New Entrant Safety Audit and DOT Audit Support
We take care of your compliance needs, so you can keep your business growing
A new entrant safety audit is FMCSA’s review of a new interstate carrier’s records to confirm that basic safety management controls are in place and working. Property carriers must be audited within 12 months of receiving a USDOT number, and passenger carriers within 120 days.
Our team helps you organize the records, explains what the auditor will ask for, and stays by your side through the audit.
What is a new entrant safety audit?
It is the DOT safety audit every new US- or Canada-based interstate carrier must get through in its first 18 months. Once you start operating, you are in an 18-month monitoring period: FMCSA watches your roadside inspections and audits you once you have operated long enough to have records to review, generally at least 3 months (49 CFR 385.307). The rule’s outer limit is 12 months for property carriers and 120 days for passenger carriers (49 CFR 385.3).
The audit is meant to educate you and to gather data on your safety controls. It does not produce a safety rating; ratings come from compliance reviews.
Onsite or offsite?
A certified safety auditor either visits your place of business or reviews documents you submit online, by mail, or by fax. FMCSA tells you which type you have by phone or mail, so keep your contact details current (FMCSA, Safety Audits). To use the Offsite Safety Audit system you need your USDOT Number PIN, not a docket number PIN.
FMCSA requires an onsite audit for passenger carriers, household goods carriers, placarded hazmat carriers, carriers with an expedited action or a recordable accident, carriers with a BASIC percentile above threshold, and carriers previously placed out of service for not sending offsite documents or not responding to FMCSA. Everyone else is eligible for an offsite audit (FMCSA, New Entrant Help Center).
Before any of that, FMCSA’s New Entrant Contact Center calls within your first 90 days to confirm your registration details. If you don’t respond, your registration may be revoked (FMCSA, New Entrant Program).
What does a DOT safety audit check?
The auditor reviews your safety management systems and a sample of your records in at least five areas: driver qualification, driver duty status (hours of service), vehicle maintenance, the accident register, and drug and alcohol testing. FMCSA’s Safety Audit Resource Guide lists the documents to have ready:
- Drivers: a list of current drivers, their licenses, records of duty status with supporting documents, motor vehicle records, and medical certificates.
- Vehicles: a vehicle list, inspection records, and hazardous materials shipping papers if you haul hazmat.
- Company programs: proof of insurance, your drug and alcohol program, and your accident register.
Sixteen violations fail the audit automatically (49 CFR 385.321). One occurrence is enough for all but two of them:
| Area | Violation | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Drug and alcohol | No testing program or no random program; using a driver who refused a test, or one known to have tested positive or to have an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more | One occurrence |
| Drivers | Knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL, a disqualified driver, or a medically unqualified driver | One occurrence |
| Insurance | Operating without the required financial responsibility coverage | One occurrence |
| Hours of service | Failing to require drivers to make a record of duty status | 51% or more of examined records |
| Vehicles | Operating an out-of-service vehicle before repairs, or not correcting out-of-service defects a driver listed on a DVIR | One occurrence |
| Vehicles | Using a vehicle that was not periodically inspected | 51% or more of examined records |
You can also fail without any of these if the auditor finds that your basic safety controls fall short across several areas. Our new entrant safety audit checklist goes area by area and explains how the audit is scored.
What happens if you pass or fail the new entrant audit?
The auditor reviews the findings with you, and FMCSA sends a written pass or fail notice no later than 45 days after the audit. If you pass, monitoring continues, and at the end of the 18 months your registration becomes permanent as long as no corrective or out-of-service order is open.
If you fail, the notice says your registration will be revoked and your operations placed out of service unless you fix the problems in time:
| Carrier | Deadline to show corrective action | If FMCSA doesn’t accept it |
|---|---|---|
| Most property carriers | 60 days from the notice; FMCSA may add up to 60 days for a good-faith effort | Revocation and out-of-service order on day 61, or the day after an extension ends |
| Passenger carriers (9 to 15 passengers for compensation, or more than 15) and placarded hazmat carriers | 45 days from the notice; FMCSA may add up to 10 days to review evidence you sent | Revocation and out-of-service order on day 46, or the day after an extension ends |
Your response is a corrective action plan; our guide to writing a corrective action plan after a failed DOT safety audit covers what goes in it. If you believe FMCSA made an error, you can ask for an administrative review within 90 days, but file within 15 days of the notice if you want a decision before the revocation date. A revoked carrier can reapply no sooner than 30 days later, and the 18-month period starts over.
Refusing the audit is not an option: FMCSA gives you 10 days to agree in writing, and your registration is revoked on the 11th day.
Compliance reviews and other FMCSA audits
A compliance review goes further than the new entrant audit. It examines your hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, CDL, financial responsibility, accident, and hazmat records to decide whether you meet the federal safety fitness standard, and it can lead to enforcement. It can follow a request to change your rating, potential violations, or a complaint, and it ends in a safety rating: Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory.
Under FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, safety investigators run three kinds of investigation (CSA, Intervene):
- Offsite investigation: the investigator requests copies of your documents and reviews them remotely.
- Onsite focused investigation: the investigator looks at specific problems at your place of business.
- Onsite comprehensive investigation: the investigator reviews your entire safety operation at your place of business.
Onsite investigators may interview employees and inspect vehicles. FMCSA may also send a warning letter first, telling you about your safety problems and what happens if they don’t improve. After an investigation, outcomes range from a voluntary cooperative safety plan to a notice of violation, a notice of claim with civil penalties, or an order to stop all operations.
New entrants can face one early. Using a driver without a valid CDL, running an out-of-service vehicle before repairs, using a driver who tested positive or refused a test, operating without required insurance, or an out-of-service rate of 50% or more on at least three inspections in 90 days can bring an expedited audit or compliance review. A proposed Unsatisfactory rating bars you from operating on day 61, or day 46 for placarded hazmat and passenger carriers, unless you improve first (49 CFR 385.13). Our review of DOT safety ratings explains each rating and how to change one.
Who conducts DOT audits in Dallas and Miami?
The rules are federal, so the audit is the same wherever you’re based, but the auditor may work for a state agency. FMCSA’s new entrant contact list names the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Motor Carrier Bureau for Texas and the Florida Highway Patrol’s Office of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement for Florida.
In Texas, the DPS Motor Carrier Bureau performs new entrant evaluations and compliance reviews (Texas DPS). In Florida, specially trained FHP troopers perform safety audits on interstate carriers (FHP, Safety Audits).
We have offices in Miami, Houston, and Richardson, in the Dallas area. For the state rules that apply on top of the federal ones, see our Dallas DOT compliance and Miami DOT compliance pages.
How our DOT audit support works
We walk you through the audit before it starts: what the auditor expects and which documents you need ready. On the day, we take part in the audit by your side and answer your questions. If the auditor finds problems, we help you prepare for the follow-up.
Audit readiness comes from records kept all year. Our compliance programs run from self-service in ComplianceIQHub to a managed program with a dedicated account manager, and they cover driver qualification file management, CSA monitoring, mock audits, and hours-of-service management. Our DOT safety compliance page explains each area.
An honest caveat: FMCSA does not require you to use a service provider, and no provider can promise an audit result. The outcome depends on the records your company keeps, which is where we focus.
Use the form below with your USDOT number, and tell us in the comments whether FMCSA or your state has contacted you about an audit. We’ll tell you what to prepare.
Frequently asked questions
When does the new entrant safety audit happen?
During your 18-month new entrant period, once you have operated long enough to have records, generally at least 3 months. Property carriers must be audited within 12 months of receiving a USDOT number and passenger carriers within 120 days. Serious violations can bring an expedited audit sooner.
What is the difference between a DOT safety audit and a compliance review?
A safety audit checks that a new carrier’s basic safety controls work and does not produce a safety rating. A compliance review examines any carrier’s records against the safety fitness standard and ends in a Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory rating.
Can a new entrant safety audit be done remotely?
Yes. Carriers that don’t meet FMCSA’s onsite criteria are eligible for an offsite audit, where you submit documents online, by mail, or by fax. Passenger, household goods, and placarded hazmat carriers, among others, get an onsite audit.
Do I need a company to help with my FMCSA audit?
No. FMCSA does not require a service provider, and it never contacts carriers through robocalls or asks for credit card numbers by phone. An audit support service helps you organize records and prepare, but the result depends on your company’s records.
Who does new entrant safety audits in Florida?
Specially trained Florida Highway Patrol Commercial Vehicle Enforcement troopers audit interstate carriers in Florida. FHP also offers a free one-day New Entrant Seminar for intrastate carriers.