Look Up Any US Trucking Company's Safety Rating & Inspection Record
Check if a carrier is legally allowed to drive, see their past violations and crashes, verify their insurance, and find out if their trucks are safe.
Why Verifying US DOT Safety Records Protects Your Business
Every commercial truck on US highways operates under FMCSA safety rules. A carrier's DOT safety record reveals their real-world vehicle maintenance and driver discipline.
Freight brokers check these records to avoid cargo claims and freight fraud. Owner-operators review inspection history to dispute false tickets and keep insurance rates low.
CarrierSafetyData turns complex federal compliance data into simple, readable facts. You can verify authority, failure rates, and active insurance in seconds.
3 Steps to Check Any Carrier Before Booking
Use this simple 3-point checklist to confirm legal operating status, safety, and insurance coverage.
Check Operating Authority
Verify that the carrier holds an Active USDOT and MC number. Never book a carrier with Revoked or Inactive authority status.
✓ Active motor carrier docket status
Compare Out-of-Service Rates
Compare truck failure rates against the 21.4% national average. Fleets above average face frequent roadside delays.
✓ Driver OOS vs 5.5% US avg
Verify Insurance & Crashes
Confirm active primary liability insurance filings (Form BMC-91X). Review 24-month fatal and injury crash counts.
✓ Clean 24-month crash record
Recently Checked Trucking Companies
Live safety profiles pulled straight from the FMCSA database.
What You Will Find in Each Carrier Report
Every report on our website brings together public information from the FMCSA MCMIS census, the SAFER system, and state inspection logs. Here is what we check for you:
Operating Authority & DOT Status
Find out if the trucking company is legally authorized to haul freight right now. We show you active, inactive, or revoked status so you never work with an unauthorized carrier.
Checks: USDOT #, MC/FF Docket, Status24-Month Roadside Inspections
See the total number of roadside inspections completed over the last two years. Compare their vehicle and driver out-of-service failure rates directly against the US national benchmarks.
Checks: Total Inspections, OOS %DOT Crash Records & Accidents
Review all state-reported crashes on federal file over the trailing 24 months. We split the data into fatal accidents, injury crashes, and vehicles that required a tow truck.
Checks: Fatal, Injury, Towaway CountsForm BMC-91X Insurance Filings
Verify active primary public liability and property damage insurance filed with the FMCSA. Know whether the carrier carries the required $750,000, $1,000,000, or hazmat coverage.
Checks: Primary Liability, Policy LimitsFleet Size & Driver Count
Check the number of registered semi-trucks (power units) and licensed commercial drivers. See if the company is an owner-operator with one truck or a large carrier with hundreds.
Checks: Power Units, CDL DriversRegistered Address & Contact
View the official principal business office, phone number, and physical state headquarters on federal file. Use this to verify dispatchers before sending rate confirmations.
Checks: Physical Address, Phone, StateThe 5 DOT Roadside Inspection Levels Explained
State state troopers and DOT officers stop commercial trucks at weigh stations and rest areas for safety checks. Here is what happens during each type of inspection:
Full North American Standard Inspection
The most complete check. The officer looks at both the driver (CDL, logbook/ELD, medical certificate, hours of service) and gets underneath the truck to inspect brakes, tires, suspension, frame, fuel lines, coupling devices, and lights.
Walk-Around Driver & Vehicle Inspection
Covers the full driver document review plus a physical walk-around of the truck and trailer. The officer checks visible components like tires, load securement, mud flaps, and turn signals without climbing underneath the tractor.
Driver-Only Credential & Hours of Service Check
Focuses only on the driver. The officer reviews your commercial driver's license (CDL), medical card, Record of Duty Status (RODS) on the ELD, driver vehicle inspection report (DVIR), seatbelt usage, and alcohol/drug testing records.
Special Targeted Study
A focused one-time inspection that looks at one specific safety item. These are usually run during nationwide safety campaigns like International Roadcheck or Brake Safety Week.
Vehicle-Only Inspection (Without Driver Present)
A complete Level 1 vehicle inspection performed without the driver present. This is usually conducted at the carrier's operating terminal, truck yard, or impound facility.
Who Uses Our Free Directory and Why
More than 100,000 transportation professionals rely on public DOT records every month. Here is how different people use this data:
Freight Brokers & 3PLs
Verify active operating authority, confirm primary liability insurance, and check physical business addresses before booking a load to prevent double-brokering and cargo theft.
Owner-Operators
Monitor your own out-of-service failure rates, review roadside tickets submitted by officers, and find proof for DataQ challenges to keep your safety score clean.
Shippers & Manufacturers
Make sure the freight carriers moving your high-value inventory have strong maintenance records and zero recent fatal crashes on interstate highways.
Company CDL Drivers
Check a prospective employer's equipment failure rate before you take the job. A high out-of-service rate means old, poorly maintained trucks that risk your commercial license.
Browse Trucking Companies by State
Find motor carriers based in your state. Updated monthly from FMCSA records.
Simple Guides for Truckers & Brokers
Short, plain-English articles written by safety and freight experts.
How to Read DOT Safety Ratings & Inspection Scores
Learn what out-of-service rates mean, how violations are counted over 24 months, and what makes a carrier safe to work with.
Read Guide →How to Dispute Wrong Roadside Tickets & Win DataQ Challenges
A clear guide for truck owners to remove false violations, dismissed tickets, and wrong crash reports from their DOT record.
Read Guide →How to Spot and Avoid Double-Brokering Scams
Learn the exact warning signs of load fraud. Protect your truck from fake brokers who steal loads and never pay.
Read Guide →50-State Truck Insurance Rules & Minimum Limits
A full breakdown of each state's minimum commercial truck insurance limits. Know exactly what coverage your fleet needs by state.
Read Guide →Free Freight & Dispatch Tools
Built for owner-operators, dispatchers, and freight brokers. No sign-up needed.
IFTA Fuel Tax Calculator
Calculate your quarterly fuel tax dues and refunds across all 48 US states. Uses up-to-date state diesel tax rates.
Rate-per-Mile & CPM Calculator
Find your true cost per mile, fuel surcharge, and minimum viable rate for any loaded haul. Know your break-even before you accept a load.
Broker Scam & Fraud Checker
Run a 6-point check on any freight broker or carrier. Detect double-brokering, fake rate confirmations, and cargo theft patterns before you haul.
Compare Commercial Truck Insurance & Save Up to $2,400 per Truck
Your DOT safety record affects your insurance rate directly. Connect with A-rated commercial insurers who know dry van, reefer, flatbed, and hotshot fleets.
Free Insurance Estimate No Obligation
Get competitive quotes from licensed US transportation brokers.
Common Questions About US DOT Safety Records
Quick answers to questions truckers, brokers, and shippers ask most often.
FMCSA updates carrier registration data and roadside inspection records once a month. The data comes straight from the US DOT's official open-data pipeline. Out-of-service rates always show the last 24 months of roadside checks.
The US national average is 21.4% for trucks and 5.5% for drivers. If a carrier's truck failure rate is well above 21.4%, brokers and shippers see that as higher risk. It means more of their trucks are pulled off the road during inspections.
You file a DataQ challenge on the FMCSA portal at dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov. If a ticket was dismissed in court, assigned to the wrong vehicle, or entered incorrectly, state enforcement agencies can review and permanently remove it from your record.
Yes, 100% free. No account, no paywall. We pull publicly available US DOT records and display them in a clean, readable format for truckers, brokers, shippers, and insurance agents.
A USDOT number is a safety ID assigned by the Department of Transportation. It tracks a carrier's safety record, crashes, and inspections. An MC number (Motor Carrier number) is an operating authority number that gives a carrier the legal right to haul freight for hire across state lines. Not all carriers need an MC number — private carriers that only haul their own goods do not.
Watch for these red flags: the broker can't verify their MC number on FMCSA Safer, the rate confirmation has a different company name than who called you, they ask you to pick up a load "right now" with no paperwork, or they pressure you to sign a rate con without a proper BOL. Always verify the broker's MC number at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov before moving any freight.
Most for-hire carriers need at least $750,000 in primary auto liability to haul general freight. Hazmat loads require $1 million or more. Cargo insurance ($100k minimum) covers the goods you're transporting. Physical damage covers your truck. You can verify a carrier's active insurance on CarrierSafetyData or directly through the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance portal.
IFTA stands for International Fuel Tax Agreement. If your truck weighs over 26,000 lbs and crosses state lines, you are required to file quarterly fuel tax reports. You pay fuel taxes to each state based on how many miles you drove there. IFTA simplifies this — instead of filing with 48 different states, you file one quarterly report with your home state. Our free IFTA calculator makes this easy.
