.
List the services your team uses today: testing and consortium administration, driver-file support, renewal tracking, or other agreed work. Note the contact for each service and which tasks remain with your company.
Bring a current driver count and explain how you tell the provider about new hires, departures, and changes. The starting scope should reflect your actual operation.
2. Keep the records and the history behind them.
Ask how your existing records can be obtained and retained. Identify where testing records, driver documents, previous reviews, and correspondence are held, and who is authorized to access them.
Agree on an appropriate transfer process for employee information. Keep the originals and prior history available while the new starting point is reviewed.
3. Identify work already in progress.
Make a short list of outstanding selections, tests awaiting results, open document requests, upcoming renewals, and follow-up questions. For each item, record who is handling it and what still needs to happen.
A change of provider should not be treated as evidence that an outstanding test, review, or driver requirement has been completed. Carry the open work into the transition discussion.
4. Agree on responsibilities and timing.
Discuss what the incoming provider will handle, what remains with your company, and when each change is intended to take effect. Confirm contact details, access, service scope, and pricing before activation.
FMCSA describes C/TPA services as tasks agreed with the employer and explains that employers retain responsibilities for their testing programs. Use the applicable official requirements and qualified review to establish the arrangements for your operation.
Official background: FMCSA: What are consortium/third-party administrators?
Five questions to bring to the first conversation.
- Which parts of our current program would Gehlco support?
- What records do we need, and how should we transfer them?
- Who handles tests and follow-ups already in progress?
- What will our team be responsible for after setup?
- What are the proposed timing, service scope, and costs?
Begin with your company, approximate fleet size, current arrangements, and the question taking the most time. Gehlco will discuss the starting point with you.