DOT compliance questions, answered

DOT compliance software keeps the records and dates a motor carrier needs under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in one system. For drivers, that means driver qualification files, CDL and medical card expirations, MVR reviews and drug and alcohol records. For trucks, it means annual inspections, registrations, DVIRs and maintenance. Good software warns you before something expires.

Compliant Fleet tracks four areas in one app:

• Driver qualification files under 49 CFR Part 391
• Driver DOT requirements: CDL, medical certificate, annual MVR review, drug and alcohol testing, Clearinghouse queries and the accident register
• Truck DOT requirements: annual inspection, plate registration, insurance, IRP and DVIRs
• Vehicle maintenance: PM schedules, work orders and service history

Compliant Fleet is built for small and mid-size trucking fleets, typically from one truck to a few hundred, where the owner, office manager or a single safety lead handles compliance alongside everything else. It fits for-hire and private carriers, with CDL or non-CDL drivers.

Yes. You can import drivers and vehicles from a spreadsheet instead of typing them in one at a time. Most fleets start by importing their roster and truck list, then add expiration dates and documents.

You choose a warning period for each requirement, from 0 to 90 days. Every night, Compliant Fleet sends office staff a digest of driver and truck items that are expiring or expired, by email and in the app. Drivers also get their own notices about their documents.

No. Compliant Fleet keeps the records; it is not a testing lab, consortium, TPA or MVR provider. You keep working with the providers you use today and record the results, reviews and queries in Compliant Fleet, where they are tracked, dated and included in your DQ file reports.

Compliant Fleet is recordkeeping and reminder software. It organizes your records, shows gaps and tells you what is coming due, but it does not give legal advice or make filings for you. Many fleets use it alongside their safety consultant, who can review the same reports.

Under 49 CFR §391.51(b), a DQ file must include:

• The driver’s application for employment (§391.21)
• The pre-employment motor vehicle record from each state (§391.23(a)(1))
• The road test certificate, or a license or certificate accepted in its place (§391.31, §391.33)
• Each annual MVR and the note from the annual review of the driving record (§391.25)
• The medical examiner’s certificate, or for CDL holders the CDLIS motor vehicle record showing medical certification status
• Any Skill Performance Evaluation certificate or medical exemption
• For non-CDL drivers, a note verifying the medical examiner was on the National Registry (§391.23(m))

A carrier keeps each DQ file for as long as the driver is employed and for three years after the driver leaves (§391.51(c)). Some items, including annual MVRs, annual review notes and medical certificates, may be removed three years after the date they were created (§391.51(d)). Compliant Fleet shows the retention rule on each item.

Part 391 applies to drivers of commercial motor vehicles as FMCSA defines them, which in interstate commerce includes many trucks of 10,001 pounds or more that do not require a CDL. An owner-operator with its own authority keeps a DQ file on itself. Drug and alcohol testing under Part 382 applies only to CDL drivers. Check the definitions in §390.5 for your operation.

Yes. The DQ report builds a full DQ file package, a summary or a status report as a printable PDF or a CSV. It includes your carrier name and USDOT number, the driver’s details, and each requirement with its CFR reference, dates and who verified it. You can add the CDL, medical certificate, MVR review history, document manifest, drug and alcohol tests and Clearinghouse queries.

No. Compliant Fleet records the MVR review, including the reviewer, violations, whether the record is acceptable and when the next review is due, and stores the MVR you obtained. Order MVRs from your state or your current provider.

Yes. Along with the 13 FMCSA requirement types, you can add your own driver requirement types, such as a company safety policy sign-off or a customer-required training record, and track them with the same dates, documents and alerts.

A medical examiner’s certificate is valid for up to 24 months (§391.45). The examiner can certify a driver for a shorter period, often one year, to monitor a condition. Compliant Fleet tracks the actual expiration date on each certificate and warns you and the driver before it lapses.

Carriers must query the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse at least once a year for every CDL driver they employ (§382.701(b)), in addition to a full query before hire (§382.701(a)). Compliant Fleet keeps a log of each query with its date, type and next due date, and flags drivers who are coming due.

Under §390.5, a DOT-recordable accident involves a commercial motor vehicle on a public road and results in a fatality, an injury treated away from the scene, or a vehicle towed away because of disabling damage. Carriers keep an accident register of these for three years (§390.15). Compliant Fleet’s accident form explains the definition on screen.

No. Compliant Fleet keeps your drug and alcohol program records: test results, Clearinghouse queries, random selections and the annual MIS report. Collections, lab testing, MRO review and consortium membership still come from your testing provider.

The Management Information System (MIS) report summarizes a carrier’s drug and alcohol testing for a calendar year. FMCSA can require a carrier to submit it (§382.403). Compliant Fleet exports an annual MIS report from the test records you keep in the app.

Yes. Along with office digests, drivers receive their own notices by email and in the app when their CDL, medical certificate or other documents are about to expire.

Every commercial motor vehicle must pass a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months (§396.17), and the carrier keeps the inspection report for 14 months (§396.21). Compliant Fleet tracks each unit’s annual inspection date and warns you inside the window you set.

Keep the original driver vehicle inspection report, the certification of repairs and the driver’s review signature for three months from the date the report was prepared (§396.11(a)(4)). Compliant Fleet stores each DVIR with its PDF and shows its retention status.

No. Under §396.11(a)(2), a driver only has to prepare a DVIR when a defect or deficiency is found or reported. Many fleets still run pre-trip and post-trip DVIRs every day as good practice, and Compliant Fleet handles both.

The truck goes on the out-of-service list with the defect and the number of days it has been out. It stays there, and shows under Awaiting Certification, until a mechanic certifies the repair. The next driver then reviews the report before driving, as §396.13 requires.

Today, truck tracking covers the annual inspection, plate registration, insurance and IRP, each with its own warning window. You can store other documents, such as a Form 2290 receipt, UCR confirmation or permits, in each truck’s document folder.

Yes. IRP status applies to the units you run apportioned. Trucks that are not apportioned show as not applicable instead of raising a false alarm.

For each vehicle a carrier controls for 30 consecutive days or more, §396.3(b) requires:

• Identification: company unit number, make, serial number, year and tire size
• A schedule showing the type and due date of the inspections and maintenance to be performed
• A record of each inspection, repair and maintenance operation, with its date and nature

Keep the records for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves your control (§396.3(c)).

Yes. Each service type can have a time interval in days, a mileage interval and an engine hour interval. Compliant Fleet shows what is overdue, due soon or on schedule for every truck.

Compliant Fleet pulls odometer and engine hours nightly from Samsara and Wialon, so mileage and hour-based PM stays current without manual entry. If you use a different system, you can enter readings by hand.

Yes. Add trucks, trailers and other equipment as vehicles with their own category, make and model, VIN, odometer and engine hours. Each one gets its own PM schedule, work orders, documents and service history.

Not today. Work orders record labor and parts costs for each repair, so you can see what each truck costs to maintain, but Compliant Fleet does not track parts stock on the shelf.

Yes. Record outside repairs as work orders and note the shop and invoice number. They appear in the truck’s service history alongside work done in house.

Describe hosting (provider and region), encryption in transit and at rest, backups, and user permissions. Only publish what is confirmed.

You can generate DQ file reports as PDFs and export lists to CSV to share with a consultant or auditor. Confirm whether consultant logins are available.