Truck Maintenance Records
Truck maintenance records and annual inspections, organized per truck
TenFour organizes the vehicle maintenance records you upload, by truck, and tracks every annual inspection date. Software files the upload against the right vehicle and watches the cycle; a person checks that what arrived is what the rule asks for and flags anything worth a DataQs review.
What we do
Annual inspection tracking
Each vehicle's periodic inspection date is monitored with alerts before it comes due.
Maintenance record organization
Repair and service records filed by vehicle, building the maintenance history regulators expect carriers to keep.
Roadside inspection filing
Snap a photo of any roadside inspection report; we file it, track any violations and flag items that may be worth a DataQs review.
Per-truck vault
Every truck gets its own organized folder (registrations, inspections, maintenance) in one place.
Who it's for: Carriers with 1 to 6 trucks that want vehicle paperwork organized without hiring back-office help, kept in the same vault as the driver files and filings, not in a separate app.
The annual inspection: 49 CFR 396.17
Each component listed in Appendix A to Part 396 must have passed an inspection within the preceding 12 months. The inspection can be performed by the carrier or by a qualified third party (the regulation names commercial garages, fleet leasing companies and truck stops as examples) provided the inspector meets the qualification requirements in 396.19.
The documentation itself has specific contents under 396.17(c)(2): the inspection date, the name and address of the carrier or facility where the report is kept, information uniquely identifying the vehicle, and a certification that it passed. A sticker alone is not the record.
Daily inspection reports: the rule most carriers get backwards
A driver vehicle inspection report is required at the completion of each day’s work on each vehicle, but only when something is wrong. Section 396.11(a)(2)(i) states plainly that drivers are not required to prepare a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver.
Carriers still doing daily no-defect paperwork are generating records they must then retain for three months, for no regulatory benefit. Where the obligation genuinely bites is the follow-through: when a defect is reported, the repair and the certifications of that repair have to be documented and kept.
Electronic is now explicitly allowed
FMCSA’s Electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports final rule took effect March 23, 2026, adding language to 396.11 and 396.13 confirming these reports may be created and maintained electronically under 49 CFR 390.32. Note what it does not do: it permits rather than mandates, and it left the no-defect exception and the three-month retention untouched.
Where the retention periods trip people up
Three different clocks run at once, and they do not match. DVIRs and their repair certifications are kept three months. Maintenance records are kept one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained. And when a truck leaves your control (sold, returned off lease, scrapped), you must still hold its records for another six months.
That last one is the one small carriers discover after the fact, usually when an investigator asks about a truck they no longer own.
What to keep, and for how long
| Record | Regulation | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Annual periodic inspection report | § 396.17(c) | Documentation carried on the vehicle; 14 months is common practice |
| DVIR, plus repair and review certifications | § 396.11(a)(4) | 3 months from the date prepared |
| Maintenance and repair records | § 396.3(c) | 1 year, plus 6 months after the vehicle leaves your control |
| Vehicle identification and maintenance schedule | § 396.3(b) | For each vehicle controlled 30 consecutive days or more |
| Bus emergency-equipment inspections | § 396.3(a) | At least every 90 days |
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. Annual inspection dates are tracked per vehicle and the records you upload are filed per truck. No extra vehicle fee.
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
Vehicle maintenance is consistently among the most-cited areas in roadside enforcement, and unlike paperwork violations it is discovered while the truck is loaded and moving.
- An out-of-date annual inspection is discovered at roadside, and the vehicle is placed out of service until it is corrected.
- Vehicle Maintenance is one of the publicly visible BASICs in FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System, so violations affect the score brokers can see.
- Requiring or permitting operation of a vehicle declared out of service is among the 16 automatic-failure violations in a new entrant safety audit.
- Missing maintenance records after a crash removes the documentation you would want most in the litigation that follows.
Sources
- 49 CFR 396.17: Periodic inspection
- 49 CFR 396.11: Driver vehicle inspection report
- 49 CFR 396.3: Inspection, repair, and maintenance records
- Federal Register: Electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports final rule
Last reviewed September 26, 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
How often does a truck need a DOT inspection?
Every component in Appendix A to Part 396 must pass an inspection at least once in the preceding 12 months, under 49 CFR 396.17(c). It is an annual cycle per vehicle, and the documentation has to be on the vehicle.
Who can perform the annual inspection?
You can self-inspect if you meet the qualification requirements, or use a qualified third party, 396.17(d) and (e) explicitly contemplate a commercial garage, fleet leasing company, truck stop or similar business. Most small carriers use their shop.
Do I need a DVIR every day even when nothing is wrong?
No. Under 49 CFR 396.11(a)(2)(i), a driver is not required to prepare a report when no defect or deficiency is discovered or reported. This surprises a lot of carriers who were taught otherwise, no-defect reports were eliminated for property carriers in 2014 and for passenger carriers in 2020.
How long do I keep DVIRs?
Three months from the date the report was prepared, under 49 CFR 396.11(a)(4), covering the report itself, the certification of repairs and the certification of the driver’s review.
How long do maintenance records have to be kept?
Under 49 CFR 396.3(c), where the vehicle is housed or maintained, for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves your control. That second half is the one people miss when they sell a truck.
Can inspection and maintenance records be electronic?
Yes. FMCSA’s Electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports final rule, effective March 23, 2026, added language to 396.11 and 396.13 confirming these reports may be created and maintained electronically under 49 CFR 390.32. It permits electronic records. It does not require them, and it changed nothing about the no-defect exception or the three-month retention.
Do you schedule my maintenance?
No. Your shop knows your trucks. We make sure the records of that work are organized, the annual inspection date is watched, and retention periods are met.
What should I do with a roadside inspection report?
Send it to us the day you get it. Reports listing violations require the carrier to certify corrective action within a set window, and that clock is easy to miss when the truck is already back in service.
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.