Will you pass your new entrant audit?
New trucking carriers get an FMCSA safety audit in their first year. Breaking any one of 16 specific rules means an automatic fail. Answer one question per rule and see where you stand in about 3 minutes. Runs in your browser: your answers stay on this device.
Free self-check: the 16 automatic-fail rules
From 49 CFR 385.321(b). Answer for your company today. "Not sure" counts as a risk, because the auditor will ask for proof.
A self-check, not a prediction. Auditors also review other areas, and other problems can still lead to a failed audit or a required corrective action plan.
Rules at risk, and what to fix
The New Authority Audit Kit
$39 once. Less than one month of a compliance service. One-time purchase, not a subscription.
Fill in a short company profile (drivers, trucks, dates). The kit builds every document below with your company's details, flags anything expired or expiring, and prints clean or saves as PDF.
- Driver qualification files: fill-in checklist, plus a cover sheet for each driver with CDL and medical card expiry warnings
- Drug & alcohol program kit: policy template, consortium/TPA enrollment checklist, pre-employment test log, Clearinghouse query log
- Hours of service / ELD: records checklist and a supporting-documents retention log
- Vehicle maintenance file: a maintenance and annual inspection record for each unit, plus a DVIR log
- Insurance & registration: MCS-90, BOC-3, UCR and related filings checklist
- Audit-day binder: table of contents, document request list, "what the auditor asks" prep sheet, and a 30/60/90-day timeline dated from your authority grant
- Expiry calendar: every upcoming CDL, medical card, inspection and filing date, with a calendar file (.ics) for your phone
No guarantee of passing: the kit organizes your records; you still have to keep them. Everything is generated on your device. Nothing you type is sent to us.
SAMPLE · PREVIEW
Sample company and sample data. The full kit uses your own details and has no watermark.
Your audit kit
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The new entrant audit, in plain English
What is it, and when does it happen?
New carriers are "new entrants" and are monitored for 18 months (49 CFR 385.307). The safety audit comes once you have enough records to review, generally after at least 3 months of operation (385.307(b)). FMCSA generally aims to finish it within your first 12 months (sooner for passenger carriers); that target is not in the regulation text, so exact timing varies. Some events, like a roadside out-of-service order or a positive drug test, can trigger an expedited audit (385.308). Get ready from day one.
What happens if I fail?
FMCSA sends a written notice within 45 days of the audit. You then have 60 days from the notice date to fix the problems and send proof (45 days for passenger carriers and certain hazmat carriers). If you don't, your new entrant registration is revoked and an out-of-service order takes effect on day 61 (or day 46), and you must stop interstate operations (49 CFR 385.319(c), 385.325). Read the notice the day it arrives.
Why do some rules say "51% of records"?
For hours-of-service records (395.8(a)) and periodic inspections (396.17(a)), the 385.321(b) table says a fail needs a pattern: violations in 51% or more of the records examined. Every other rule on the list fails on a single occurrence. Don't aim for 50%. Every record should be right.
My trucks don't need a CDL. What applies?
Drug and alcohol testing (Part 382) and the CDL rules (Part 383) apply to drivers of vehicles that need a CDL: generally 26,001 lbs or more, 16 or more passengers, or placarded hazmat (see 49 CFR 383.5). Medical cards, hours of service, inspections and insurance still apply to most interstate carriers with vehicles of 10,001 lbs or more. Check the definitions before you skip anything.
Sources
- 49 CFR 385.321 (automatic-fail list): ecfr.gov
- 49 CFR Part 385 Subpart D (new entrant program): ecfr.gov
- FMCSA: what would cause a carrier to fail a new entrant safety audit: fmcsa.dot.gov
- 2008 final rule that created the automatic-fail table (73 FR 76489, Dec. 16, 2008, as cited in the eCFR): federalregister.gov
- Regulation text checked against the eCFR (up to date as of Oct 7, 2026). Rules change, so recheck before relying on it.
- Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse: clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov