Open dataset

FMCSA New-Entrant Safety-Audit Violations Dataset

Name: FMCSA New-Entrant Safety-Audit Violations Dataset
Creator: CarrierReady
Published: 2026-07-05
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

103 rows — 40 acute, 63 critical — covering every regulation scored in an FMCSA new-entrant safety audit under 49 CFR Appendix B to Part 385, including the 17 violations that automatically fail the audit under 49 CFR 385.321(b). Each row includes the CFR citation, audit factor, severity class, automatic-failure flag, and plain-language description. Verified against ecfr.gov on 2026-07-04.

This dataset is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. You are free to share and adapt for any purpose, including commercial use, with attribution.

Attribution: CarrierReady (https://newentrantauditkit.com/data/new-entrant-audit-violations), CC BY 4.0.

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Methodology and sources

Every row is sourced directly from the official Code of Federal Regulations, verified at ecfr.gov on 2026-07-04. No rows were fabricated or inferred. Acute regulations are those where a single documented occurrence requires immediate corrective action; critical regulations are scored when auditors find a pattern (generally more than one occurrence, or at least 10% of records examined). Automatic-failure violations are those listed in 49 CFR 385.321(b) — a single occurrence of any one of these fails the entire audit. The dataset covers all six audit factors: General, Driver, Operational, Vehicle, Hazardous Materials, and Accident. The Accident factor has no acute or critical violations in Appendix B (it is scored by accident rate, not individual violations).

Dataset columns

Column	Type	Description
id	string	Stable row ID (e.g. fmcsa-nesa-001)
cfr_cite	string	CFR section (e.g. 395.3(a)(1))
audit_factor	string	Audit factor this violation scores against (General, Driver, Operational, Vehicle, Hazardous Materials)
severity	enum	acute or critical
automatic_failure	enum	yes or no — whether a single occurrence fails the audit
auto_fail_guideline	string	The §385.321 guideline text (e.g. "Single occurrence." or violation threshold note); empty if not an automatic-failure violation
description	string	Verbatim short description from 49 CFR Appendix B
plain_meaning	string	Plain-language explanation of what the regulation requires
source_url	URL	Primary source — 49 CFR Appendix B to Part 385 at ecfr.gov
auto_fail_source_url	URL	49 CFR 385.321(b) at ecfr.gov (automatic-failure rows only)
verified_on	ISO date	Date the source URL was live-checked (2026-07-04)

All 103 violations

Sorted by audit factor, then CFR section. Automatic-failure violations are marked AF.

General factor (Parts 387 and 390)

CFR cite	Severity	Auto-fail	Description
§ 387.7(a)	acute	AF	Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required minimum levels of financial responsibility coverage Single occurrence.
§ 387.7(d)	critical	—	Failing to maintain at principal place of business required proof of financial responsibility
§ 387.31(a)	acute	AF	Operating a passenger carrying vehicle without having in effect the required minimum levels of financial responsibility Single occurrence.
§ 387.31(d)	critical	—	Failing to maintain at principal place of business required proof of financial responsibility for passenger carrying vehicles
§ 390.15(b)(2)	critical	—	Failing to maintain copies of all accident reports required by State or other governmental entities or insurers
§ 390.35	acute	—	Making, or causing to make fraudulent or intentionally false statements or records and/or reproducing fraudulent records

Driver factor (Parts 382, 383, and 391)

CFR cite	Severity	Auto-fail	Description
§ 382.115(a)	acute	AF	Failing to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program (domestic motor carrier) Single occurrence.
§ 382.115(b)	acute	AF	Failing to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program (foreign motor carrier) Single occurrence.
§ 382.201	acute	AF	Using a driver known to have an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater Single occurrence.
§ 382.211	acute	AF	Using a driver who has refused to submit to an alcohol or controlled substances test required under part 382 Single occurrence.
§ 382.213(c)	acute	—	Using a driver known to have used a controlled substance
§ 382.215	acute	AF	Using a driver known to have tested positive for a controlled substance Single occurrence.
§ 382.301(a)	critical	—	Using a driver before the motor carrier has received a negative pre-employment controlled substance test result
§ 382.303(a)	critical	—	Failing to conduct post accident testing on driver for alcohol
§ 382.303(b)	critical	—	Failing to conduct post accident testing on driver for controlled substances
§ 382.305(a)	acute	AF	Failing to implement a random controlled substances and/or an alcohol testing program Single occurrence.
§ 382.305(b)(1)	critical	—	Failing to conduct random alcohol testing at an annual rate of not less than the applicable annual rate of the average number of driver positions
§ 382.305(b)(2)	critical	—	Failing to conduct random controlled substances testing at an annual rate of not less than the applicable annual rate of the average number of driver positions
§ 382.309	acute	—	Using a driver who has not undergone return-to-duty testing with a negative drug test result and/or an alcohol test with an alcohol concentration of less than 0.02 in accordance with 49 CFR 40.305
§ 382.503	critical	—	Allowing a driver to perform safety sensitive function, after engaging in conduct prohibited by subpart B, without being evaluated by substance abuse professional, as required by § 382.605
§ 382.505(a)	acute	—	Using a driver within 24 hours after being found to have an alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater but less than 0.04
§ 382.605	critical	—	Failing to subject a driver who has been identified as needing assistance to at least six unannounced follow-up drug and/or alcohol tests in the first 12 months following the driver's return-to-duty in accordance with 49 CFR 40.307
§ 383.23(a)	critical	AF	Operating a commercial motor vehicle without a valid commercial driver's license Single occurrence.
§ 383.37(a)	acute	—	Allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to operate a CMV who the employer knew or should reasonably have known does not have a current CLP or CDL, does not have a CLP or CDL with the proper class or endorsements, or operates a CMV in violation of any restriction on the CLP or CDL
§ 383.37(b)	acute	AF	Allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to operate a CMV who the employer knew or should reasonably have known has a CLP or CDL disqualified by a State, has lost the right to operate a CMV in a State, or has been disqualified Single occurrence.
§ 383.37(c)	acute	—	Allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to operate a CMV who the employer knew or should reasonably have known has more than one CLP or CDL
§ 383.51(a)	acute	AF	Knowingly allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to drive who is disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle Single occurrence.
§ 391.11(b)(4)	acute	AF	Using a physically unqualified driver Single occurrence.
§ 391.15(a)	acute	AF	Using a disqualified driver Single occurrence.
§ 391.45(a)	critical	—	Using a driver not medically examined and certified
§ 391.45(b)	critical	—	Using a driver not medically examined and certified during the preceding 24 months
§ 391.51(a)	critical	—	Failing to maintain driver qualification file on each driver employed
§ 391.51(b)(2)	critical	—	Failing to maintain inquiries into driver's driving record in driver's qualification file
§ 391.51(b)(6)	critical	—	Failing to maintain medical examiner's certificate in driver's qualification file

Operational factor (Parts 392 and 395)

CFR cite	Severity	Auto-fail	Description
§ 392.2	critical	—	Operating a motor vehicle not in accordance with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of the jurisdiction in which it is being operated
§ 392.4(b)	acute	—	Requiring or permitting a driver to drive while under the influence of, or in possession of, a narcotic drug, amphetamine, or any other substance capable of rendering the driver incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle
§ 392.5(b)(1)	acute	—	Requiring or permitting a driver to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of, or in possession of, an intoxicating beverage
§ 392.5(b)(2)	acute	—	Requiring or permitting a driver who shows evidence of having consumed an intoxicating beverage within 4 hours to operate a motor vehicle
§ 392.6	critical	—	Scheduling a run which would necessitate the vehicle being operated at speeds in excess of those prescribed
§ 392.9(a)(1)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a driver to drive without the vehicle's cargo being properly distributed and adequately secured
§ 395.1(h)(2)(i)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive more than 15 hours (Driving in Alaska)
§ 395.1(h)(2)(ii)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty 20 hours (Driving in Alaska)
§ 395.1(h)(2)(iii)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 70 hours in 7 consecutive days (Driving in Alaska)
§ 395.1(h)(2)(iv)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 80 hours in 8 consecutive days (Driving in Alaska)
§ 395.1(o)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty 16 consecutive hours
§ 395.3(a)(1)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive without taking an off-duty period of at least 10 consecutive hours prior to driving
§ 395.3(a)(2)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after the end of the 14th hour after coming on duty
§ 395.3(a)(3)(i)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive more than 11 hours
§ 395.3(a)(3)(ii)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without a consecutive interruption in driving status of at least 30 minutes, either off-duty, sleeper berth or on-duty not driving
§ 395.3(b)(1)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 60 hours in 7 consecutive days
§ 395.3(b)(2)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 70 hours in 8 consecutive days
§ 395.5(a)(1)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive more than 10 hours
§ 395.5(a)(2)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty 15 hours
§ 395.5(b)(1)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 60 hours in 7 consecutive days
§ 395.5(b)(2)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle driver to drive after having been on duty more than 70 hours in 8 consecutive days
§ 395.8(a)(1)	critical	AF	Failing to require a driver to prepare a record of duty status using appropriate method Requires a violation threshold (51% or more of examined records) to trigger automatic failure.
§ 395.8(a)(2)(ii)	critical	—	Failure to require a driver to submit record of duty status
§ 395.8(e)(1)	critical	—	Making, or permitting a driver to make, a false report regarding duty status
§ 395.8(e)(2)	acute	—	Disabling, deactivating, disengaging, jamming, or otherwise blocking or degrading a signal transmission or reception, tampering with an automatic on-board recording device or ELD, or permitting or requiring another person to engage in such activity
§ 395.8(k)(1)	critical	—	Failing to preserve a driver's record of duty status or supporting documents for 6 months
§ 395.11(b)	critical	—	Failing to require a driver to submit supporting documents
§ 395.11(c)	critical	—	Failing to retain types of supporting documents as required by § 395.11(c)
§ 395.11(e)	critical	—	Failing to retain supporting documents in a manner that permits the effective matching of the documents to the driver's record of duty status
§ 395.11(f)	critical	—	Altering, defacing, destroying, mutilating, or obscuring a supporting document
§ 395.30(f)	acute	—	Failing to retain ELD information

Vehicle factor (Part 393, Part 396, and inspection data for the last 12 months)

CFR cite	Severity	Auto-fail	Description
§ 396.3(b)	critical	—	Failing to keep minimum records of inspection and vehicle maintenance
§ 396.9(c)(2)	acute	AF	Requiring or permitting the operation of a motor vehicle declared “out-of-service” before repairs were made Single occurrence.
§ 396.11(a)	critical	AF	Failing to require driver to prepare driver vehicle inspection report Single occurrence.
§ 396.17(a)	critical	AF	Using a commercial motor vehicle not periodically inspected Requires a violation threshold (51% or more of examined records) to trigger automatic failure.
§ 396.17(g)	acute	—	Failing to promptly repair parts and accessories not meeting minimum periodic inspection standards

Hazardous Materials factor (Parts 171, 177, 180, and 397)

CFR cite	Severity	Auto-fail	Description
§ 397.5(a)	acute	—	Failing to ensure a motor vehicle containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (explosive) material is attended at all times by its driver or a qualified representative
§ 397.7(a)(1)	critical	—	Parking a motor vehicle containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials within 5 feet of traveled portion of highway or street
§ 397.7(b)	critical	—	Parking a motor vehicle containing hazardous material(s) other than Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials within 5 feet of traveled portion of highway or street
§ 397.13(a)	critical	—	Permitting a person to smoke or carry a lighted cigarette, cigar or pipe within 25 feet of a motor vehicle containing Class 1 materials, Class 5 materials, or flammable materials classified as Division 2.1, Class 3, Divisions 4.1 and 4.2
§ 397.19(a)	critical	—	Failing to furnish driver of motor vehicle transporting Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (explosive) materials with a copy of the rules of part 397 and/or emergency response instructions
§ 397.67(d)	critical	—	Requiring or permitting the operation of a motor vehicle containing explosives in Class 1, Divisions 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 that is not accompanied by a written route plan
§ 171.15	critical	—	Carrier failing to give immediate telephone notice of an incident involving hazardous materials
§ 171.16	critical	—	Carrier failing to make a written report of an incident involving hazardous materials
§ 172.313(a)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a package containing a poisonous-by-inhalation material that is not marked with the words “Inhalation Hazard”
§ 172.704(a)(4)	critical	—	Failing to provide security awareness training
§ 172.704(a)(5)	critical	—	Failing to provide in-depth security awareness training
§ 172.800(b)	acute	—	Transporting hazardous materials without a security plan (or without one conforming to Subpart I, or failure to adhere to a required security plan)
§ 173.24(b)(1)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a package that has an identifiable release of a hazardous material to the environment
§ 173.421	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a Class 7 (radioactive) material described, marked, and packaged as a limited quantity when the radiation level on the surface of the package exceeds 0.005mSv/hour (0.5 mrem/hour)
§ 173.431(a)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting in a Type A packaging a greater quantity of Class 7 (radioactive) material than authorized
§ 173.431(b)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting in a Type B packaging a greater quantity of Class 7 (radioactive) material than authorized
§ 173.441(a)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a package containing Class 7 (radioactive) material with external radiation exceeding allowable limits
§ 173.442(b)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a package containing Class 7 (radioactive) material when the temperature of the accessible external surface of the loaded package exceeds 50 °C (122 °F) in other than an exclusive use shipment, or 85 °C (185 °F) in an exclusive use shipment
§ 173.443(a)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a package containing Class 7 (radioactive) material with removable contamination on the external surfaces of the package in excess of permissible limits
§ 177.800(c)	critical	—	Failing to instruct a category of employees in hazardous materials regulations
§ 177.801	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting a forbidden material
§ 177.835(a)	acute	—	Loading or unloading a Class 1 (explosive) material with the engine running
§ 177.835(c)	acute	—	Accepting for transportation or transporting Division 1.1 or 1.2 (explosive) materials in a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles that is not permitted
§ 177.835(j)	acute	—	Transferring Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (explosive) materials between containers or motor vehicles when not permitted
§ 177.817(a)	critical	—	Transporting a shipment of hazardous materials not accompanied by a properly prepared shipping paper
§ 177.817(e)	critical	—	Failing to maintain proper accessibility of shipping papers
§ 177.823(a)	critical	—	Moving a transport vehicle containing hazardous material that is not properly marked or placarded
§ 177.841(e)	acute	—	Transporting a package bearing a poison label in the same transport vehicle with material marked or known to be foodstuff, feed, or any edible material intended for consumption by humans or animals unless an exception in § 177.841(e)(i) or (ii) is met
§ 180.407(a)	critical	—	Transporting a shipment of hazardous material in cargo tank that has not been inspected or retested in accordance with § 180.407
§ 180.407(c)	critical	—	Failing to periodically test and inspect a cargo tank
§ 180.415	critical	—	Failing to mark a cargo tank which passed an inspection or test required by § 180.407
§ 180.417(a)(1)	critical	—	Failing to retain cargo tank manufacturer's data report certificate and related papers, as required
§ 180.417(a)(2)	critical	—	Failing to retain copies of cargo tank manufacturer's certificate and related papers (or alternative report) as required

Related CarrierReady resources

Violations hub — browse every acute and critical violation by audit factor
The 7 audit factors — records auditors check under each factor
New-entrant safety audit guide — what the audit is, the timeline, and how to prepare
Audit-Prep Kit — fillable templates covering all six factors

CarrierReady is an independent audit-preparation tool — not legal advice, and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the FMCSA or any government agency; always verify against the official regulations at ecfr.gov.