Driver qualification files
For each driver: application, MVR at hire and annually, road test or equivalent, previous employer checks, medical certificate, annual violation certification and Clearinghouse queries. Missing pieces here are the most common audit finding and the easiest to prevent.
Hours of service records
Six months of ELD records, supporting documents, and a documented process for identifying and correcting violations. Auditors look at whether you monitored — a violation you caught and addressed reads very differently from one nobody noticed.
Drug and alcohol program
Consortium enrollment, random selection records at the required rates, pre-employment results, post-accident documentation, supervisor training certificates and Clearinghouse registration with annual queries.
Vehicle maintenance files
Annual inspections, preventive maintenance history, driver vehicle inspection reports and repair records for each unit. Keep them by VIN and keep them for the required retention period.
IFTA, IRP and financial responsibility
Quarterly IFTA returns with supporting mileage and fuel records, current IRP registration and proof of required insurance filings. Run this checklist quarterly, not the week a letter arrives — the difference in outcome is enormous.
This is the thinking behind safety & compliance, driver management and documentation — the same analysis, run for you every week instead of read about once.
It applies hardest to heavy haul freight and rgn / lowboy freight, where the margin is thin enough that the arithmetic decides the week.
Want this applied to your trucks instead of read about? Our dispatchers run this analysis on every account, every week. Book a free audit and we will run it on your last ten loads.