New entrant safety audit checklist

Rules checked October 2026 · 49 CFR Part 385, Subpart D

The clock first

The audit must be performed within 12 months after you receive your USDOT number (§385.3), once you have enough records to judge — generally at least 3 months in. Your company stays in the new entrant program, under close monitoring, for 18 months (§385.307). The audit is educational and produces no safety rating (§385.317) — but failing it puts your registration on a 60-day clock.

The 16 automatic-failure lines (§385.321)

Any one of these, found once, fails the audit. Two of them — marked * — fail when the auditor finds the problem in half or more of the records he samples.

1. §382.115 — no drug & alcohol testing program at all.
2. §382.201 — using a driver known to be at 0.04 alcohol or higher.
3. §382.211 — using a driver who refused a required test.
4. §382.215 — using a driver known to have tested positive.
5. §382.305 — no random testing program.
6. §383.3 / §383.23 — knowingly using a driver with no valid CDL.
7. §383.37(b) — letting a disqualified CDL holder drive.
8. §383.51(a) — letting a driver drive while disqualified.
9. §387.7(a) — running a truck without the required insurance in effect.
10. §387.31(a) — the same, for passenger-carrying vehicles.
11. §391.15(a) — knowingly using a disqualified driver.
12. §391.11(b)(4) — knowingly using a physically unqualified driver (no valid medical qualification).
13. §395.8(a) * — drivers not making duty records.
14. §396.9(c)(2) — running a vehicle placed out of service before its repairs.
15. §396.11(a)(3) — not fixing out-of-service defects a driver wrote up.
16. §396.17(a) * — using a vehicle with no annual inspection.

Notice: no line says “DQ file.” The driver file kills through lines 6, 7, 8 and 12, and through points in the driver factor below.

The files the auditor samples

Beyond the 16 lines, the auditor reviews a sample of records across six factors — general, driver, operational, vehicle, hazardous materials, and accident rate (§385.311, Appendix A to Part 385). Violations score points (an acute violation 1.5, a critical violation 1); 3 or more points in a factor means inadequate controls there, and inadequate controls in 3 or more factors fails the audit. The sample usually reaches:

• Driver qualification files — one per driver (§391.51), and the separate history file (§391.53).
• 30 consecutive days of duty records for a driver, with supporting documents (§395.8).
• Vehicle maintenance files (§396.3), driver inspection reports (§396.11), annual inspection proof (§396.17).
• The accident register, 3 years (§390.15(b)).
• Insurance proof — the signed MCS-90 and a policy in effect (§387.7).
• Drug & alcohol proof — consortium enrollment, pre-employment results, Clearinghouse queries (§382.701).

Score yourself before the letter comes

The free New Entrant Audit Verdict walks all 16 lines and the sampled files and prints your verdict with the citation on every line — the same read as this checklist, scored. If lines come back open, the Audit & DQ Kit is the paper itself: the packets, forms, and trackers behind every line above.

Federal sources: 49 CFR 385.3, 385.307, 385.311, 385.321, Appendix A to Part 385 · Rules checked October 2026