Your company has been given notice that you must participate in a DOT Compliance Review, but what does this mean? What will you have to do to successfully complete, and pass, this review? If you aren’t sure what this means for your company, here’s some more information on what a DOT Compliance Review is, and what will be asked of you during this process.

What, exactly, is a DOT Compliance Review?

This review is very similar to a safety audit, and it’s how the FMCSA ensures your company is following all of the safety protocols outlined by the FMCSA. As part of this review an investigator will contact you to complete an on-site examination of all of your company’s operations. The investigator will arrange a time with your company to complete this assessment.

During this compliance review time, you will also be asked to provide proof of insurance, accident register, gross revenue, total mileage and some other small details at the discretion of the DOT.

Why does my company need to do this?

There could be a number of reasons your company was selected to complete this review, and it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with your company. You may have been selected for this review if your company has any of the following

• A request to change a safety rating
• A complaint (and subsequent investigation)
• A major road accident
• Low CSA BASIC scores
• Failure of the new entrant safety audit
• A roadside inspection that resulted in an out-of-service violation

How can my company ensure we’re compliant?

While the DOT Compliance Review is different than the New Entrant Safety Audit, the best way to prepare for this review is as if you’re preparing to the New Entrant Safety Audit. Your company will need to prove to the FMCSA that you’re following all of the prescribed safety regulations they have put in place.

What happens if my company fails?

Well, in the worst case scenario if your company does not pass this compliance review you might find yourself being shut down.

What happens after the review is done?

After the DOT has completed its compliance review, they will give you a document which lists all of your company’s violations against prescribed safety policies. If the document doesn’t list any critical or acute violations then you will likely have a rating of satisfactory meaning you’ve passed the compliance review.

If the investigation revealed one or two critical or acute violations then you might see a safety rating of conditional at the end of the document. This rating means you have a few areas your company can improve in but you’ll likely be able to remain operational while you fix the compliance issues.

If there are more than two violations rated as critical or acute then your rating will likely be noted as proposed unsatisfactory. This rating means that your company must complete a Safety Management Plan within a specific time period or you will be ordered to shut down operations immediately. The timeline you have to complete this plan will be determined based on what kind of cargo your trucks haul, and this timeline will be outlined to you at the time of your rating.