Topic overview
You, your own mechanic or a truck shop can do the DOT annual inspection. But the person doing it must be qualified under the federal rule (the inspector rule). That means completing a State or federal training program or holding a State certificate. Or it means at least one year of training or work as a truck mechanic or inspector. Every truck and every trailer must pass at least once every 12 months. Each one is judged against FMCSA’s list of minimum standards (the annual inspection rule). One defect on that list means the vehicle has not passed until it is fixed. A clean roadside inspection does not count, and has not counted since July 2016 (the 2016 change). If your trucks fall under a mandatory State inspection program that FMCSA has accepted, you must use that program (the State program rule).
When the report comes back, check that it names the inspector, your company, the date and the vehicle. It must list what was checked and what failed, and the inspector must certify it. Then keep the proof in two places. Each vehicle carries its own report or inspection sticker. The report stays in your office for 14 months (the report rule), next to proof of the inspector’s qualifications. Do not let the date slip. In a new entrant safety audit, running vehicles without a current inspection can fail the audit on its own (the audit failure rule).
Chapter 01
Who is allowed to do the annual inspection?
You have three options for arranging the inspection. You can inspect your own vehicles, or your own mechanic can. Or you can send them to a truck shop, truck stop, leasing company or similar business that does it for you. That business must have the right facilities for truck inspections (the annual inspection rule). Either way, the person who does the inspection must be qualified. The rule puts that duty on you, the carrier, even when a shop does the work (the inspector rule). You also keep proof of that person’s qualifications in your files.
Here is how that looks in real life. Say you run three trucks and three trailers. On Monday, October 5, 2026, you walk around the yard and look at the inspection stickers. All six units were last inspected in the middle of last November. A vehicle may not be used unless it passed an inspection “at least once during the preceding 12 months” (the annual inspection rule). So all six must pass again before the middle of November, or they stop working.
Yes, the trailers count too. Owners often ask about DOT inspection for trailers, and the rule answers it plainly. Each vehicle in a combination is inspected on its own: the tractor, each trailer, and a converter dolly if you use one. So you need six inspections, not three.
Who can do them? People search for DOT inspector qualifications, and the rule sets three tests (the inspector rule). The person must understand the inspection standards and be able to spot a bad part. The person must know the methods, tools and equipment for the job. And the person must have the training or experience to do it.
That last test can be met in two ways. The first is completion of a federal or State training program, or a State certificate to inspect trucks. The second is at least one year of training or experience, in any mix. It can come from a truck maker’s training program, or a similar course on running and maintaining trucks. It can come from work as a mechanic or inspector in a trucking company’s shop, at a repair shop or at a leasing company. Or it can come from work as a government truck inspector. Driving experience by itself is not on that list. So years behind the wheel, on their own, do not qualify you or one of your drivers.
On Wednesday, October 14, you call a truck shop you trust. You book all six units for the week of October 26. You also ask who will do the inspections, and for proof that each person qualifies. The shop sends a copy of its lead inspector’s State certificate. For its second mechanic, it sends a signed letter describing four years of work on trucks at the shop.
Keep those copies. You must keep evidence of the inspector’s qualifications. Keep it for as long as that person does your annual inspections, and for one year after (the inspector rule). The rule requires evidence but does not specify a form. A copy of a certificate, or a signed letter describing the training and work history, is the kind of proof to ask for. If you ever inspect your own trucks, the same tests apply to you or your mechanic, and the same papers go in your file.
Chapter 02
Does a roadside inspection or a State sticker count?
A roadside inspection does not count, however clean it was. Since July 22, 2016, the rules no longer let a carrier meet the annual inspection through a roadside inspection (the 2016 change). FMCSA said the same day that a clean Level I or Level V roadside inspection “is not equivalent” to it (FMCSA’s 2016 guidance). A State inspection program is different. If your truck falls under a mandatory State program that FMCSA has accepted, you must use it, and it counts (the State program rule).
Back to your yard. On that same Monday, the driver of truck 3 calls from the road. An officer has just done a full roadside inspection on truck 3 and trailer 3. Nothing was wrong, and the officer put a white sticker on the truck. Your driver asks whether that takes care of the annual inspection.
It does not. The white sticker is a CVSA decal, from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. It goes on after a Level I or Level V inspection that finds no critical violations (CVSA’s page on decals). Its color shows the quarter of the year: green, yellow, orange or white. It stays valid for the month it went on plus two more months, so this one runs out at the end of December. It tells other officers the truck was checked recently. It is not your annual inspection. What your driver should do during such a stop is in what to do when your truck is pulled over.
Many older articles still say a clean roadside inspection counts. That was true before July 22, 2016. FMCSA changed it because a roadside inspection does not cover every item on the annual list (the 2016 change). At the roadside, officers look only at the parts they can see. They do not uncouple the trailer to look at the fifth wheel, for example. So truck 3 and trailer 3 go to the shop with the others.
Inspections under accepted State programs do count. Some States run their own mandatory inspection programs, and FMCSA has accepted some of them as equivalent to the federal inspection. If your vehicle falls under one, that program is not optional. You must meet the annual inspection through it (the State program rule). A vehicle that passes counts as inspected for 12 months, starting from the last day of the month of the inspection (the annual inspection rule). And you do not have to keep proof of the State inspector’s qualifications (the inspector rule).
Which States? The last full list we found in the Federal Register is from October 2008. It named 22 States, the District of Columbia and Alabama’s board for liquefied petroleum gas (FMCSA’s 2008 list). Some of the programs on it were for buses only, and States change their programs. We found no later list in the Federal Register. FMCSA’s website blocks our tools, so we could not check its current list. So ask your State’s vehicle inspection office whether its program covers your trucks. In your case, say your State has no such program. A qualified shop does all six.
Chapter 03
What does the inspector check, and how do I read the report?
The inspector must check, at the very least, every part on FMCSA’s list of minimum standards (the annual inspection rule). Its official name is Appendix A to Part 396. You may also see its old name, Appendix G, on a shop’s form. The list has 15 groups of parts, and one of them, passenger seats, is for buses only. Its first line is strict. “A vehicle does not pass an inspection if it has one of the following defects or deficiencies” (the list of standards). One defect is enough to fail.
Here are the groups for trucks and trailers. Next to each are a few examples of what fails, taken from the list of standards.
| What the inspector checks | What makes it fail, for example |
|---|---|
| Brakes | No braking on an axle, worn linings, air leaks, a brake out of adjustment, ABS warning lamp faults |
| Coupling devices | Loose or cracked fifth wheel mounts, a kingpin not locked in, worn safety chains |
| Exhaust | A leak under or in front of the cab or sleeper |
| Fuel system | A visible leak, a missing filler cap, a loose tank |
| Lights and reflectors | Any required lamp or reflector that does not work |
| Safe loading | A spare tire or cargo that could fall off; a missing front end structure where one is required |
| Steering | Too much play in the steering wheel, loose or cracked parts, welded repairs |
| Suspension | Broken spring leaves, cracked or loose axle parts, a deflated air suspension |
| Frame | Cracked or sagging frame members; sliding axle pins not locked |
| Tires | Under 4/32 inch of tread on a steer tire or under 2/32 inch on others; flat or leaking; cords showing |
| Wheels and rims | Cracks, loose or missing lug nuts, bad welds |
| Windshield | Cracks or damage in the driver’s view beyond small limits |
| Wipers | A wiper on a truck that does not work |
| Rear impact guard | A missing or loose guard, or one mounted too high |
The name changed on October 14, 2021, when FMCSA moved the list from Appendix G to Appendix A (the 2021 rename). A shop form that still says Appendix G is using the old name. Check that the shop works from the current list.
When the inspection is done, the inspector must write a report (the report rule). Read it before you pay. It must name the inspector and your company, give the date and identify the vehicle. It must list the parts inspected and the results, including any part that did not meet the standards. And the inspector must certify that the inspection was accurate and complete.
On Monday, October 26, your first truck and trailer go in. By Wednesday, October 28, all six units have been through the shop, and you read each report as it arrives. Truck 1’s report has everything: the inspector’s name, your company, the date, the VIN, every group checked and a signed certification. Truck 2’s report has the shop’s stamp but no inspector’s name, so you send it back and get it corrected. Then trailer 2’s report arrives with two items marked as failing. A side marker lamp does not light. And one brake on the rear axle is out of adjustment.
Chapter 04
What if something fails, and what proof do I keep?
A vehicle with a failed item has not passed. It may not be used until every part on the list has passed (the annual inspection rule). So the failed parts must be repaired and pass before the vehicle goes back to work. Then the proof goes in two places. Each vehicle carries the report, or a sticker based on it. Your office keeps the report for 14 months (the report rule), with the inspector’s papers and the repair record.
The lamp on trailer 2 is simple. A new bulb, and it works. The brake takes more. Your trailers have automatic brake adjusters, which are meant to keep the brakes adjusted on their own. When one of those brakes is found out of adjustment, the list says the shop must find out why. Adjusting it by hand is “not acceptable” without “first correcting the underlying problem” (the list of standards). Say the shop finds a worn part and replaces it on Thursday, October 29. Then it measures the brake again, and now it passes.
Ask the shop to write the repair and the recheck on trailer 2’s report, with the date. The rule does not prescribe a form for this step. But the report must describe the results (the report rule). And the trailer may not run until each part has passed (the annual inspection rule). So the paper should show both the failure and the fix.
Brake work has its own rule (the brake work rule). It covers your own employees. If one of them inspects, services or repairs brakes, that person must be qualified for that task. You keep proof of it at your main office, or where that person works, while they do that work and for one year after. Passing the CDL air brake tests counts for inspecting air brakes. It does not, by itself, qualify anyone to service or repair them.
Passing once a year is not the end of it. The rule requires every part to meet the listed standards throughout the year, with prompt repairs when needed (the annual inspection rule). Your drivers’ daily inspection reports, the DVIRs, are a separate duty with their own rules. Which lamp, brake and tire problems can get a truck parked at a roadside inspection is a separate list. We explain it in what puts a truck out of service.
Now the proof. Each vehicle must carry proof of its own inspection. It can be the report itself, or a sticker or decal based on the report (the annual inspection rule). A DOT inspection sticker must show four things. It shows the date of the inspection and the name and address of the company where the report is kept. It identifies the vehicle, if the vehicle is not clearly marked. And it states that the vehicle passed the annual inspection. The date must be the inspection date, so a sticker showing only the next due date is missing it. The rule does not say where on the vehicle the proof goes. Each trailer carries its own, since each one was inspected on its own.
In your office, keep each report, the original or a copy, for 14 months from its date (the report rule). Keep it where the vehicle is kept or maintained. An official can ask to see it. If a shop did the inspection, producing the report when asked is still your job, so keep your own copy. Next to it go the inspector’s papers and the repair record for trailer 2. Repair records stay for 1 year, and for 6 months after the vehicle leaves your control (the maintenance records rule). Our list of the records to keep shows where these papers fit with the rest.
How long is a DOT inspection good for? When you or a shop does it, 12 months from the day it was done (the annual inspection rule). Your six units passed between October 26 and 29, 2026. So each must pass again within 12 months of its own date. Book them for early October 2027, so there is time to repair any defects found.
A missed inspection costs more than a sticker. Using a vehicle that was not inspected is one of the 16 violations that can fail a new entrant safety audit on their own. For this one, the auditor must find it in 51% or more of the records checked (the audit failure rule). Our page on the automatic audit failures walks through all 16. Failing to do the inspection properly can also bring a federal fine (the annual inspection rule). We explain how to answer an FMCSA fine notice. Say an officer writes up a missing inspection, but the proof was on the vehicle. Then you can ask for the record to be corrected through DataQs.
What has changed? The annual inspection rules and the list of standards have not changed in 2026. Two older changes matter more. Roadside inspections stopped counting in 2016 (the 2016 change), and the list was renamed in 2021 (the 2021 rename). There are also things we could not check. FMCSA’s website blocks our tools, so we could not read its current list of accepted State programs or its online answers on these rules.
If you want someone to book these inspections, follow up on repairs and keep the papers in order, here is what we offer.
Support from Fleet Assist
How Fleet Assist can help
Ongoing maintenance management for your trucks and trailers. We arrange annual inspections and follow up on defects that need repair. We also keep service schedules, find suitable shops, review estimates, follow repairs and keep the maintenance records and invoices for each truck and trailer. $49 per active truck per month, available 24/7, from one active truck; three active trucks cost $147 a month. This is an ongoing monthly service; inspection booking and repair follow-up are not sold separately. You approve the repair work and its cost. The shop’s inspector carries out the inspection and certifies the results, and a mechanic makes the repairs. The inspection fee, parts, shop labor, towing, tires and other outside services are paid separately. We cannot promise that a vehicle will pass. See maintenance management, or choose all four services for $999 per active truck per month. Call us → · Ask on Telegram →
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How long is a DOT annual inspection good for?
Twelve months. A truck or trailer may not be used unless it passed the annual inspection at least once in the past 12 months. If the vehicle falls under a State inspection program that FMCSA has accepted, the State inspection counts for 12 months from the last day of the month it was done. Book the next one early, so there is time to repair any defects found.
Do trailers need their own annual DOT inspection?
Yes. The rule treats each vehicle in a combination as its own vehicle. The tractor, each trailer and a converter dolly each need their own annual inspection, and each must carry its own proof. An owner with three trucks and three trailers needs six inspections a year, and six reports or stickers.
Where does the DOT inspection sticker go, and what must it show?
The rule does not say where on the vehicle the proof goes, only that it must be on the vehicle. A sticker or decal must show the inspection date and the name and address of the company where the report is kept. It must identify the vehicle if the vehicle is not clearly marked, and state that it passed. A next due date alone is not enough.
Is a green or white CVSA sticker the same as an annual inspection?
No. A CVSA decal goes on after a Level I or Level V roadside inspection finds no critical violations. Its color shows the quarter of the year, and it lasts at most three months. Since July 22, 2016, no roadside inspection counts as the annual inspection. Your truck still needs its own annual inspection by a qualified inspector.
Can I do the annual inspection on my own trucks?
Yes, if you are qualified. You must complete a State or federal training program, hold a State certificate, or have at least one year of training or work as a truck mechanic or inspector. Driving experience by itself does not count. Keep proof of your qualifications in your files, just as you would for a shop’s inspector.
How long do I keep annual inspection records?
Keep each inspection report for 14 months from its date, where the vehicle is kept or maintained. Keep proof of the inspector’s qualifications for as long as that person inspects your vehicles, and for one year after. Keep repair records for 1 year, and for 6 months after the vehicle leaves your control.
What is Appendix A on a DOT inspection form?
It is FMCSA’s list of minimum standards that every annual inspection must cover. It has 15 groups of parts, from brakes and tires to lights, steering and the rear impact guard, and one group is for buses only. One listed defect means the vehicle has not passed. Until October 2021 the same list was called Appendix G.
Sources & references
Sources: 49 CFR 396.17, 396.19, 396.21, 396.23, 396.25, 396.3 and Appendix A to Part 396 · 49 CFR 385.321 (all eCFR, as of 2026-09-17; none of 396.17 to 396.25 or Appendix A amended in 2026) · FR 2016-17364 (81 FR 47722), Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance; General Amendments, published and in effect 2016-07-22 · FR 2016-17362 (81 FR 47732), Amendments to Regulatory Guidance Concerning Periodic Inspection of Commercial Motor Vehicles, 2016-07-22 · FR 2021-21228 (86 FR 57060), General Technical, Organizational, Conforming, and Correcting Amendments, in effect 2021-10-14 · FR E8-25174 (73 FR 63040), Periodic Inspection of Commercial Motor Vehicles, notice on State programs, 2008-10-22 (all on govinfo, read 2026-09-22) · CVSA, About Inspection Decals, read 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by Fleet Assist · Updated 2026-09-22