How To Prepare for a DOT Audit

Prepare for a DOT audit before it ever happens—that’s the real secret to success. While most compliance reviews are now conducted online, they can still consume a huge amount of your time and energy.

Just hearing the words “DOT audit” can make any trucking company owner nervous. The key is to stay proactive and maintain solid safety and compliance systems long before an inspector ever reaches out.

Remember that the purpose of an FMCSA audit is to ensure that you have established “adequate management control of”… pretty much everything that the FMCSA regulations cover. This control must start at the top management ranks and be communicated to everyone.

The message across your organization has to be “Safety is our highest priority!”

How to Prepare for a DOT Audit Like a Pro

When it comes to DOT audits, preparation isn’t just about checking boxes — it’s about protecting your business. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) doesn’t just want to see your paperwork; they want proof that your company operates with a culture of safety and accountability. When you prepare for a DOT audit the right way, you’re really building a system that can stand up to scrutiny any day of the year.

Start by understanding what the FMCSA cares about most: drivers, vehicles, and operations. These three pillars form the foundation of your compliance program. If your driver qualification files are complete, your maintenance records are current, and your hours-of-service logs are clean and consistent, you’re already halfway there. Missing or outdated files are the number one reason carriers struggle during audits.

Avoid Unwanted Attention from Law Enforcement

The first and most obvious way to avoid DOT scrutiny is to try and stay out of the DOT’s sights as a target for an audit. Now with the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program, in full effect, keeping your BASIC scores well below the ALERT thresholds is critical.

You can learn more about how the FMCSA uses the CSA program to keep score by using the link above.

A key to successfully managing your CSA BASIC scores is to ensure that your drivers are operating safely and complying with all FMCSA regulations while on and off the road.

While this may seem like a pie in the sky dream, focusing on the basic “blocking and tackling” violations is critical.

Drivers should avoid drawing unwanted attention from law enforcement by avoiding being BUSST’ed! 

BUSSTed is my super corny acronym for:

• B Burnt Light Bulbs
• U Unrestrained Drivers
• S Speeding
• S Signs (Failure to Obey Traffic Devices/Signs)
• T Texting or using a cell phone while driving

Pro Tip: These 5 “BUSSTed” violations are “Gateway” violations and account for about 90% of all violations found at the roadside each year.

I call these violations “Gateway” violations because these are all easily observed by law enforcement. They serve as an invitation for an officer to pull your truck over and see what else might be amiss…perhaps with your driver’s ELD records, brakes or tires?

 If they’re not pulling your trucks over for one of these 5 violations, then they’re not inspecting the rest of the truck, trailer and driver. It’s very much a game of picking the “low hanging fruit”.

The Inspection Selection System

The Inspection Selection System (ISS) Is not your friend!!

The FMCSA prioritizes trucks for inspections at weigh stations using their “Inspection Selection System” (ISS) scoring process.

The more problems that are found during roadside inspections, the higher your BASIC score in each of the categories will be.

The higher your BASIC scores (especially in the Hours of Service and vehicle maintenance BASIC areas), the more often your trucks will be inspected at weigh stations due to the ISS.

This is one of the primary numbers that the DOT inspectors inside of the chicken coop will use to determine if your driver and/or truck should be inspected.

So, it is critical that you monitor your CSA scores at least monthly in order to ensure continued compliance.

Conduct an Internal Mock Audit

One of the smartest things you can do is run a mock DOT audit before the real thing happens. Pretend you’re the investigator — pull a random driver’s file, inspect their MVR, medical card, and annual review. Then check your maintenance logs for proper documentation of inspections, repairs, and defect corrections. This internal review will quickly expose weak spots that you can fix on your own terms rather than under FMCSA pressure.

If your audit is being conducted remotely, make sure your digital records are neatly organized and easy to access. Label files clearly, keep them in logical folders, and double-check that scanned documents are readable. The easier you make it for an auditor to find what they need, the smoother the process goes.

Proper Recordkeeping for a DOT Audit

If your roadside inspections are a bit too far gone and you have a couple of alert triangles haunting you every time that you check your CSA BASIC scores, then you had better be good to go when the FMCSA or State DOT calls you.

Pro Tip: Those drivers and vehicles that were involved in the most recent roadside inspections with violations are almost certain to be audited during a compliance review!!

Where you should spend your time preparing depends on what BASIC category those triangles are in.

Driver Related Compliance

If your Unsafe Driving, Controlled Substance and/or Driver Fitness scores are high, focus your time and efforts on making sure that your driver qualification files are in great shape.

Start by focusing on drivers who had roadside violations during the last 12 months. That’s the most likely files that will be pulled for audit!

Hours of Service

Is your HOS Compliance BASIC score in alert status? Make sure that:

• Drivers avoid using personal conveyance excessively
• Drivers are using personal conveyance properly
• There is very little “Unidentified Driving Time” showing in your system
• Drivers are not unplugging or obscuring the signal on their ELD device
• That you have complete supporting documents for each of your driver’s trips for the last 6 months.

Vehicle Maintenance

Is your Vehicle Maintenance BASIC score not looking too good? Make sure that:

• You have all of your repair receipts for all vehicle maintenance violations discovered during roadside inspections over the last 12 months
• You have DVIR (Daily Vehicle Inspection Reports) for any defects detected during the last year
• You have up to date Annual DOT Inspection for all trucks and trailers in your fleet
• You have a vehicle maintenance file for each truck and trailer that includes a record of when all repairs and maintenance was completed over the last 12 months (at least).

Start by focusing on trucks and trailers (or buses) that had roadside violations during the last 12 months. That’s the most likely files that will be pulled for audit!

Pro Tip: It doesn’t matter if you only have independent contractors or owner-operators working for you. If a truck is running under your authority, you must have a complete and accurate vehicle file for that truck (and trailer)!!

How To Improve Your Chances of Being Audited

There are a few very good ways to jump the compliance review line ahead of other trucking companies. If you want to avoid a compliance review, avoid these situations at all costs:

• Having 2 or more BASIC scores above 90% for more than 2 months in a row
• Having a Vehicle Out of Service Percentage score above 34% combined with a Vehicle Maintenance BASIC Alert
• Having a crash with a fatality
• Having any violations for drivers operating while their license is suspended

• Having one (or more) “Red Flag” violations”:

• 1. Operating an out-of-service vehicle.
• 2. Driving while declared out-of-service.
• 3. Possessing alcohol, using alcohol or being under the influence of alcohol within four hours of being on-duty.
• 4. Driver use of drugs or possession of drugs.
• 5. Driving a commercial vehicle while disqualified (391.15).
• 6. Disqualification of the driver from operating a commercial vehicle.
• 7. Driver operating a vehicle type for which he or she lacks a valid license.
• 8. Unqualified driver.
• 9. Operating a commercial vehicle with the wrong CDL group.
• 10. Operating a commercial vehicle without a valid CDL license.
• 11. Operating a commercial vehicle with more than one driver’s license.
• 12. Driving a commercial vehicle while disqualified (383.51).

If any of these violations are found at the roadside or at weigh stations, then expect that your DOT audit number will be called much sooner rather than later!

Prepare for a DOT Audit: Proper DOT Recordkeeping

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the law of the land when it comes to motor carrier safety.

You must keep your Driver Qualification Files and other records in order to prove to the auditor that you have control of your safety and compliance programs. Check to ensure that your MCS-90 form correctly lists your company and DOT information completely accurately every time you renew your auto liability truck insurance policy.

Also, be sure to update your MCS 150 on a regular basis! This will help with your Unsafe Driving and Crash BASIC scores.

Even though it may be after-the-fact, once you know there is a problem or opportunity to improve, you have the opportunity to design a plan to correct it (the DOT refers to a “good faith effort”, in industry we may call it CYA).

All of this data, whether it is designed to meet FMCSA requirement or internal operations metrics, should be audited as promptly as possible for both legal and performance reasons.

All carriers should have a weekly or even daily internal audit program to check records that are turned in. These records must be organized and maintained to be ready on short notice.

When working with the FMCSA you’ll learn quickly that “if there isn’t a document to prove it, then you didn’t do it”.

Counseling and correction if applicable should be done BEFORE they are filed if possible. Holding employees accountable for their performance is essential to any long term audit success and ultimately, profitability.

The daily operational demands of a fleet can often overshadow the priority of safety, even in a well-run company.

Internal audits may be postponed or they may be skipped altogether because you don’t have time that day. Records might begin to get backlogged and not filed. Sometimes, life just gets in the way!

If you find yourself in this situation, having a trucking safety manager like our My Safety Manager program can make all the difference!

We will conduct regular simulated DOT audits to make sure that you’re always “audit ready”!

These “mock audits” will provide an opportunity for us to help fine tune and correct any issues before the DOT calls or worse yet, after there has been an accident and what could have been prevented has just happened and it’s too late.

Don’t Wait for Trouble — Stay Audit-Ready Year-Round

The best way to prepare for a DOT audit is to treat every day as if one could happen tomorrow. Train your drivers on proper log keeping, coach them on avoiding preventable violations, and regularly monitor your CSA scores for red flags. Every roadside inspection and every log entry tells a story about how seriously your company takes safety.

Carriers that maintain solid systems — and can prove it — often turn stressful audits into opportunities to show they’re committed to compliance excellence. That’s how you build trust with regulators, insurance companies, and shippers alike.

And if you’d rather not face it alone, My Safety Manager can help. We’ll review your files, conduct a mock DOT audit, and make sure your company is fully prepared for anything the FMCSA sends your way.

A Successful DOT Audit Should Be A Secondary Goal

4000-5000 fatalities happen every year involving a commercial motor vehicle. 70% of these are the other vehicle’s fault.

That leaves 30% of the fatalities (approximately 1500 per year) who have been killed because of something we did or didn’t do in our industry.

Passing a DOT audit is not our primary objective for a solid safety and compliance culture—safety of your employees and the public should be the primary focus of all carriers.

None of us want to be involved in any way with hurting someone or calling a spouse to say that their partner is not coming home. Preparing for a DOT audit will reap incredible benefits for your company, your employees, and the public.

Our trucking safety and compliance experts can help you prepare for a DOT audit!

If you’re DOT compliance review didn’t go well and you ended up with a Conditional DOT rating or an Unsatisfactory DOT rating, we can help fix your conditional rating!

Simply call 1-855-211-5550 to learn more!

Frequently Asked Questions About Preparing for a DOT Audit

1. What is a DOT audit?

A DOT audit, officially called a Compliance Review, is an in-depth investigation by the FMCSA to determine whether your company is following all federal safety regulations. Inspectors review your driver qualification files, vehicle maintenance records, hours-of-service logs, and other compliance documents to assess your safety performance.

2. What triggers a DOT audit?

Audits can be triggered by high CSA scores, a serious crash, roadside inspection violations, or a complaint against your company. Sometimes, they’re random or tied to a New Entrant Safety Audit for new carriers. Keeping your records organized and your safety management systems strong helps you avoid unnecessary reviews.

3. How should I prepare for a DOT audit?

Start by ensuring all your safety and compliance files are accurate and up to date—especially driver qualification files, maintenance logs, and drug and alcohol testing records. Conduct internal audits, correct any discrepancies, and keep digital copies of all required documents ready for submission.

4. What documents will the FMCSA request during a DOT audit?

Expect to provide your driver list, vehicle list, insurance documents, accident register, maintenance records, hours-of-service logs, and drug and alcohol testing results. The auditor may also ask for company policies, disciplinary records, and evidence of corrective actions.

5. How can I reduce the risk of being audited?

The best defense is proactive compliance. Monitor your CSA scores regularly, address violations quickly, and train drivers to follow DOT regulations. Partnering with a compliance service like My Safety Manager can help you stay audit-ready year-round and reduce the chances of triggering a review.

Regulatory References

These are the key FMCSA regulations and official programs that control what investigators review during a DOT compliance audit.

• 49 CFR Part 385 — Safety Fitness Procedures, Compliance Reviews, and Safety Ratings
• 49 CFR Part 390 — General FMCSRs (including carrier identification and accident register rules)
• 49 CFR Part 391 — Driver Qualifications and Driver Qualification Files (incl. driver disqualification rules)
• 49 CFR Part 395 — Hours of Service and ELD/RODS recordkeeping
• 49 CFR Part 396 — Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance (DVIRs and annual inspections)
• 49 CFR Part 382 & FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Subpart G)
• 49 CFR Part 40 — DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Procedures (collections, MRO, SAP, RTD)
• 49 CFR Part 383 — CDL Standards and Disqualifications (incl. § 383.51)
• 49 CFR Part 387 — Minimum Levels of Financial Responsibility for Motor Carriers (MCS-90 endorsement)

How We Can Help

My Safety Manager is a leading provider of fleet safety management and trucking compliance services for fleets of all sizes.

Our specialized safety management solutions help deliver results—safe drivers out on the road who are staying compliant with FMCSA regulations.

We work with you to create customized solutions that meet your unique needs, taking what’s typically far too much work off your plate so you have more time to grow your business!