New Entrant Safety Audit Checklist

An audit checklist designed for new entrant safety audits is an invaluable resource for transport service providers and carriers. If a carrier fails a safety audit, permanent registration may take another 18-month period before they receive permanent registration.

Failing a New Entrant Safety Audit can incur severe fines, penalties, and the eventual closure of operations for transportation services, so many providers rely on and utilize new entrant safety audit checklists as a preventative measure.

1. Driver Qualifications
Are You New Entrant by FMCSA? If you recently started or joined an owner operator trucking business, or become one, the FMCSA considers you to be New Entrant status and requires that you undergo and pass a DOT New Entrant Safety Audit within 18 months after receiving USDOT number and operating authority to avoid having your registration revoked by them.

DOT New Entrant Safety Audit (NESA) is an in-depth examination of your company records and internal processes designed to ensure compliance with FMCSA regulations. As part of the audit process, DOT officials will examine training documents, driver qualifications, drug & alcohol testing programs and systems for monitoring driver hours of service.

Companies failing NESA exams will be informed within 45 days and must immediately take corrective actions in order to keep their operating authority intact. For more information about this program visit FMCSA’s NESA program website here.

2. Vehicle Inspections
New motor carriers who operate across state lines and have obtained their DOT number and operating authority must go through an FMCSA new entrant safety audit for 18 months after receiving their operating authority.

At that point, they will be subjected to various inspections and compliance reviews/interventions conducted by certified U.S. federal safety investigators, state or provincial enforcement officers and FMCSA representatives. Inspections will look at their vehicle fleet’s safety equipment as well as how well drivers comply with hours-of-service regulations.

Failing a Department of Transportation audit can have serious repercussions for carriers. If found violating any rules, they could lose their authority or even have to close down until necessary changes can be implemented into operations. To prevent this from occurring, ensure all your policies are documented and accessible by safety officers.

3. Drug and Alcohol Testing
Untangling all of the requirements necessary to run a trucking company while remaining compliant with federal safety requirements and passing the New Entrant Safety Audit can be challenging, particularly as most audits take place between six and 12 months of starting up your business. Compliance requires fast action with detailed records and processes in place as quickly as possible.

An FMCSA Safety Audit focuses on verifying motor carrier compliance with various regulations; while a New Entrant Safety Audit educates companies about proper safety management controls. Reviews may take place either in-person at their principal place of business or off-site through electronic submission; should an audit fail, FMCSA will notify them and require corrective actions be implemented immediately to address identified issues, otherwise their U.S. DOT number will be immediately revoked.

4. Hours of Service
Launching a trucking company can be daunting, so creating an efficient system to organize records and pass audits can make the experience far less daunting and increase your odds of passing them successfully.

A DOT new entrant safety audit examines whether a company complies with FMCSA regulations. This evaluation differs significantly from compliance investigations which can go into greater depth.

Based on the complexity of your records, this review could take two to four hours to complete. It can take place both onsite at your company’s principal place of business and electronically through document submission – with electronic submission being becoming more prevalent recently. Once the audit is finished, FMCSA will notify you whether you qualify to operate as a motor carrier – otherwise they will revoke both USDOT number and operating authority immediately.