DOT compliance for non-CDL fleets.
Built for the companies that run work trucks, not big rigs.
If your company operates vehicles rated 10,001 to 26,000 lbs GVWR and holds a DOT number, federal motor carrier rules apply to you even though your drivers don't need a CDL. Dotra tracks every one of those obligations in one place.
A DOT number comes with rules, CDL or not.
HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors. Appliance and furniture delivery in box trucks. Couriers running heavy cargo vans and sprinter vans rated over 10,000 lbs. Landscapers pulling loaded trailers behind pickups. If the vehicle or the combination is rated over 10,000 lbs GVWR and it crosses state lines for work, FMCSA treats you as a motor carrier, the same as it treats a trucking company. And many states apply the same rules to intrastate fleets that never leave the state.
Most companies don't learn this from FMCSA. They learn it at a roadside inspection, an insurance renewal, or after a crash, when the fine arrives with the lesson attached. It shouldn't work that way. Dotra exists so you know what applies to your fleet before an officer or an underwriter tells you.
What DOT rules still apply without a CDL.
More than most owners expect. Every driver of a 10,001 lb or heavier vehicle needs a driver qualification file: an employment application, a motor vehicle record pulled at hire and every year after, a road test, and a current DOT medical card. And unlike a CDL holder, whose medical certificate lives on their state record, your drivers' physical med cards have to be kept in the file.
The company side stacks up too. The MCS-150 biennial update that keeps your DOT number active. UCR registration every year. Annual vehicle inspections and maintenance files for every truck. An accident register. Insurance minimums. And hours-of-service rules still apply, though most non-CDL crews working within 150 air-miles and back within 14 hours can skip ELDs and keep simple time records instead.
None of this is hard on its own. It's hard because it lives in eight places and nobody's full-time job is watching it. Dotra puts every file and every date in one place and tells you before anything goes stale.
What doesn't apply to non-CDL fleets, and what Dotra does about it.
Some of the heaviest requirements in trucking stop at the CDL line. DOT drug and alcohol testing applies only to drivers who need a CDL, so a fleet with no CDL vehicles doesn't need a testing program or Clearinghouse queries. IFTA fuel tax and IRP registration start above 26,000 lbs too. One catch worth knowing: a truck with three or more axles, or a truck pulling a trailer where the combination tops 26,000 lbs, still qualifies for IFTA and IRP even when the truck alone doesn't.
Dotra is built around what your fleet actually owes, not a checklist written for long-haul carriers. You track the obligations that apply to you, and the rest of the platform is already there the day you add a 26,001 lb truck and cross into CDL territory. Your compliance system shouldn't have to change just because your fleet grew.
Common questions from non-CDL fleets.
Does a box truck need a DOT number?
If the truck is rated at 10,001 lbs or more and crosses state lines for business, yes. Most 26-foot box trucks are rated just under 26,001 lbs, which keeps the driver out of CDL territory but keeps the truck well past the 10,001 lb line where DOT rules begin. Many states require a DOT number for in-state-only work too.
Do non-CDL drivers need a DOT medical card?
Yes, if they drive a vehicle or combination rated over 10,000 lbs in interstate commerce. The exam is the same one CDL drivers take. And unlike a CDL holder, a non-CDL driver's medical certificate isn't on a state record, so the physical card has to live in their driver qualification file. Dotra tracks the card and the expiration date for every driver.
Do non-CDL fleets need ELDs?
Usually no. Most non-CDL crews work within 150 air-miles of base and return within 14 hours, which qualifies for the short-haul exception: no ELD, as long as the company keeps accurate time records. A driver who breaks that pattern more than 8 days in any 30 needs a logging method for those days.
Does a pickup pulling a trailer need a DOT number?
It can. The rule looks at the combined rating of truck and trailer together. A pickup rated 10,000 lbs pulling a 4,000 lb equipment trailer is a 14,000 lb combination, and if it crosses state lines for work, it needs a DOT number. This is how a lot of landscapers and contractors end up regulated without knowing it.
Everything you need to stay compliant.
One platform that tracks every deadline, every document, and every rule change in your operation.
Driver qualification files
DQ files, MVRs, medical cards, and licenses in one place. Non-CDL drivers of vehicles over 10,000 lbs need them too, and Dotra keeps every file current.
Vehicle files
Annual DOT inspections, registrations, preventive maintenance, and driver inspection reports per vehicle, with every date on the calendar.
Escalating deadline alerts
Texts and emails at 60, 30, and 7 days out, then daily through the final five. Every renewal and filing deadline reaches you before it turns into a violation.
USDOT & UCR updates
Biennial MCS-150 updates and UCR renewals, tracked and alerted before your DOT number lapses.
Insurance tracking
Policies filed with carrier, coverage amount, and renewal date, flagged if coverage falls below the required minimum.
Safety profile monitoring
Your FMCSA safety rating, out-of-service rates, crash history, and ISS score, checked daily. See changes before your insurer does.
Dotra Intelligence
AI that reads FMCSA rule changes and turns them into plain next steps for your operation.
AI Compliance Assistant
Ask anything about your own operation and get answers from your live data, any hour. No safety consultant on retainer required.
One-click audit exports
When an auditor asks, hand over a clean PDF in seconds. Every file, every date, every signature, ready for a DOT audit.
Compliance Center
Everything above lives in one place. Every document, deadline, and filing for your operation, organized so you always know where a record is and what state it's in. No binders, no shared drives, no glove box.
Same product, same price.
Pricing is by vehicle count, not license type. Everything included, no multi-year contract.
Custom pricing.
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