Driver's license on shift ads: 4 review checks

Key takeaways

• List each shift that needs driving and write down the task and its business purpose.
• Check applicant postings against the shift record before publishing.
• Review license requirements for current staff, including roster notes.
• Record the driving duty in each relevant job description, as this guide recommends.

As a review practice, write down the reason for a license line on a delivery or errand posting before it goes live. The checks below walk through how to build and test that reason, one at a time.

Why license rules matter when you build shifts

Managers who schedule delivery and errand shifts often write the requirements for those shifts themselves. A driver's license line is one of those requirements, and it can appear in a shift posting, a roster note, or a job description without anyone checking whether driving is part of the work. This guide covers the checks you can run around the time that line goes live.

A license requirement is a scheduling and hiring choice, so it deserves the same care you give a start time or a pay rule. You can treat it as a line that needs a written reason, not a habit carried over from an older posting. If a shift never involves driving, check whether the job still supports the requirement before carrying it over.

The scope of the checks matters as much as their content. These checks address Washington postings and use the wording of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. A posting for another state needs its own source before any of them applies. You can note the state and the date on every posting you review, so the scope stays clear in your records.

If you write the requirement, keep enough detail for someone else to review your decision later. A short note beside each shift can say what the driving task is, who performs it, and how often it happens. A note like that turns a vague line into one you can check. It also gives you something concrete to show if someone asks why the line exists.

A plain list works better than the posting text as a starting point. Each entry should name a shift that carries a license line, the driving task on it, and the reason driving matters. That list gives you a record you can check against the rule later. A list also makes gaps easy to see, since a shift with no reason written beside it stands out at once. You can keep the list with the schedule file so the reason stays attached to the shift.

Before posting: check the driving task

Driving as an essential function

The first check asks about each shift that carries a license line. Apply the test from Washington State Department of Labor and Industries to the actual work on that shift. A yes or no on its own is not enough, so the answer should name the reason. Put that answer in writing before the shift is published.

You can write the answer for each shift in one or two plain sentences. Your sentence should name the task, such as a drop-off or a pickup, and the reason that task needs a vehicle. A vague reason such as helping the team does not answer the question. If you cannot name a task, the license line is not supported by the shift as you have written it. Attach that sentence to the shift so it stays visible.

The test decides whether the line stays. You should keep the line when the test is met for the shift and remove it when the test is not met. Make that decision before the posting goes live, not after a question comes in.

Job Accommodation Network gives a sample kitchen task that takes 2% of time. That figure is an example of how a task can be written down, not a threshold. You should not use a percentage to decide whether driving is essential to a shift. Your task descriptions can use your own words, with a time share only where it helps a reader understand the job.

You can write the check result on the posting record before you publish. Note the task, the reason, and the date you checked. Keep the note with the posting so a later reviewer can follow the decision without asking you to reconstruct it. A short, dated note is more useful than a long memory of the decision. It stays useful when the question returns.

Illustrative example: compare shift records

This example is made up for illustration. For the delivery record, write “driving task: delivery drop-off; business purpose: completing deliveries.” Keep its license requirement only if that reason meets the test. If the phone-order job has no driving task or business purpose for driving, remove its requirement and record the change. Compare both decisions with the applicant wording, current roster and job description, then review the remaining records the same way.

Before posting: check applicant wording

Review the opening against the shift record

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries also addresses license requirements for applicants. Compare the opening with the reason recorded for the shift.

You can look at each open posting and ask whether it asks applicants for a license. If it does, apply the same test before the posting stays live. If the test is not met, take the line out of the applicant wording and keep the internal note for your own records. Also look at the posting's start date, so the review covers every version a reader might see.

A dated copy answers the question of what the posting said earlier. You should keep a copy of the old wording before you change it. Note the date of the change next to the new wording, so the record shows when the requirement was removed or kept. Store both versions with the shift file, so they travel together. The next manager who edits the posting can then read the history without guessing.

The same Washington State Department of Labor and Industries page defines protected classes as including age (40 and older), sex and marital status. You should read your applicant wording against that list before you publish it. Wording that you cannot tie to the driving task deserves a second look. The list is wider than age, so read the whole definition rather than one line of it.

A posting that names the driving task is easier to check than one that lists a license with no reason attached. The reason can be short, but it should be specific to the shift. You can use the same words in the posting that you used in the shift note, so a reviewer can match them. A second person can read the posting once before it goes out.

During review: current employees

Check the roster as well as postings

The employee rule is on the same Washington State Department of Labor and Industries page. Review each current requirement on the roster as well as the postings, because the schedule is where employees see the line. If a swap moves a driving task to someone new, check the line again (shift swap mechanics). A roster entry that carries a license line should have a reason written beside it.

Begin the review with the current roster. You can list each employee who holds a shift that carries a license line, and mark the shifts you have already reviewed. Put the shifts in order by the date of the last review, so the oldest check comes first. That order keeps the review moving without skipping a shift. A simple spreadsheet or paper list is enough for this step.

You can compare each line with the test from the earlier check. If you cannot document that the job meets the test, remove the license requirement for current staff until a documented answer supports it. The date and shift name belong next to the change. A change without a date is hard to explain later. The earlier check gives you the reason to record.

You should tell the employee in writing and keep the date. Your message can stay short and factual, naming the shift, the requirement, and the date the change took effect. A reason that you have not checked against the test should stay out of the message. A copy can go with the change record.

Send the shift details to whoever reviews your postings, so the question gets a documented answer. The note should record who answered and the date. Attach it to the roster entry. A reviewer can then see the open question and the answer in one place.

After posting: job description records

Record the driving duty

U.S. Office of Personnel Management explains that job analysis identifies job duties and the competencies needed for effective job performance. This guide recommends recording the driving duty in the job description. A named driving task lets a reader see the duty without reading the posting. The duty name should match the shift note, so both records read the same.

Job Accommodation Network covers the role of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in developing job descriptions. It also covers how to formulate job descriptions and the relationship to the accommodation process. You can read those sections before you rewrite the driving duty.

You can write the driving duty as its own line in the job description, with the task and the reason beside it. That line can stay short enough to read at a glance. If the job description and the posting disagree, check both against the actual duties before correcting them. Then update the posting to match, and note the date of the correction.

You should save a dated copy of the job description each time the driving duty changes. A dated copy lets you show what the record said at the time of posting. Compare the copy with the shift note when someone asks a question. A record that agrees with the posting is easier to explain than a memory. The copies can sit in the same folder as the posting history, so the trail stays in order.

You can review the job description at the same time you review the posting, so the two stay in step. Mark the review date on the description itself. When the duty no longer appears on any shift, you can remove it from the description and record the change. That final change belongs in the same history as the others. Check that the posting, roster and description reflect the same decision before filing them together.

For other roster requirements, use the guides to teen shift eligibility checks and unpaid meal break review.

Where to get help

For questions on the rule, call the Employment Standards Program at 360-902-6625, listed by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. You can also note the answer you receive and attach it to the shift record. Write down the answer after the call so you have a record to review before publishing.

For a posting in New York, the New York State Department of Labor lists phone, email and office contact options for its Division of Labor Standards. Keep that contact with New York posting records so it does not get mistaken for the Washington contact. Direct Washington questions to the Employment Standards Program above.

When a question sits between the shift and the job description, you should keep it open until a source answers it. You can write the question on the roster note with the date it was raised. Then bring the answer back to the same record.

When you file a source, you can keep its link, the date you read it, and the exact sentence you relied on. A later reviewer can then check the same wording without searching for it again. The table below summarizes each source.

Your next step today is to list every shift that requires driving and write down the driving task and its business purpose for each. Date the list and start with the driving-task check, keeping your answer beside each shift. Once the list exists, you can work through the applicant and employee checks shift by shift. That order keeps the review tied to the shifts you actually run.

Questions about license requirements on shifts

When did the Washington license rule start?

The rule started July 27, 2025. Use that date to organize your review of postings and roster lines with license requirements. Include earlier postings that remain in use, rather than checking only newly written ones.

Does it cover applicants and current staff?

Yes, both groups are covered by the Washington rule linked above. Include both applicant postings and current employee requirements in your review, and record any changes in their respective files.

When can a license be required?

A license can be required when the job meets the Washington test in the opening answer. You can write the reason on the shift record so the exception is documented.

Who can I call with questions?

Call the Employment Standards Program using the number in the help section above. The number belongs with your shift notes for the next review.

What should a posting say about driving?

A posting can name the driving task and give its business purpose in one or two plain sentences. The wording should match the shift note, so the posting and the record agree. Any reason you cannot support with the real work on that shift should be left out.