What happens when you get a DOT violation - A complete overview
Oded Ran, CEO and Co-Founder of Clue since 2019, expertly integrates AI and data tools to revolutionize construction equipment management and maintenance, positioning Clue as a premier software choice in the construction industry.
The Department of Transportation (DOT or USDOT) USA has been executing safety regulations since 1967 and continues to make sure there are minimal violations among drivers and carriers. However, preventing a DOT violation requires consistent effort and many carriers/drivers fail to do so and end up being penalized.
A DOT violation can lead to serious consequences, from fines to suspension or even jail time. The FMCSA enforces these rules to ensure safety and compliance in the transportation sector. Each penalty reflects the violation's severity, emphasizing the importance of adhering to DOT regulations for all road users.
There are a few things to bear in mind if you are a carrier or a driver to avoid the constitution of DOT inspection violations.
How severe is a DOT violation?
Multiple reports of casualties and injuries from the years 2021 (1,523), (5,190) and the year 2022 (1,620), (5,486) prove that a DOT violation should be considered crucial. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducts these violations and consequences depend on the type of penalty strike.
The severity of a DOT violation mainly depends on the type of violation that occurred. The FMSCA mainly organizes an audit every 6 months or annually to keep the safety measures in check. However, they may take action immediately if a violation is reported/complained against.
The consequences include payment of heavy fines by the driver and carrier, revoking of CDL, or criminal charges which can affect an employee’s or company’s reputation and even require some jail time.
Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)
Approximately 8.7 million CMV drivers are operating in the USA alone. Vehicles carrying hazardous materials weighing over 10,000 pounds or having a capacity exceeding 15 persons, including the driver, must stick to the DOT's regulations for business travel, whether interstate or intrastate.
FMCSA’s Shift Toward Targeted Inspections
By 2025, the FMCSA is making more emphasis on on-site inspections whereby it will inspect carriers who are highly prone to violations. By the end of June the FMCSA has already declared 8,340 investigations, revealing over 50,000 violations.
This tendency means that the overall level of more detailed, focused visits to at-risk carriers is approaching the peak of the last five years, and the number of on-site inspections will reach the record since 2014.
Why is that important? The FMCSA enforcement priorities seem to indicate that those violations unearthed in the course of such on-site inspections are possible causes of even more serious consequences as inspectors are interested in going beyond the usual enforcement activities focusing on the most significant compliance risks.
The fleet operators should be ready to this change and ready to exert their full force on their safety and compliance strategies.
Most Common DOT Violations in 2025
Here are the top violations commonly cited during roadside inspections:
Understanding the Attribution of Intermodal Equipment Violations
In the case of intermodal transportation, the ownership of the equipment-related violations to be seen can be a complicated matter, including intermodal chassis. To facilitate this process, a flow chart has been compiled so as to guide in identifying the party to be held liable at the event of violations detected during roadside inspection. This methodical review deserves to explain which of the parties involved-motor carrier, or intermodal equipment provider (IEP)-violates the provision.
A Step-by-Step Breakdown
The flow chart has a logical flow in which violations are attributed using inspection data in a very clear manner. Here is a break-down:
- Roadside Inspection Data and MCMIS Processing: This procedure starts by the collection and processing of roadside inspection information using Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). With the help of this system, the type of violation and its origins are estimated.
- Is the Vehicle an Intermodal Chassis: The first major question: Is one of the vehicles in the CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle) combination an Intermodal Chassis (IC)? If yes, the process continues to assess if there were any violations found on the chassis.
- Checking Violation Lists: The flowchart then uses an Intermodal Chassis Violation List (in this case dated 2011-07-18), to determine whether the violation is known or not. In case the infringement is valid, the second step requires the identification of whether this can be noticed in a pre-trip inspection.
- Is it possible to identify the Violation in Pre-Trip Inspection? If the violation can be readily detected during a pre-trip inspection, it is then checked whether the driver performed the inspection according to FMCSA regulations (392.7(b)).
- In case there was no pre-trip examination made, Motor Carrier (the company that owns the vehicle) is found guilty of the violation.
- In case the driver has conducted the pre-trip inspection, it is probable that the violation is that of the Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP).
Final Attribution and Data Storage: When all the procedures are in place, the violation reports will either be stored in the system or be credited to the concerned party. This serves to make sure that the rules of enforcement and compliance are pursued diligently.
What are The Duties of the FMCSA in case of a DOT Violation?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of truck transportation in the USA. They aim to prevent crashes, injuries, and any other kind of fatalities in this business.
They have a BASICs guideline (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) which comprises a list of categories that need to be maintained to keep a low SMS/CSA (Compliance Safety Accountability) score. These scores depend on the vehicle maintenance, driver’s behavior during duty, their fitness, negligence, handling of material, and history of previous accidents.
It is important to keep your CSA score low because in case you receive a DOT violation , your previous CSA violation will also be considered.
Types of DOT violations
Here is the possible list of DOT violations that every driver and carrier should consider before handling vehicles.
Exceeding the hours of service
Truck drivers often exceed the limit of their working hours, which leads to excessive tiredness or fatigue that can be dangerous for other cars sharing the road.
To avoid accidents, fatalities, and injuries and to protect the health and fitness of truck drivers, a DOT violation is issued if a driver is found working beyond the hours of their shift.
The data provided by a survey on the impact of work hours and schedules on commercial motor vehicle driver sleep proves the concerns stated above.
According to the survey, 23.8 % of male long-haul truck drivers stopping at a major truck stop in central North Carolina admitted that they would frequently or always work over their hour limit.
While 63.8% of these men worked irregular daily hours, the driver must stop driving after a DOT violation until they are back in compliance.
Another survey by the National Sleep Foundation gathered information about the sleeping habits of truck drivers and other transport professionals, indicating that 17% of them only covered 6 hours or less of sleep on average.
Failed Drug Test
This is one of the most severe DOT violations, and it can also lead to a permanent cancellation of your commercial driver's license. Either you are involved in an accident or you have failed a random drug test, and you will be required to take a Dot drug test.
The number of drug violations has been rising each year, with a 9.2% annual increase from 59,011 violations in 2021 to 69,668 violations in 2022.
If you are also evicted for such a crime, an MRO (medical review officer) will contact you to proceed with the investigation.
After filling out the Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) evaluation form, you might need to visit a rehabilitation center or undergo some treatment processes.
You will then be allowed to return to work if you follow all of your treatment recommendations and clear the drug test afterward.
Otherwise, you will be kept in observation for 12 months, during which you might be randomly tested to check for eligibility.
Unqualified driver
Hiring an unqualified driver means hiring someone with a revoked or no Commercial Driver's license.
This can be dangerous because the driver might not be trained in handling and delivering certain equipment, or they might have had a drug violation in the past.
Hiring a driver without proof of license is illegal and thus accounts for 30.63% of the total violations.
As a carrier, it is your responsibility to carry out motor vehicle reports multiple times a year on their truck drivers.
Vehicle maintenance & safety
If your Google search is filled with questions like
- is a leaking wheel seal a dot violation,
- is a cracked windshield a dot violation
- or is a check engine light a dot violation
Then, you should be aware that DOT inspection violations usually occur because truck drivers cannot maintain their vehicles.
With over 84,705 violations in 2022, vehicle maintenance DOT violations comprised 60 % of the total violations reported.
If your vehicle has brake problems, flat tires, broken lights, missing components like worn-out shocks or springs, fuel leaks, broken mirrors, or overloading/improper loading issues, you should be prepared to receive a DOT violation notice.
Transporting hazardous material
The FMCSA has announced a list of responsibilities in transporting hazardous material.
The carrier is required to provide these documents according to the FMCSA
- Shipping paper
- Placard and mark vehicle
- Loading and unloading
- Compatibility
- Blocking and bracing
- Incident reporting
- Security plan
- Employee training
If hazardous material is transported without proper medical aid, personnel safety, training, and necessary documents, the carrier will be charged a whopping $46,989 fine and legal actions like loss of operating authority.
Unsatisfactory DOT audit
A DOT audit is a systematic review conducted by the FMSCA or any other DOT agency that inspects the code of conduct of your transportation business.
They check if proper safety measures are being followed, all documents are up to date, and drivers are medically fit and hold a CDL while working for you.
It would help if you always were prepared for such situations to avoid an unsatisfactory DOT audit.
This could lower your reputation and cause you to lose customers as well.
What are the consequences of these DOT violations?
Depending on the severity of your DOT violation, you will be asked to pay a fine or face jail time.
You could also be issued a warning letter from the Department of Transport if your CSA score is low, or for one thing, you may have to pay hefty fines.
However, you should always be compliant with the transport safety regulations and aware of any maintenance issues, driver's eligibility criteria, and handling /training to be prepared for any sort of DOT notice.
DOT violations typically remain on the driver's or carrier's record for three to five years.
Common Associated Penalties with DOT Violations
Through June 2025, the FMCSA has conducted 8,340 investigations, resulting in over 50,000 violations. These violations are not only costly but also reflect persistent challenges in ensuring regulatory compliance.
Below are some of the top violations and their corresponding penalties:
- Violation of Local Laws
Failure to ensure drivers operate legally by not enforcing corrective actions when drivers receive citations.
- Average Penalty: $11,172
- Violations So Far: 5,746
- No Pre-Employment Clearinghouse Query
Carriers failing to run the required Clearinghouse query for CDL drivers before they perform safety-sensitive functions.
- Average Penalty: $7,736
- Violations So Far: 2,696
- No Annual Clearinghouse Query
Carriers failing to run the required annual query on each CDL driver.
- Average Penalty: $10,278
- Violations So Far: 2,471
- False Records of Duty Status
Falsification of driver logs or allowing false entries in hours-of-service records.
- Average Penalty: $9,018
- Violations So Far: 2,241
- No System to Show Maintenance Due Dates
Failing to maintain records showing when vehicle inspections, maintenance, or repairs are due.
- Average Penalty: $2,040
- Violations So Far: 1,204
- Seat Belt Violation - Driver
Drivers failing to use seatbelts while operating CMVs.
- Average Penalty: $6,390
- Violations So Far: 1,192
- No Maintenance Record Identifying Vehicle
Inadequate maintenance records that don’t identify specific vehicles.
- Violations So Far: 1,097
- Carrier Not Registered in Clearinghouse
Failing to register as an employer in the FMCSA Clearinghouse before conducting queries.
- Average Penalty: $5,072
- Violations So Far: 1,057
- Using Driver Before Clearinghouse Result
Allowing a driver to perform safety-sensitive functions before receiving the results of their pre-employment Clearinghouse query.
- Average Penalty: $10,654
- Violations So Far: 1,050
- Wrong Hours of Service Logging Method
Using incorrect methods for recording hours of service, such as paper logs when an ELD is required.
- Average Penalty: $1,049
- Violations So Far: 1,049
The Importance of Implementing Digital Compliance Solutions
With increasing violations, fleet operators are increasingly becoming dependent on digital compliance platforms. Most of the leading violations in 2025 (especially connected to Clearinghouse checks, maintenance records, and driver qualification files) can be easily avoided with the help of the correct digital tools.
Through automated, you can:
- Monitor the mandatory Clearinghouse queries by all drivers.
- Install automated reminders of maintenance and inspection to comply with them appropriately.
- Store and organize records of driver qualification to minimize the chances of lacking records on record violation.
The use of a digital compliance system, as opposed to a paper-based one, will allow you not only to minimize the danger of violations but also to organize your operations in a way that all the necessary records are not only available at all times but are up-to-date.
Steps to take after a DOT violation has occurred
The first question that comes to mind after getting a DOT violation is "How long do DOT violations stay on your record?" and "Do DOT violations go on your record?" because you need to return to work or maintain your reputation.
Pay the fine ASAP
As of Dec 29th,2023, the FMCSA issued an increased list of fines to be paid in case of DOT violations to keep up with inflation. Some of them include,
- Out-of-service order fines range from $2,304 to $29,221.
- CDL violation fine of $6,974.
- Violation of Hazardous material fines ranging from $99,756 to $232,762.
- Violations of vehicle maintenance fines ranging from $13,300 to $53,203
And many other fines for specific violations are stated.
Contact your state's Department of Transportation.
After paying the amount as soon as possible, you should contact your state's Department of Transportation to find out what next steps you can take to get back to work or start working operations again and remove the violation from your record.
Attend traffic school or complete a driver's safety course.
To be declared fit to drive again, you might be required to attend traffic school or complete a safety course, undergo rehab, undergo tests, and follow treatment methods.
Follow safety measures for the future!
Address safety measures as soon as possible. Even if you are faced with a DOT violation, you need to take action immediately! Be sure to follow the steps outlined by the DOT protocol team and keep check on fleet management, vehicle maintenance, and driver's driver eligibility/qualifications.
You should always be prepared for a DOT violation so you can quickly return to running your operations or driving your carrier's truck!
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FAQs
Can I challenge my DOT violation?
Yes, you can provide evidence or documents contesting the ruling of the DOT violation that can result in the ruling being overturned or reduced.
Can I get a DOT violation removed from my record?
You can keep a low CSA score to positively affect your DOT violation record. It cannot be removed permanently but you can talk to your lawyer to find out about further steps.
Does a carrier have to face the consequences of a driver’s Dot violation?
Yes, carriers are responsible for maintaining the safety and qualification of their drivers. They are required to carry out frequent inspections to prevent DOT violations and may be required to pay fines/penalties if a driver is found unqualified, unfit, or mishandling hazardous material.
Does a DOT violation affect the CSA score negatively?
Yes, your CSA score is studied at the time of a DOT violation and it can be negatively affected.
What is the most common dot violation that occurred?
So far this year, 109,000+ speeding violations have been recorded, making them the most frequent type of driver DOT violations.
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