The FMCSA New Entrant will be monitored during the initial 18-month period. Generally audits, compliance reviews/interventions take place at the principal place of business. Some are conducted via mail or electronic.  What to expect:

FMCSA Information on New Entrant Safety Audit

For the drug and alcohol testing program, the new entrant must show documentation of the following: 

• Alcohol and drug testing policies and instructions for implementing your program. 
• Copies of written consent forms you sent to obtain 40.25 drug and alcohol information from previous employers, and the responses received from those employers. 
• Copies of written consent forms you received from prospective employers for 40.25 information, and documentation of your responses. 
• Educational materials for employees. 
• Documentation showing how education materials were made available to employees. 
• List of supervisors responsible for making reasonable suspicion and reasonable cause determinations. 
• Supervisory training lesson plans and course materials. 
• Attendance lists for supervisors who received this training. 
• Pre-employment testing records. 
• Information about the type of method used to select employees for random testing. 
• Names of all employees in the random testing pool for each selection period that the DOT Agency will review. 
• Names of all employees selected for testing. 
•  Names of all employees actually tested. 
• CCFs and ATFs showing employees were tested within the selection period. 

A New Entrant will AUTOMATICALLY FAIL the Safety Audit for violations related to:

Alcohol and Drug Violations

• No alcohol and/or drug testing program.
• No RANDOM alcohol and/or drug testing program.
• Using a driver who refused a required alcohol or drug test.
• Using a driver the company knows had a blood alcohol content of 0.04 or greater.
• Using a driver who failed to complete required follow-up procedures after testing positive for drugs. 

Driver Violations

A New Entrant fails the Safety Audit for knowingly:

• Using a driver without a valid CDL.
• Using a disqualified driver.
• Using a driver with a revoked, suspended, or cancelled CDL.
• Using a medically unqualified driver. 

Operations Violations

• Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required level of insurance.
• Failing to require drivers to make hours-of-service records. 

Repairs and Inspections Violations

• Operating a vehicle declared Out-of-Service for safety deficiencies before repairs are made.
• Not performing OOS repairs reported in driver-vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs).
• Operating a CMV not periodically inspected. 

Results of the Safety Audit

If passed, FMCSA will continue to monitor the New Entrant’s safety compliance and performance.

If failed, New Entrants must satisfactorily implement a corrective action to correct safety management practices. Failure to do so will result in immediate revocation of U.S. DOT registration.