Am I audit-ready?
Every new USDOT registrant gets a safety audit within the first 12 months. This self-assessment walks the areas the auditor actually reviews — answer honestly and you'll get a scored gap report with the regulation behind each item and the next step to close it.
Start with the flagged items
Most carriers begin exactly here. Work the flagged items first, then the rest of the list — each gap card says what to do next.
13 gaps to close · 13 applicable items
6 flagged items: items marked §385.321(b) below appear on FMCSA's list of violations that fail a new-entrant audit on their own. Close those first — every one of them is fixable.
Drug & alcohol program
§382.115 / §382.305· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Are you enrolled in a DOT drug and alcohol testing program with random testing?
The auditor asks for: Proof of consortium/TPA enrollment (or your own testing program), your written policy, and evidence that random selections actually happen.
§382.301
Does every driver have a verified negative pre-employment drug test on file, dated before their first trip?
The auditor asks for: The pre-employment test result for each driver, with a collection date before the first safety-sensitive function.
§382.701
Have you run a Clearinghouse pre-employment query for every CDL driver, and an annual query within the last 12 months?
The auditor asks for: Clearinghouse query records: a full query before each driver's first trip and at least one query per rolling 365 days.
Not applicable? Applies to CDL drivers. Non-CDL operations are outside Part 382.
§382.307 / §382.603
Has everyone who supervises drivers completed reasonable-suspicion training (60 min drugs + 60 min alcohol)?
The auditor asks for: Training certificates for each supervisor of CDL drivers, showing the 60/60-minute minimum.
Not applicable? An owner-operator with no other drivers has no supervisors to train.
Driver qualification
§391.51(b)
Do you have a complete driver qualification file for every driver — including yourself, if you drive?
The auditor asks for: The full DQF per driver: employment application, prior-employer inquiries, pre-hire MVR, annual MVR and review note, road test certificate or CDL equivalent, and medical certificate.
§383.23 / §383.51· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Does every driver hold a valid, unexpired CDL for the vehicle class they operate?
The auditor asks for: A copy or record of each driver's CDL, checked against class, endorsements, expiration, and disqualifications.
Not applicable? If your vehicles fall under CDL thresholds, mark N/A and keep proof of the weight ratings.
§391.43 / §391.11(b)(4)· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Does every driver have a current medical examiner's certificate from a National Registry examiner?
The auditor asks for: Each driver's unexpired medical certificate (or CDLIS record showing certified status), from an examiner on the National Registry.
Hours of service
§395.8 / §395.1(e)(1)· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Is every driver keeping records of duty status — ELD logs, or time records under a documented exemption?
The auditor asks for: Six months of RODS per driver: ELD output, or start/end/total-hours time records if you run the 150 air-mile short-haul exemption.
Vehicles & maintenance
§396.17(a)· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Does every vehicle have a periodic (annual) inspection completed within the last 12 months?
The auditor asks for: The annual inspection report or decal for each CMV, dated within 12 months, kept for 14 months.
§396.3
Do you keep a systematic maintenance schedule and repair history for every vehicle?
The auditor asks for: Per-unit records — company number, make, serial number, year, tire size — plus a preventive maintenance schedule and the inspection/repair history behind it.
§396.11
When a driver finds a defect, is a DVIR written, the repair certified, and the report kept for 3 months?
The auditor asks for: Recent DVIRs with defects noted, the repair certification, and the next driver's review signature.
Not applicable? A carrier operating a single CMV is exempt from the DVIR requirement (§396.11(a)(5)) — not from annual inspection.
Carrier records
§387.7(a)· §385.321(b) auto-fail list
Do you carry at least the minimum liability insurance for what you haul — $750,000 for general freight?
The auditor asks for: Proof of insurance coverage at or above the minimum for your commodity class.
§390.15(b)
Do you maintain an accident register — even if it has zero entries?
The auditor asks for: The register of DOT-recordable accidents (date, location, driver, injuries, fatalities, hazmat released) covering the audit period. A blank register is a valid answer; no register is not.
Your gap report
Flagged items first. Each card says what the auditor asks for and the next step to close the gap.
§382.115 / §382.305· close first
Are you enrolled in a DOT drug and alcohol testing program with random testing?
Join a consortium (C/TPA) — for fleets of 1–2 drivers this is the standard route — and keep the enrollment certificate on file. Selections must run all year, not start the week before the audit.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Drug & alcohol program, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§383.23 / §383.51· close first
Does every driver hold a valid, unexpired CDL for the vehicle class they operate?
Verify each CDL now — class, endorsements, expiration — and stand a driver down until anything expired or mismatched is corrected.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Driver files, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§391.43 / §391.11(b)(4)· close first
Does every driver have a current medical examiner's certificate from a National Registry examiner?
Book DOT physicals for anyone expired or expiring — an expired card means the driver is not medically qualified to operate.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Driver files, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§395.8 / §395.1(e)(1)· close first
Is every driver keeping records of duty status — ELD logs, or time records under a documented exemption?
Get every driver logging today — ELD for regular operations, or daily time records if you genuinely qualify for short-haul. Missing months can't be reconstructed, so start the clock now.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Hours of service, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§396.17(a)· close first
Does every vehicle have a periodic (annual) inspection completed within the last 12 months?
Schedule inspections for any unit that's due or overdue with a qualified inspector (§396.19), and file the report or decal record.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Vehicles & maintenance, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§387.7(a)· close first
Do you carry at least the minimum liability insurance for what you haul — $750,000 for general freight?
Confirm your certificate's liability limit against your commodity — hazmat and passenger operations require more — and fix any lapse with your agent before operating.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Carrier records, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§382.301
Does every driver have a verified negative pre-employment drug test on file, dated before their first trip?
Order a pre-employment test for any driver missing one before they drive again, and file the verified result. The date order — test first, dispatch second — is what the auditor checks.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Drug & alcohol program, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§382.701
Have you run a Clearinghouse pre-employment query for every CDL driver, and an annual query within the last 12 months?
Register at the FMCSA Clearinghouse, run the missing queries, and calendar the annual one. A limited annual query needs the driver's general consent on file.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Drug & alcohol program, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§382.307 / §382.603
Has everyone who supervises drivers completed reasonable-suspicion training (60 min drugs + 60 min alcohol)?
One two-hour online course per supervisor closes this. Keep the certificate — the auditor wants the paper, not your word.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Drug & alcohol program, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§391.51(b)
Do you have a complete driver qualification file for every driver — including yourself, if you drive?
Build the file per driver against the §391.51(b) list — our free DQF completeness checker walks every item. Owner-operators are not exempt from their own file.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Driver files, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§396.3
Do you keep a systematic maintenance schedule and repair history for every vehicle?
Set a PM interval per unit (miles or months), backfill the records you have, and log every service from today forward.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Vehicles & maintenance, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§396.11
When a driver finds a defect, is a DVIR written, the repair certified, and the report kept for 3 months?
Put a defect-reporting step in your post-trip routine and close the loop in writing: defect → repair certification → driver review before next dispatch.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Vehicles & maintenance, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
§390.15(b)
Do you maintain an accident register — even if it has zero entries?
Create the register today with the required columns. If you've had no recordable accidents, it stays empty — but it exists, and you can hand it over.
In Roadworthy HQ this lives under Carrier records, with the deadline and retention clock tracked for you.
How the new-entrant audit works
The audit is part of the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program (49 CFR Part 385, Subpart D) — an 18-month monitoring period for every new carrier, with a safety audit that must occur within the first 12 months. Most audits today are conducted offsite: you upload documents through FMCSA's portal rather than hosting an auditor in person. Either way, the request list is the same — the records this assessment asks about.
A handful of violations listed in §385.321(b) fail the audit on their own — no drug and alcohol testing program, no valid CDL, no current annual inspection, and others. Those are flagged in the assessment and sorted to the top of your gap report, because closing them changes your audit outcome more than anything else on the list.
What this tool doesn't do
This is a self-assessment, not a prediction and not legal advice. It can't verify that your documents are filled out correctly, signed by the right people, or current — it tells you where to look. For your specific situation, consult counsel or a qualified compliance professional.
Related free tools
Found a driver-file gap? The DQF completeness checker walks every §391.51(b) item one by one. Setting up your testing program? The random pool calculator shows what your consortium owes this year. And the 12-month new-entrant timeline maps when each of these needs to be in place.
Roadworthy HQ tracks every item in this assessment — with alerts before things expire and an audit binder export when the letter arrives. Start a 14-day free trial. No credit card required.