Fleet Assist guides
U.S. trucking
compliance guides
Learn how to prepare for an FMCSA safety audit, dispute a record through DataQs and respond to a driver’s traffic ticket. Find the steps involved, documents to prepare and links to official sources.
Overview / New entrant safety audits
How does the FMCSA new entrant safety audit work?
New interstate freight carriers face an audit within 12 months. Learn what auditors check, how to prepare, and how the deadline of 15 days affects you.
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01 / 7 articles
Safety audits
Learn whether your company needs an audit, which documents to prepare, what can cause a failure and how to respond to the result.
- Safety audits
How does the FMCSA new entrant safety audit work?
New interstate freight carriers face an audit within 12 months. Learn what auditors check, how to prepare, and how the deadline of 15 days affects you.
Read the guide - Safety audits
Does my business need a new entrant safety audit?
A new entrant safety audit can apply even without a CDL. Check your vehicles, the full route of each load, and whose USDOT number you operate under.
Read the guide - Safety audits
What documents do I need for a safety audit?
Prepare driver files, test results, logs, insurance and vehicle records for your safety audit. Keep logs for 6 months and defect reports for 3 months.
Read the guide - Safety audits
What can automatically fail a new entrant safety audit?
Break any one of 16 rules and the audit fails. One case is usually enough; missing logs and annual inspections have a 51% threshold in the records checked.
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How do I complete an offsite safety audit?
Send clear copies of what the audit letter lists, by its date, and keep proof. Respond promptly: a refusal notice gives you 10 days to agree to the audit.
Read the guide - Safety audits
What happens if I fail my new entrant safety audit?
You get a written notice and 60 days to fix the problems, or 45 for passenger and hazmat carriers. Send proof in 15 days, or risk being put out of service.
Read the guide - Safety audits
How do I respond to an FMCSA enforcement notice?
A Notice of Claim gives you 30 days to pay, seek settlement or contest. Missing the reply can make the fine final; unpaid fines can stop interstate work.
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02 / 3 articles
DataQs
How to challenge errors in inspection and crash records, and what happens during a DataQs review.
- DataQs
How do I dispute a violation on my record in DataQs?
You file in DataQs, and the State that did the inspection decides. From Sept. 13, 2026: three reviews, due in 21, 21 and 45 days. You provide the proof.
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How do I dispute a crash on my record in DataQs?
The State that reported a crash fixes wrong facts in DataQs, with a first answer in 21 days. Whether it was preventable is a separate FMCSA request.
Read the guide - DataQs
How do I submit and track a DataQ challenge?
Carriers open DataQs from the FMCSA Portal with Login.gov and the DataQs Secure Access role, file against one report, then track it by its ID number.
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03 / 3 articles
CDL & tickets
Understand the options after a driver gets a traffic ticket, how a court case works and how a conviction can affect the CDL and your company’s safety records.
- CDL & tickets
Should I fight or pay my driver's traffic ticket?
Paying a ticket counts as a conviction: 3+ years on the driver's CDL record. An inspection violation affects CSA for 24 months. Weigh the costs.
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How does a driver's conviction affect my trucking company?
A ticket can reach 4 records: the CDL, the State driving record, PSP and CSA scores. Two serious convictions in 3 years disqualify a driver for 60 days.
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How does fighting a CDL traffic ticket work?
Save your evidence the first day, hire a lawyer in that State, and check every deal: paying a fine or court costs is a conviction. Then go to DataQs.
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General information, not legal advice.