DOT compliance software that shows what an audit would find across drivers and units today
DOT compliance is the set of federal obligations a motor carrier carries around driver qualification, testing and vehicle maintenance. 49 CFR 391.51 sets driver qualification file contents, 49 CFR 391.25 requires an annual motor vehicle record review for every driver, the FMCSA Clearinghouse requires an annual query, and 49 CFR Part 396 governs systematic inspection and maintenance. Neurobird joins them across 140 drivers and 96 power units.
Neurobird DOT Compliance Trucking in short
- Track driver qualification file completeness against the required contents rather than a folder
- Hold annual motor vehicle record reviews on their own per driver clock
- Keep Clearinghouse annual queries visible before the year closes
- 391.25 The section requiring a carrier to obtain and review a motor vehicle record for each driver at least once every 12 months. 49 CFR 391.25
- 391.51 The section listing what a driver qualification file must contain and how long each item is retained. 49 CFR 391.51
- Pricing runs 119 to 649 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What motor carrier safety and compliance managers actually deal with
Why it stays broken
Carrier compliance is dozens of annual obligations recurring on different dates across 2 populations, drivers and units. The ELD covers hours. Nothing covers the rest, so most carriers discover the gap during an audit rather than before one.
An audit that finds 8 incomplete files out of 140 is a finding on 100 percent of the sample it looked at.
Motor carriers , except for a private motor carrier of passengers (nonbusiness) , must maintain, or cause to be maintained, records for each motor vehicle they control for 30 consecutive days.
What a carrier is actually audited on
Useful if you own safety or are preparing for review. Each source links out.
The section requiring a carrier to obtain and review a motor vehicle record for each driver at least once every 12 months.
49 CFR 391.25The section listing what a driver qualification file must contain and how long each item is retained.
49 CFR 391.51The inspection, repair and maintenance rules, requiring carriers to systematically maintain vehicles under their control and keep the records.
49 CFR Part 396Employers must query the Clearinghouse for each driver at least annually, in addition to pre employment full queries.
FMCSA ClearinghouseFMCSA administers motor carrier safety programmes and enforcement, which is where audit priorities are published.
FMCSA, safety programsNeurobird DOT Compliance Trucking Compliance Platform
Make the driver and the unit the records. File contents, reviews, queries and inspections attach to them, so the audit view exists before an auditor asks for it.
- 1Track driver qualification file completeness against the required contents rather than a folder
- 2Hold annual motor vehicle record reviews on their own per driver clock
- 3Keep Clearinghouse annual queries visible before the year closes
- 4Join vehicle maintenance and annual inspection records to the same audit view as drivers
What changes with Neurobird DOT Compliance Trucking?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird DOT Compliance Trucking |
|---|---|
| Driver qualification files, annual reviews and Clearinghouse queries each recur on their own annual clock per driver | Track driver qualification file completeness against the required contents rather than a folder |
| A roadside inspection with violations starts a response window measured in days, not weeks | Hold annual motor vehicle record reviews on their own per driver clock |
| Vehicle maintenance and annual inspection records are audited alongside driver files, and they live in a different building | Keep Clearinghouse annual queries visible before the year closes |
Who is this for?
Three carriers, three reasons the gap is found during the audit.
Annual clocks per person
MVR reviews and Clearinghouse queries run from each driver's own date rather than a single calendar reminder.
The response window is short
Inspection violations carry a response deadline measured in days, tracked from the report rather than from when somebody noticed.
Units audited beside drivers
Maintenance and annual inspection records in the same view, because that is how a compliance review reads them.
The fleet, driver by driver
A working preview. Tick a driver to pull their file and open obligations.
| Requirement | Status | Next due | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual MVR review, 31 drivers overdue | current | in 42d | |
| DQ file audit, 8 of 140 incomplete | due soon | in 9d | |
| Roadside inspection, 2 OOS violations, 15 days to respond | current | in 120d | |
| Clearinghouse annual query, 140 due | overdue | 3d late | |
| Maintenance file, unit 44, missing inspection | current | in 64d |
Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.
How does Neurobird DOT Compliance Trucking work?
Score the file against the list
DQ file completeness measured item by item, so incomplete is specific rather than a worry.
Run the annual clocks per person
MVR review and Clearinghouse query recur from each driver's own date.
Bring the units into the same view
Maintenance and annual inspection records audited beside driver files, because that is how they are audited.
Dot compliance trucking software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is DOT compliance for a motor carrier?
- DOT compliance is the set of federal obligations a motor carrier carries around driver qualification, hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, and vehicle maintenance. The driver qualification file requirements sit in 49 CFR 391.51 and vehicle inspection and maintenance in 49 CFR Part 396.
- What is the annual MVR review?
- 49 CFR 391.25 requires the carrier to obtain a motor vehicle record for each driver at least once every 12 months and to review it for continued qualification. It is a recurring obligation per driver rather than an event.
- What does the Clearinghouse require annually?
- Employers must run a query on each driver at least once per year, in addition to pre employment full queries. A missed annual query is a violation independent of whether the driver has any record.
- What is a systematic maintenance programme?
- 49 CFR Part 396 requires carriers to systematically inspect, repair and maintain vehicles under their control, and to retain records. Annual inspection is part of it, and the records are audited alongside driver files.
Does this replace our ELD?
No. Hours of service data stays in the electronic logging device. What lives here is the qualification and maintenance layer: DQ file contents, MVR reviews, Clearinghouse queries and vehicle records, joined into one audit view.
Why we are building this
Carrier compliance is not one deadline. It is dozens of annual obligations, recurring on different dates, across two separate populations, drivers and units. No single date is hard to meet. Meeting all of them without a system is what fails.
The electronic logging device solved hours of service and, in doing so, convinced a lot of carriers that compliance was handled. It was not. The qualification files, the annual reviews, the queries and the maintenance records were never in it.
So we are building the audit view. If you own safety, tell us what your last review found.
Where the requirement comes from
The rules an audit is conducted against.
- 49 CFR 391.51, driver qualification files Required contents and retention.
- 49 CFR 391.25, annual inquiry and review of driving record The 12 month MVR obligation per driver.
- 49 CFR Part 396, inspection, repair and maintenance Systematic maintenance and record retention for vehicles.
- FMCSA, Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Annual and pre employment query obligations.
- FMCSA, safety programs Agency programmes and enforcement context.
How much does Neurobird DOT Compliance Trucking cost?
Priced per carrier, not per driver. Growth should not raise the compliance bill.
- Up to 25 drivers
- DQ file scoring
- MVR review clocks
- Maintenance records
- Up to 250 drivers
- Clearinghouse tracking
- Inspection response windows
- Audit view export
- Unlimited drivers and units
- Terminal rollups
- Trend reporting
- Priority support
Get free early access
We are building this with safety directors who own the audit outcome.
Straight answer on where this is: The software is in development and not purchasable today. Early access means your fleet shapes the audit view, and you see it first.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.