Understanding DOT fleet compliance requirements.

As a fleet manager or compliance manager, you need to know the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) standards in order to avoid hefty fines, damage to your Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score, or larger consequences. However, keep in mind that federal compliance doesn’t guarantee state fleet compliance.

Keeping DOT fleet compliance requirements means staying ahead of expirations and being prepared for audits. If you wait until an enforcement officer finds a problem, it’s already too late. 

In this guide, we’ll explain the fundamentals of DOT compliance — along with how you can use the Motive Integrated Operations Platform to make compliance easier. 

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We strongly recommend consulting with a qualified DOT compliance expert or legal counsel before making business decisions based on this content.

The major DOT compliance players to know

The Department of Transportation is the umbrella agency for transportation oversight, and several DOT operating administrations handle different parts of the rulebook. For motor carriers, the primary regulator is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), whose regulations generally live in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations in parts 300-399.

Hazardous materials are regulated under DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in 49 CFR Parts 171–180. Enforcement is mode-specific: For hazmat moved by highway, FMCSA (and state roadside partners) are major enforcement bodies, while PHMSA also conducts enforcement and oversight.

Vehicle manufacturing and equipment safety standards are issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in 49 CFR Part 571.

In this article, we’ll focus on the regulations in parts 300-399.

6 building blocks of DOT fleet compliance

When you operate commercial motor vehicles, you’re required to have a certain set of registrations, documents, and fees paid — and keep them active — as a baseline for complying with DOT regulations. These include: 

1. USDOT number. This is your ID. Every two years, you must update or confirm your operation’s current address, the number of trucks and drivers in your fleet, and your total mileage from the previous year using form MCS-150. With Motive, it’s easy to find these numbers (for example, from Fleet View and the Distance Summary report), all backed by verifiable GPS and engine data.

2. Unified Carrier Registration (UCR). UCR is your annual membership fee to be able to use the nation’s highways. The fee is calculated based on the number of commercial motor vehicles you operate. With the Motive Dashboard, it’s easy to find an up-to-date count of your active power units.

3. International Registration Plan (IRP). An IRP cab card allows you to legally plate your trucks and cross state lines. Each year after registering, you’ll have to report exactly how many miles you drove in each state. Use Motive’s Distance Summary report to find your data for IRP renewal. 

4. International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) registration and reporting. While FMCSA focuses on safety, you can’t ignore IFTA as a part of fleet compliance. Use Motive to automate your quarterly IFTA reports.

5. MCS-90. This legal endorsement issued by your insurance provider proves you have public liability insurance. File your certificate with Motive’s document tools so you always have it on hand.

6. Accident register. The FMCSA requires you to maintain a continually up-to-date accident register of all DOT-recordable incidents for three years. When Motive hardware detects a collision, Motive automatically creates a safety event that includes the details — creating a digital register that’s always ready for inspection.

Ensuring your drivers and vehicles are DOT compliant

Once you have established your fleet company’s right to operate, you will need to ensure that your drivers and vehicles are qualified to operate a vehicle on the road.

1. Driver qualification 

Drivers may only operate commercial vehicles after having proved they are physically, legally, and professionally qualified. You need to have these items in each driver qualification file:

• Employment application. Must include a 10-year work history for CDL drivers and a signed mandate to investigate their safety background.

• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR). You must pull an initial MVR from every state the driver held a license in for the past three years.

• Medical examiner’s certificate (med card). Proof the driver is physically qualified.

• Road test certificate. A signed document proving a qualified person watched them drive and operated safely and within the confines of local, state, and federal laws.

• Records of safe driving. Records showing that you contacted the driver’s previous employers from the past three years for the driver’s safety performance history records, along with responses and any other documentation.

• Annual review. Every 12 months, you must complete an MVR screening and sign a certificate stating you’ve reviewed their driving record.

Streamline driver qualification with Motive Workforce Management’s powerful capabilities:

• AI-powered document upload. When you or a driver uploads a med card or CDL, Motive’s AI automatically reads the document, extracts the expiration date, and populates the driver’s profile.

• Automated alerts. Set up alerts 30, 60, and 90 days before a med card or CDL expires to prevent an accidental violation.

• Audit access. Easily generate and export complete driver qualification files for one or all drivers for audit or internal compliance reviews.

• MVR integration. Motive Integrated MVRs let fleets request, review, and maintain driver MVRs directly within Motive to eliminate manual interactions with state DMVs.

2. Hours of Service (HOS)

HOS documentation proves your drivers are operating within legal limits and aren’t driving while fatigued. The FMCSA requires that the majority of interstate commercial drivers use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record their duty status. In addition, you must provide:

• Six months of logs. You must maintain a minimum of six months of Records of Duty Status (RODS).

• Supporting documents. You must keep records generated in the normal course of business (fuel receipts, toll tickets, bills of lading, dispatch records) to verify the accuracy of the logs.

• Unassigned mileage. Fleets operating under ELD regulations and outside of the 150 air-mile radius need to maintain careful track of who is behind the wheel. You are required to review unassigned driving at least weekly and either assign the time to a driver or annotate why it was unassigned (for example, “mechanic took it for a road test”).

• Form and manner compliance. Every log must be signed/certified by the driver and include the load information.

Use Motive to streamline HOS management using the following features:

• AI-powered face match. To reduce unassigned driving, Motive uses Face Match to automatically match drivers to vehicles as soon as they begin driving. 

• HOS clocks. Stay compliant with easy-to-read HOS clocks. These clocks automatically show how much time a driver has left under each HOS limit, helping prevent violations before they happen.

• Audit access. Easily present or transfer logs to DOT officials through the DOT Inspection Mode, ensuring a smooth and efficient inspection process.

• Log maintenance. View, edit, and certify logs directly from your device, keeping them accurate and up-to-date for inspections and audits.

• Electronic logbook app. Short-haul or ELD‑exempt fleets can use the Motive Driver App as a free electronic logbook to maintain compliant timesheets.

3. Drugs and alcohol

This part of DOT fleet compliance ensures that CDL drivers do not operate vehicles under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• Pre-employment testing. To be eligible to operate a commercial vehicle over 26,001 lbs., a driver must have a confirmed negative drug test.

• Random testing. You must randomly test a percentage of your drivers every year (50% for drugs, 10% for alcohol).

• Clearinghouse queries. A query is an electronic search within the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse to see if a CDL holder has any unresolved drug or alcohol violations. You must run a full query upon hiring and a limited query once per year for every driver. There are internal and external consents required from the driver to complete these queries.
  
• Post-collision testing. Depending on the type of collision, you’re required to do drug and alcohol testing on the driver within a certain timeframe.

Keep your records organized and accessible with these Motive features:

• Digital recordkeeping. Securely store drug test results and clearinghouse query receipts alongside the driver qualification file.

• Status tracking. In the Motive Dashboard, you can keep a driver as “pending” until their file is approved. If a required document is missing or expired, Motive will flag the driver as “ineligible.”

• Expiration alerts. Set alerts so the system emails you before a driver’s annual clearinghouse query is due.

4. Vehicle maintenance

These regulations help ensure your equipment is mechanically sound. The DOT holds the carrier responsible for the systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance of all motor vehicles under its control. You must provide:

• Daily inspections. Drivers must complete a daily pre and post-trip inspection. If a defect is found, they must submit a DVIR.

• Proof of resolved defect. If a defect is found, you need three signatures before the vehicle can get back on the road: The reporting driver, the mechanic or agent, and the next person who operates  the vehicle. 

• Annual inspections. Every truck and trailer must have a documented federal annual inspection once every 12 months.

• Record retention. Maintenance records must be kept for one year or six months after the vehicle leaves your fleet.  

Motive helps you stay compliant with vehicle maintenance. Through the following features, Motive can make your maintenance program more efficient:

• Digital DVIRs. In the Motive Driver App, drivers can quickly complete inspections using a checklist and a step-by-step workflow. Once drivers submit completed reports, maintenance and fleet managers can immediately review the inspection details and photos in the Motive Dashboard. Mark vehicles out of service (OOS) when drivers find severe defects. 

• Automated maintenance reminders. Be ready for your annual inspections with automated maintenance reminders based on vehicle data: engine hours, distance traveled, or time elapsed. 

Make fleet compliance less complex with Motive

Complying with DOT regulations isn’t easy — but it doesn’t have to be a burden. With the Motive Integrated Operations Platform, you have time-saving tools and alerts to help you keep your drivers safe and stay audit-ready. 

Check out Motive’s fleet compliance solutions or request a demo.

Notice: The information provided in this blog post is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or professional compliance advice. Use of this information is at your own risk. This post does not cover every nuance of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Motor carriers are solely responsible for their own compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Frequently asked questions about fleet compliance

Who needs to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)? 

These regulations apply to all employers, employees, and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that transport property or passengers in interstate commerce. FMCSA provides specific definitions for CMVs and interstate commerce. For state exemptions of specific fleets, drivers, and commercial motor vehicles, consult your state’s fleet regulations and laws.

How do I check whether my company is in compliance with FMCSA requirements?

The FMCSA provides tools to review your records and scores, including the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) system, the Safety Measurement System (SMS), and the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.  

What are the most common roadside violations? 

According to the FMCSA, the most common roadside violations are: 

• False report of driver’s record of duty status
• No record of duty status (ELD required)
• Inoperable required lamp
• Operating a CMV without a CDL
• Operating a CMV without proof of a periodic inspection

What can I do to make fleet compliance easier? 

You don’t need to spend hours on manual compliance workflows, automate your compliance processes and improve safety with Motive’s fleet compliance solutions. You can also look to the FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Planner for explanations and templates to help companies comply. 

What are the six building blocks of DOT fleet compliance?

6 Building Blocks of DOT Fleet Compliance
Fleet compliance building block	What it is	Update frequency	How Motive helps
USDOT Number	Your fleet’s government ID	Updated or confirmed biennially with the MCS-150 or as needed	Motive automates the collection of all three numbers (for example, from Fleet View and the Distance Summary report) you need to update your MCS-150.
Unified Carrier Registration (UCR)	Annual membership fee to use the nation’s highways	Paid yearly	Motive Dashboard gives you an instant, accurate count of your active power units.
International Registration Plan (IRP)	Allows you to legally plate your trucks and cross state lines	Updated yearly	Motive Distance Summary report provides the numbers you need to file your IRP renewal.
International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) registration and reporting	A fuel tax agreement among states and Canadian provinces designed to simplify fuel use tax reporting and payment for fleets driving between states and provinces	Reports filed quarterly	Motive automates quarterly IFTA reporting.
MCS-90	Proof of public liability insurance	Your insurance company files this form, but you must keep this on hand because you are legally required to produce it during an audit.	Store your MCS-90 with Motive’s document management tools.
Accident Register	List of all DOT-recordable collisions for three years.	It should be updated immediately whenever an accident occurs.	Motive automatically creates a safety event when it detects a collision.