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A new entrant safety audit is a pass-or-fail check of a new interstate carrier's basic safety controls during its first 18 months, and it never produces a safety rating. A compliance review is an investigation of any carrier that can produce a Satisfactory, Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating. As of October 2026, both are set by 49 CFR Part 385 (final, in effect).
| New entrant safety audit | Compliance review | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets one | New carriers in the 18-month new entrant period | Any carrier, new or established |
| When | Within 12 months of getting a USDOT number (property); 120 days (passenger) | Any time FMCSA has a reason |
| Why it happens | Required for every new entrant | A rating-change request, suspected violations or complaints |
| Result | Pass or fail; "Safety audits do not result in safety ratings" | A safety rating within 30 days |
| If it goes badly | Correct within 60 days (45 for passenger and hazmat) or lose registration | A proposed Unsatisfactory rating, with a 60-day (or 45-day) clock |
| Can lead to enforcement? | A failed audit leads to revocation if not corrected | "May result in the initiation of an enforcement action" |
| Appeal to | The Field Administrator of the FMCSA Service Center | FMCSA headquarters, Adjudications Counsel |
Sources: 49 CFR 385.3, 385.9, 385.319, 385.327, 385.15.
What "DOT audit" usually means
"DOT audit" is not a legal term. People use it for either review. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT), runs both. The regulation names two different things:
- Safety audit: "an examination of a motor carrier's operations to provide educational and technical assistance on safety and the operational requirements" of the safety and hazmat rules, and "to gather critical safety data" about its basic safety management controls (385.3).
- Compliance review: "an examination of motor carrier operations, such as drivers' hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial driver's license requirements, financial responsibility, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard" (same section).
On FMCSA's Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) site, compliance reviews show up as investigations: offsite, onsite focused and onsite comprehensive (CSA: Intervene). FMCSA has explained that a comprehensive review "may result in a satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory safety rating," while a focused review may result in Conditional or Unsatisfactory, "or may not result in a safety rating" (88 FR 59489, Aug. 29, 2023).
The new entrant safety audit
Every new interstate carrier enters an 18-month monitoring period after it gets its USDOT number. During that period, FMCSA watches its roadside performance and conducts a safety audit once the carrier has "sufficient records," which "will generally be at least 3 months" (385.307). The audit must happen within 12 months for property carriers and 120 days for passenger carriers (385.3, "New entrant registration").
What the auditor reviews
The audit reviews your safety management systems and a sample of required records in at least five areas (385.311): driver qualification, driver duty status, vehicle maintenance, the accident register, and controlled substances and alcohol testing. A certified auditor conducts it, "generally" at your business premises (385.313, 385.315).
The 16 automatic failures
A new entrant automatically fails the audit if it violates any one of 16 listed regulations (385.321). As of October 2026, 14 fail on a single occurrence and two need 51% or more of examined records:
| Area | Automatic failure |
|---|---|
| Drug and alcohol | No testing program; no random testing program; using a driver with alcohol at 0.04 or more; using a driver who refused a test; using a driver known to have tested positive |
| Licensing | Knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL; using a driver whose CDL or permit is disqualified; allowing a disqualified driver to drive |
| Insurance | Operating without required minimum financial responsibility (property or passenger) |
| Driver qualification | Knowingly using a disqualified driver; knowingly using a physically unqualified driver |
| Hours of service | Failing to require a record of duty status (51% or more of records) |
| Vehicles | Operating an out-of-service vehicle before repair; not correcting out-of-service defects on a driver inspection report before operating; using a vehicle not periodically inspected (51% or more of records) |
The audit can also fail for "a lack of basic safety management controls" under Appendix A to Part 385, even without an automatic-failure item.
What happens after the audit
| Outcome | What FMCSA does | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Written notice that controls are adequate; monitoring continues | Notice within 45 days of the audit (385.319(b)) |
| Fail | Written notice that registration will be revoked unless you correct | Notice within 45 days; then 60 days to correct (45 days for passenger carriers and hazmat carriers) |
| Fail, no acceptable correction | Registration revoked and out-of-service order | Day 61 from the notice (day 46 for the 45-day group) (385.325) |
FMCSA may extend the 60-day period by up to 60 more days if you are making a good-faith effort (385.323). If you think the auditor got it wrong, you can ask the Field Administrator for an administrative review. File within 15 days of the notice if you want a decision before the out-of-service order takes effect, and no later than 90 days (385.327).
At the end of 18 months, if you passed and aren't under a corrective notice, FMCSA makes your registration permanent and evaluates you "on the same basis as any other carrier" (385.333).
What speeds up an audit
FMCSA may order an expedited audit, a compliance review, or a written corrective-action response if a new entrant does any of seven things (385.308). They include using a driver without a valid CDL, operating an out-of-service vehicle without repair, a positive or refused drug or alcohol test, operating without required insurance, certain hazmat incidents, and a driver or vehicle out-of-service rate of 50% or more "based upon at least three inspections occurring within a consecutive 90-day period."
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The compliance review
A compliance review checks whether a carrier meets the safety fitness standard in 49 CFR 385.5. Under 385.3, FMCSA may conduct one "in response to a request to change a safety rating, to investigate potential violations of safety regulations by motor carriers, or to investigate complaints or other evidence of safety violations." In practice, CSA data feeds the second reason. Carriers over a BASIC threshold may be prioritized for an investigation, as explained in CSA BASICs explained.
A new entrant can get a compliance review too. If FMCSA does one before any audit and issues a safety fitness determination, the carrier skips the audit but stays in the 18-month monitoring period (385.335).
How the rating is decided
FMCSA rates six factors using the methodology in Appendix B to Part 385: general (insurance and accident records), driver, operational (hours of service), vehicle, hazardous materials, and accidents. One acute violation, or a pattern of critical violations, adds a point. A pattern of hours-of-service critical violations counts double. The factor ratings then go into a rating table. Our conditional safety rating guide works through that table with examples.
FMCSA issues the rating within 30 days of the review (385.9). A proposed Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating becomes final after 60 days for most carriers, or 45 days for placardable hazmat and passenger carriers (385.11). An Unsatisfactory rating bars the carrier from operating from day 61 (or day 46) and, once final, brings an out-of-service order and revocation of operating authority (385.13). Our unsatisfactory safety rating guide maps that clock day by day.
How often the outcomes occur: in fiscal year 2019, FMCSA and its State partners conducted 11,671 compliance reviews. 306 ended in a final Unsatisfactory rating, 1,842 in Conditional and 2,701 in Satisfactory (88 FR 59489). The remaining reviews did not end in one of those three final ratings.
How to prepare for either one
The five audit areas in 385.311 are also the heart of a compliance review. Have these records ready, organized by driver and by vehicle. Retention periods are as of October 2026 (final, in effect).
| Area | Records to have ready | Keep for | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver qualification | Application, motor vehicle records, road test or equivalent, annual review, medical certificate | Employment plus 3 years | 391.51 |
| Duty status | Records of duty status and supporting documents | 6 months | 395.8 |
| Vehicle maintenance | Inspection, repair and maintenance records per vehicle | 1 year, plus 6 months after the vehicle leaves your control | 396.3 |
| Vehicle maintenance | Driver vehicle inspection reports and repair certifications | 3 months | 396.11 |
| Vehicle maintenance | Annual inspection documentation on each vehicle | Inspection within the preceding 12 months | 396.17 |
| Accident register | List of recordable accidents plus copies of required reports | 3 years after each accident | 390.15 |
| Drug and alcohol | Testing program in place from the first day of operations, random program, Clearinghouse queries | Program from day one; query each driver at least yearly | 382.115, 382.701 |
Three habits follow from the rules above:
- Run your own audit first. Pull a sample of driver files, logs and maintenance records and check them against the table above. Fix gaps before anyone asks.
- Know your automatic failures. For a new carrier, a single missing drug testing program or one uncorrected out-of-service defect fails the audit. Our guide to Clearinghouse limited vs full queries covers the query rules.
- Check your logs for patterns. Because hours-of-service patterns count double in a compliance review, a log audit is a sensible first check. See our hours of service rules guide.
Which one are you facing?
Use this as a quick check, as of October 2026:
- Your USDOT number is under 18 months old and you've never been reviewed: expect a new entrant safety audit, unless your roadside data triggers an expedited audit or a compliance review.
- You passed the new entrant period, or you're an established carrier: any review is a compliance review or CSA investigation, and it can produce a rating.
- You asked FMCSA to upgrade a Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating: FMCSA may conduct a compliance review in response (385.3), or decide on your written evidence (385.17).
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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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