Motor carriers must undergo a Safety Audit within the first 12 months of their operations to complete the New Entrant Program.

A Safety Audit is a review of a motor carrier’s records designed to verify that a carrier has basic safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with applicable Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs), and related record-keeping requirements.

How is a Safety Audit conducted?

The audit is conducted by an FMCSA-certified auditor at the carrier’s place of business, or electronically, by submitting relevant documents to FMCSA online or via mail or fax. FMCSA will tell carriers which type of audit they have been selected for by phone or mail.

During the Safety Audit, carriers will be asked to submit documentation which verifies that they have established effective safety management controls. Auditors may request documents related to drivers and vehicles, as well as general operating procedures and record-keeping requirements.

What violations would cause a carrier to automatically fail a Safety Audit?

Carriers will be notified of all violations found during a Safety Audit and provided an explanation of how to address their safety problems. Some violations are deemed egregious enough to cause the carrier to automatically fail the Safety Audit.

Automatic Failure Violations

Alcohol and Drug Violations

• No alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program.
• No random alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program.
• Using a driver who refused a required alcohol or controlled substances test.
• Using a driver known to have an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater.
• Using a driver who tested positive or altered or substituted a test for controlled substances.

Driver Violations

• Using a driver without a valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
• Using a disqualified driver.
• Using a driver with a revoked, suspended, or canceled CDL.
• Using a medically unqualified driver.

Operator Violations

• Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required level of insurance.
• Failing to require drivers to make hours-of-service records (log books).

Repairs and Inspection Violations

• Operating a vehicle declared out-of-service (OOS) for safety deficiencies before repairs are made.
• Not performing OOS repairs reported in driver-vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs).
• Operating a motor vehicle not annually inspected.