Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports

What a DVIR is

A report prepared at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated, covering at least these eleven items:

The report must identify the vehicle and list any defect or deficiency the driver found or was told about that would affect safe operation or could cause a mechanical breakdown. The driver signs it. A driver who operated two trucks in a day prepares two reports. In a team operation, one signature is enough if both drivers agree on the defects listed. The report can be created and kept electronically under § 390.32.

When no report is needed

Two separate things remove the obligation, and they are often confused.

1. No defect found. Drivers are not required to prepare a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by, or reported to, the driver. A clean day needs no paperwork under this rule.

2. The operation is exempt. Private passenger carriers operating non-business, driveaway-towaway operations, and motor carriers operating only one commercial motor vehicle.

What the single-vehicle exemption does not do

This is where people go wrong, so plainly:

• It does not exempt you from inspecting the vehicle. Under § 392.7, no driver may drive a commercial motor vehicle without being satisfied that the same eleven groups of parts are in good working order, and § 396.13 requires the driver to be satisfied the vehicle is in safe operating condition before setting off.
• It does not exempt you from the annual inspection, which is a different regulation with its own automatic-failure consequences.
• It does not exempt you from maintenance records. A systematic inspection, repair and maintenance programme with records is examined in a safety audit.
• It does not cover roadside inspection reports. Those have their own rule, below.
• It stops applying the moment you run a second vehicle. Add a truck and the obligation arrives with it.

And a practical point: an auditor who sees no DVIRs and no maintenance records at all is not going to assume you were relying on an exemption. Keeping a simple daily record costs nothing and answers the question before it is asked.

What the carrier must do with defects

Before the vehicle is operated again, the carrier must repair any reported defect likely to affect the safety of operation, and then certify on the report that the repairs were completed or that they were unnecessary.

That certification is part of the record. A report of a defect with no corresponding repair certification is worse than no report, because it documents that you knew.

The full loop, step by step

A worked example

A carrier runs two tractors. On Tuesday evening the driver of truck 2 notes a cracked right mirror and an inoperative marker lamp on the trailer, and signs the report. Wednesday morning the shop replaces both, and the carrier writes “repaired” against each item, with a signature and date. The Wednesday driver reads the report and signs it before leaving the yard. Truck 1 had no defects on Tuesday, so its driver prepared nothing. The truck 2 paperwork is kept until mid-January if the report was dated mid-October.

Had the trailer been dropped at a customer Tuesday night, the Wednesday driver would not need to sign for its defects: the signature requirement does not apply to defects on a towed unit that is no longer part of the combination. The trailer still has to be repaired and certified before it runs again.

Intermodal chassis

Equipment tendered by an intermodal equipment provider has its own process under § 396.11(b). The driver or carrier reports known damage or defects to the provider when returning the equipment, covering items such as brakes, lighting, wheels and tires, air lines, the king pin upper coupling device, locking pins, clevises, clamps or hooks, and sliders. The report must include the carrier's name, both USDOT numbers, the equipment's unique ID, the date and time, and the driver's signature. The provider repairs and certifies, and keeps the records three months. See drayage.

Roadside inspection reports are different

If a vehicle is inspected roadside, § 396.9 applies whether or not you are DVIR-exempt. The driver hands the report to the carrier at the next terminal, or sends it immediately if that is more than 24 hours away. Within 15 days of the inspection the carrier certifies that the violations were corrected, returns the form to the issuing agency if it asks, and keeps a copy for 12 months. A vehicle placed out of service cannot be operated, and that includes being towed, until it is repaired; the one exception is towing it away with a vehicle using a crane or hoist.

How long to keep them

Inspection reports, the repair certifications and the driver review documentation must be kept for three months from the date the report was prepared. The general maintenance records under § 396.3 run longer: one year where the vehicle is housed, and six months after it leaves your control.

Why it matters in an audit

Two of the sixteen violations that automatically fail a new entrant safety audit live here, and each needs only a single occurrence: failing to correct out-of-service defects listed on a DVIR before the vehicle is operated again (§ 396.11(a)(3)), and operating a vehicle placed out of service before it is repaired (§ 396.9(c)(2)). See out-of-service orders.

Common mistakes

• Defects listed, no repair certification. The most damaging pattern in the file.
• One report for the whole day when the driver swapped tractors.
• The next driver never signs the previous report.
• Assuming the exemption still applies after adding a second power unit or a leased truck.
• Forgetting the 15-day roadside certification, which applies to one-truck carriers too.

Frequently asked questions

Does an owner-operator with one truck need DVIRs?

Motor carriers operating only one commercial motor vehicle are not required to prepare them. The duty to inspect and maintain the vehicle, and to keep maintenance records, is unaffected.

Do I file a report if nothing is wrong?

Not required. A report is needed when a defect or deficiency is found or reported.

How long must DVIRs be kept?

Three months from the date the written report was prepared, along with repair certifications and review documentation.

What must the carrier do about a reported defect?

Repair anything likely to affect safe operation before the vehicle is used again, and certify that repairs were made or were unnecessary.

Can DVIRs be electronic?

Yes. Both the driver's report and the carrier's records may be created and kept electronically, provided they meet 49 CFR § 390.32.

Related

• The annual vehicle inspection.
• Roadside inspection levels.
• CSA scores and the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC.

Watch

Commercial Vehicle Pre-trip Inspection — Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The video loads from YouTube only when you press play.