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New entrant audit self-check
Within your first year, FMCSA audits every new carrier — and failure means revocation. This is the auditor's checklist, turned into a two-minute self-check.
Program details: FMCSA — New Entrant Safety Assurance Program
Straight answers
▸What is the new entrant safety audit?
Every new USDOT registrant enters FMCSA's New Entrant Safety Assurance Program and gets a safety audit within the first 12 months — mostly remote and document-based now. Fail it (or ignore it) and your registration is revoked.
▸What are the automatic failures?
The big ones: no drug and alcohol testing program, using a driver before a negative pre-employment test, no required insurance, operating out-of-service equipment, and using a disqualified driver. Any one of these fails the audit by itself.
▸What documents will the auditor ask for?
Proof of your testing program and Clearinghouse queries, driver qualification files, hours-of-service records with supporting documents, insurance certificates, vehicle maintenance and inspection records, and your accident register.
▸How much notice do I get?
Typically a written notice with a document request and a deadline measured in days, not months. The carriers who pass are the ones whose records were audit-ready before the letter arrived.