Compliance, written down for the people doing it.
The requirements are public, the deadlines are knowable, and getting it right should not depend on who you happened to ask. These guides put the whole picture in one place, free to download, no email required.
The new carrier compliance roadmap.
Everything FMCSA requires from a new for-hire interstate carrier, where each item gets filed, and the order to do it in. Written for a carrier who just got their authority, and current as of September 2026, including the Motus registration system, the electronic medical certification change, the 2026 rule updates, and what your state adds on top.
What's inside.
- Phase 1: Registration and authority. Motus, insurance filings, BOC-3, UCR, IRP, IFTA, and Form 2290.
- Phase 2: The drug and alcohol program. Consortium enrollment, Clearinghouse registration, and the automatic-fail items.
- Phase 3: Driver qualification files. All nine required items, including the 2025 electronic medical certification change.
- Phase 4: Vehicle files and maintenance. Maintenance programs, annual inspections, DVIRs, and roadside inspection reports.
- Phase 5: Hours of service and ELDs. The registered device list, cab documents, and the short-haul exemption.
- Phase 6: The paperwork nobody mentions. Accident register, written policies, and USDOT marking.
- The state layer. What your base state adds, and the four weight-distance-tax states.
- The new entrant safety audit. What it checks and when it comes.
- How long to keep each record. Every retention period in one table.
- The roadmap in one list. A checklist covering before your first load, the first 30 days, and ongoing.
Free PDF, 13 pages. Version 1.1, September 2026.
The non-CDL compliance checklist.
Every DOT obligation for box trucks, heavy vans, and work trucks rated 10,001 to 26,000 lbs, and the ones you get to skip. Written for the companies that run work trucks, not big rigs, and current as of September 2026.
What's inside.
- Does DOT apply to you? The 10,001 lb line, combinations that count together, and for-hire versus private.
- The four steps: registration, driver files, vehicle files, and the filings that come back every year.
- What you get to skip, and the catch on each: CDL, drug testing, ELDs, IFTA, IRP, and Form 2290.
- The state layer. What your base state adds, and the four weight-distance-tax states.
- The printable master checklist and every retention period.
Free PDF, 11 pages. Version 1.0, September 2026.
These guides are general information about federal requirements, not legal advice. Requirements vary by operation, and state obligations are not covered. Verify current rules at fmcsa.dot.gov before relying on any requirement listed.
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