In this article:
- What DataQs can and can't fix
- Step 1: Confirm it's a data error
- Step 2: Check your deadline
- Step 3: Gather the report and your proof
- Step 4: Log in
- Step 5: File the request for data review
- Step 6: Answer requests for more information within 14 days
- Steps 7 and 8: Appeal through Reconsideration and Final Review
- The DataQs timeline, worked through
- What changed in 2026, and what didn't
- Common DataQs mistakes
DataQs is FMCSA's online system for asking a reviewer to correct Federal and State inspection or crash data you believe is wrong or incomplete. You file a Request for Data Review (RDR), attach proof, and the State that wrote the report decides. As of October 2026, States must decide within 21 days, and you get two levels of appeal.
DataQs does not decide whether you agree with an officer. It corrects records. The burden of proof sits "entirely with the requestor" (91 FR 20561). The steps:
- Confirm the problem is a data error DataQs can fix
- Check your deadline
- Gather the report and your proof
- Log in through Login.gov or the FMCSA Portal
- File the Request for Data Review
- Answer any request for more information within 14 days
- Ask for Reconsideration within 30 days if denied
- Ask for Final Review within 30 days if denied again
What DataQs can and can't fix
DataQs "allows users to request and track a review of Federal and State data issued by FMCSA believed to be incomplete or incorrect" (DataQs). Motor carriers, drivers and their representatives can all file. FMCSA says DataQs received 8,314 requests on crash data and 63,548 on inspections and violations in 2024 (91 FR 20561).
| Your problem | Use DataQs? | Where it goes instead |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection listed under the wrong USDOT number or wrong driver | Yes | |
| Duplicate inspection or crash | Yes | |
| A clean inspection missing from your record | Yes | |
| Wrong violation code, or a violation the report doesn't support | Yes, with proof | |
| A citation tied to the violation was dismissed or found not guilty | Yes, with certified court documents | |
| A crash you believe was not preventable | Yes, through the Crash Preventability Determination Program | See our preventable vs non-preventable crashes guide |
| You want the ticket itself thrown out | No | The court or agency that issued it |
| A drug or alcohol test result in the Clearinghouse | No | A Clearinghouse petition, limited to administrative errors (49 CFR 382.717) |
| You think your safety rating is wrong | No | Administrative review under 49 CFR 385.15 |
| You agree the violation happened but think it's unfair | No | Fix the cause and let time weights work |
One point surprises many fleets. A violation on a roadside inspection report counts in the Safety Measurement System (SMS) "regardless of whether a State officer also issues a citation (i.e., ticket) or a verbal warning" (FMCSA CSA: Measure). Winning in traffic court doesn't clean the inspection record by itself. You still have to file in DataQs.
Step 1: Confirm it's a data error
Read the inspection report line by line before you file. Ask one question: can I prove the record is wrong, or do I only disagree with it? FMCSA's 2026 notice says a request to remove or change a record will be rejected if it comes without a factual or legal justification explaining why the information is incorrect or incomplete (91 FR 20561). If you can't name the wrong fact and the document that proves it, you don't have a DataQs case yet.
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Step 2: Check your deadline
As of October 2026, States funded by the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) must accept and review inspection RDRs filed within 3 years of the inspection, and crash RDRs filed within 5 years of the crash (91 FR 20561). Filing late in that window has a cost, though. SMS stops using events older than 24 months, and recent events weigh most (SMS Methodology v3.21, p. 2-5). The sooner you file, the more a correction moves your percentiles.
Step 3: Gather the report and your proof
Match the evidence to the error. These are common pairings. Your own case may need more.
| Error | Evidence that answers it |
|---|---|
| Wrong carrier or USDOT number | Lease agreement, bill of lading, dispatch record for that date |
| Wrong driver | Driver's log for that date showing another driver, payroll record |
| Equipment violation that didn't exist | Time-stamped photos, a repair or inspection record from the same day |
| HOS violation | Electronic logging device (ELD) records and supporting documents for the period |
| Dismissed or not-guilty citation | Certified court documents showing the result |
| Missing clean inspection | Copy of the inspection report the driver received |
For court outcomes, the SMS Methodology spells out the result. A dismissed or not-guilty citation means the violation is removed. A conviction on a different charge sets its severity weight to 1. You "must submit certified documentation of the judicial proceeding results" through an RDR, and the policy applies to inspections on or after Aug. 23, 2014 (pp. 2-4 to 2-5).
Step 4: Log in
DataQs now requires multifactor authentication. Drivers and the public log in with a Login.gov account that uses the same email as their DataQs account. Motor carriers can also log in through the FMCSA Portal to see all RDRs tied to their USDOT number (DataQs). If you've never used DataQs as a carrier, you first add it to your Portal account.
Step 5: File the request for data review
Pick the request type that fits the record, enter the report number exactly as printed, and explain the error in plain sentences. Say which field is wrong, what it should say and which attachment proves it. Keep it short. The reviewer needs the fact, the correction and the proof. Arguments about fairness don't help.
For a crash you believe was not preventable, file under the Crash Preventability Determination Program. That program requires the police accident report and has its own list of eligible crash types (89 FR 96269).
Step 6: Answer requests for more information within 14 days
If the State asks for more information, you have 14 days to send it. The State's clock pauses while it waits. If you don't answer, the request closes as "Closed – No Requestor Response," unless the State can decide on what it already has. If you send the requested information later, the request reopens at the same level (91 FR 20561).
Steps 7 and 8: Appeal through Reconsideration and Final Review
As of Sept. 18, 2026, every MCSAP State must run a three-stage review: Initial Review, Reconsideration and Final Review (DataQs; 91 FR 20561). Key rules for each stage:
- Initial Review: the officer who wrote the report "cannot be the sole decision-maker" when the answer is no.
- Reconsideration: decided by someone separate from the first reviewer, and never by the issuing officer or that officer's immediate supervisor.
- Final Review: decided by a responsible decision-maker or panel not involved in either earlier decision. After it, FMCSA treats the State's decision as final.
Every "Closed – No Data Correction Made" answer must name the decision-maker, list the evidence reviewed and give the specific reasons. When you appeal, address those reasons directly. A State may summarily reject an appeal that "merely" states disagreement. If you add new, unrequested evidence on appeal, the request goes back to Initial Review.
The DataQs timeline, worked through
The 2026 notice sets these deadlines in calendar days. This example shows the longest path for an inspection RDR filed on Nov. 2, 2026. Illustration only.
| Day | Date (illustration) | What happens | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Nov. 2 | You file the RDR | |
| By 7 | Nov. 9 | State opens the RDR | Within 7 days of submission |
| By 21 | Nov. 23 | Initial Review decision | Within 21 days of submission |
| By 51 | Dec. 23 | Your last day to request Reconsideration | Within 30 days of the decision |
| +21 | 21 days after that request | Reconsideration decision | Within 21 days of the request |
| +30 | 30 days after that decision | Your last day to request Final Review | Within 30 days of the decision |
| +45 | 45 days after that request | Final Review decision | Within 45 days of the request |
Add 14 days at any stage where the State asks you for more information, because that time doesn't count against the State. Source: 91 FR 20561, section III.
What changed in 2026, and what didn't
The new rules are a notice tied to MCSAP grant funding, not a change to the Code of Federal Regulations. FMCSA proposed them on July 1, 2025 (90 FR 28860) and finalized them on April 16, 2026. DataQs states that "As of September 18, 2026, the revised requirements for State data reviews are in effect." The timelines apply to State reviews. FMCSA said it is "currently evaluating similar timeliness standards for Federal inspection-related RDRs," so as of October 2026 those federal deadlines don't exist yet.
Common DataQs mistakes
- Filing a fairness argument. Without a wrong fact and a document, a State can close the request as "Closed – Insufficient Information" without a full review.
- Missing the 14-day reply. A silent request closes.
- Adding new evidence on appeal. It sends you back to the start. Put everything in the first filing.
- Expecting the percentile to change the same day. SMS updates once a month (CSA: Measure).
- Using DataQs for the wrong problem. Clearinghouse test results and safety ratings have their own processes. See our guides to Clearinghouse queries and the unsatisfactory safety rating.
For how corrected data feeds your percentiles, see CSA BASICs explained and how to improve your CSA score.
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This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements against the current regulation text and with your compliance counsel.
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