DOT Compliance
DOT compliance for small carriers: what it requires and how it is run
Most small carriers run that at the kitchen table, after driving all week. TenFour runs it as a program: software builds the calendar, checks every date daily and prepares the filings, and a person reviews each one before it goes anywhere official, for one published price per truck.
What DOT compliance means for a 1 to 6 truck carrier
For a carrier with 1 to 6 trucks, DOT compliance is a program rather than a single filing: every driver qualified and on file, a drug and alcohol program with Clearinghouse queries, vehicles inspected and maintained, and the MCS-150, UCR, BOC-3 and IFTA filed on time. Our DOT compliance services run that program for you, like this.
A complete compliance profile
We map what applies to your operation (authority type, trucks and drivers), and the records and renewal dates that come with them.
Deadline monitoring
Expirations and renewal windows are tracked with 60/30/7-day alerts by text and email, so nothing sneaks up on you.
Organized, audit-ready records
Your documents live in one organized vault, so if an auditor ever asks, you are pulling up files, not tearing apart the cab.
Filings prepared, then reviewed by a person
Automation drafts the filing from your profile and flags what looks wrong. A person checks it, and you approve it, before anything is submitted.
Who it's for: Owner-operators and small fleets of 1 to 6 trucks that want the administrative side of DOT compliance managed for them, in one place, for one predictable monthly cost. Fleets of 7 or more are priced by conversation, contact us for custom pricing.
The six DOT compliance requirements
Compliance is not one obligation but six overlapping ones, each with its own records, its own renewal cycle and its own failure mode. An investigator reviews them roughly in this order, and so should you.
- Driver qualification: a file on every driver including yourself, with an annual MVR and review that most carriers forget at the twelve-month mark. How we run it: driver qualification file management.
- Drug and alcohol: a testing program, a random pool you cannot run alone, and Clearinghouse queries at hire and annually. How we run it: the DOT drug and alcohol program.
- Medical certification: a maximum 24-month cycle, now traveling electronically for CDL holders. How we run it: medical card tracking.
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance: an annual periodic inspection per vehicle, plus maintenance records kept a year and six months past the truck leaving your control. How we run it: truck maintenance records.
- Hours of service: records of duty status, and the supporting documents behind them.
- Registrations: the biennial MCS-150, annual UCR, the BOC-3, IRP plates and quarterly IFTA returns. How we run them: UCR, MCS-150 and BOC-3 filings and the IFTA filing service.
How to check your DOT compliance
Three free checks, in this order. First, your SAFER Company Snapshot: it shows whether your USDOT number and operating authority are active and the date of your last MCS-150. Second, your MCS-150 due date, which is set by your USDOT number rather than your registration date. Third, the audit readiness score: 13 questions on the records an auditor asks for first.
If any of the three turns something up, the fix is usually a document or a filing, not a crisis. The free DOT Health Check on our homepage builds a plain-English report from your public record, same day, by email.
Why one truck is harder than fifty
A fifty-truck carrier has a safety director whose job is to watch these dates. A one-truck carrier has a driver who is also the safety director, the dispatcher, the bookkeeper and the mechanic, and who is unavailable 11 hours a day because he is doing the thing that actually generates revenue.
The regulations make no allowance for this. Driver qualification requirements are identical. Testing requirements are identical. The MCS-150 is identical. The only thing that scales down is the resources available to meet them, which is precisely backwards.
What we will not tell you
We will not tell you that compliance is impossible without us. Every filing we handle is one you can make yourself, several are free, and the rules are public. What we sell is that none of it depends on you remembering a date two years from now, from the road. If you would rather run it yourself, our free tools and guides are here and ungated.
Running a DOT compliance program: the recurring cycles
| Requirement | Cycle | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|
| IFTA return | Quarterly | Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31 |
| UCR fee | Annual | Before January 1 |
| MVR pull and review | Annual | Driver’s own anniversary |
| Annual vehicle inspection | Annual | Per vehicle, 12-month cycle |
| Clearinghouse query | Annual | Driver’s own 12-month cycle |
| MCS-150 biennial update | Every 24 months | Derived from your USDOT number |
| Medical certificate | Up to 24 months | Date on the certificate |
What this costs
TenFour membership: first truck
$99/month
Billed annually ($1,188/yr) · $119 month to month · +$59/month per additional truck
Billed annually; each additional truck +$59/month, every driver included. Everything on this page is part of the membership. Every add-on and third-party fee is on the pricing page; a brand-new authority starts with the New Authority Starter.
Every price for 1 to 6 trucks is published, no quote form, no sales call. See full pricing. Running 7 or more? Contact us for custom pricing.
What happens if you skip it
Compliance failures rarely announce themselves. They surface commercially (through a broker, an insurer or an inspector) well before they surface as a penalty.
- Loads stop coming because a broker’s vetting system flagged your authority status or safety score.
- A new entrant safety audit finds one of the 16 automatic-failure violations and your registration is at risk.
- A missed biennial update can bring civil penalties of up to $1,584 for each day the violation continues, capped at $15,846 (49 CFR part 386, appendix B, adjusted for inflation; the statute's base figures are $1,000 a day and $10,000); the rule's stated consequence, deactivation of your USDOT number, has been paused by FMCSA since June 1, 2026 while carriers move onto Motus.
- An expired credential surfaces at roadside, with the truck loaded and the clock running.
Sources
- FMCSA: SAFER Company Snapshot
- 49 CFR 390.5: Definitions, including commercial motor vehicle
- FMCSA: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
- 49 CFR Parts 380 to 399, the operative regulations
- FMCSA: New entrant safety assurance program
- FMCSA: Temporary suspension of USDOT inactivation in Motus
Last reviewed October 2, 2026. TenFour is a compliance service, not a law firm, and is not affiliated with FMCSA or any government agency. This page explains federal requirements in plain English, verify specifics for your operation against the sources above.
Common questions
Is TenFour a government agency?
No. TenFour is a private administrative support service. We are not affiliated with FMCSA or any government agency, and we will never send you mail pretending to be one. If you receive official-looking mail demanding payment for a registration, check your status directly in SAFER before paying anybody.
Does TenFour guarantee I will pass an audit?
No honest company can promise that. What we do is keep your records organized and your deadlines monitored, which is the best preparation there is. Anyone guaranteeing an audit outcome is telling you something they cannot control.
What are the DOT compliance requirements?
Six areas: driver qualification files, a drug and alcohol testing program with Clearinghouse queries, medical certification, vehicle inspection and maintenance records, hours-of-service records and registrations: MCS-150, UCR, IRP and IFTA. Roughly fifteen recurring dates across five different cycles.
How do I know if I am DOT compliant?
Check three things. Your SAFER Company Snapshot should show an active USDOT number and, if you haul for hire, active operating authority. Your MCS-150 should be filed inside its 24-month cycle, which our free calculator works out from your USDOT number. And you should be able to produce, today, a qualification file on every driver, proof of your random testing pool, each truck's annual inspection and your Clearinghouse query records. Our free audit readiness score checks the rest in 13 questions.
Who has to be DOT compliant?
Every motor carrier that operates commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Under 49 CFR 390.5 that generally means a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more, a vehicle designed or used to carry more than 8 passengers, driver included, for compensation (more than 15 without), or one hauling hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards. Some rules, the drug and alcohol program among them, apply only to drivers who need a CDL. Carriers that stay inside one state answer to that state's rules as well.
Do the rules get easier because I only have one truck?
No. Federal regulations do not scale with fleet size. A one-truck carrier carries substantially the same obligations as a fifty-truck carrier, with none of the staff. That asymmetry is the reason this service exists.
What is the difference between a compliance service and compliance software?
Software gives you a place to store documents and reminders about dates. A service does the work: building the files, preparing the filings, chasing the missing documents. Both have their place; the difference matters most when you are driving 11 hours a day and cannot operate software from the cab.
Can I do all of this myself?
Yes, and plenty of carriers do. Every filing we handle is one you can make yourself, and several, the MCS-150 among them, are free. What you are buying is that none of it depends on you remembering a date two years out while you are on the road.
What does it cost?
One membership, priced per truck. The first truck is $99/month on the annual plan ($1,188 billed up front, about two months free against $119 month to month), and each additional truck is $59/month. Every driver is included, up to 2 per truck. There is no setup fee on the annual plan; month to month carries a one-time $199 onboarding, credited in full if you switch to annual within 60 days. Every price for 1 to 6 trucks is published, no quote form, no sales call, no contract. One company, one monthly payment, one place for your compliance.
Handled, for one published price per truck.
Part of the TenFour membership: $99/month for the first truck on the annual plan, +$59/month for each additional truck, every driver included. Built for carriers with 1 to 6 trucks; fleets of 7 or more are priced by conversation.
$99/month is the annual plan for one truck, billed $1,188 up front, about two months free against $119 month to month. Each additional truck is $59/month ($69 month to month), every driver included, up to six trucks. Cancel any month; remaining full months refunded.