{
  "schema_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "answer_key": "fmcsa-safety-ratings",
  "artifact_slug": "fmcsa-safety-ratings",
  "query": "dot safety rating",
  "citation_slots": 2,
  "canonical_path": "/guides/fmcsa-safety-ratings",
  "title": "DOT Safety Rating — 49 CFR 385 Definitions and Lookup",
  "description": "What a DOT safety rating is under 49 CFR Part 385 — satisfactory, conditional, unsatisfactory, or unrated — and where FMCSA publishes a carrier's rating.",
  "answer_capsule": "A DOT safety rating is FMCSA's safety-fitness conclusion for a motor carrier following a compliance review. 49 CFR 385.3, retrieved from eCFR on 2026-07-22, defines 3 ratings, satisfactory, conditional, and unsatisfactory, plus an unrated status, and FMCSA gives written notice of a rating within 30 days of the review.",
  "scope": "This guide covers the regulatory definitions behind FMCSA safety ratings and where a carrier's current rating is published. It covers FMCSA motor-carrier ratings only, not NHTSA vehicle crash-test ratings, and it does not report or rank any specific carrier.",
  "methodology_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "reproducibility_note": "Re-derive this answer from the cited government file; no Fonteum account is required.",
  "limitations": [
    "This page restates the current eCFR text as of the access date; regulations change through rulemaking.",
    "It reports the rating framework, not any carrier's rating, and an unrated status is not a negative finding.",
    "FMCSA vehicle and carrier data refresh on FMCSA's own cycle; SAFER reflects records as of its refresh."
  ],
  "related_links": [
    {
      "label": "Carrier records hub",
      "href": "/carriers"
    },
    {
      "label": "Provider and contractor screening",
      "href": "/screen"
    },
    {
      "label": "Michigan carrier records",
      "href": "/carriers/states/michigan"
    }
  ],
  "data_as_of": "2026-07-22",
  "source_artifacts": [
    {
      "source_key": "ecfr-49-cfr-385",
      "kind": "upstream",
      "file_name": "49 CFR Part 385 — Safety Fitness Procedures",
      "file_url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-385",
      "publisher": "eCFR, Office of the Federal Register",
      "published_date": null,
      "retrieved_date": null,
      "data_as_of": "2026-07-22",
      "sha256": null
    },
    {
      "source_key": "fmcsa-safer",
      "kind": "upstream",
      "file_name": "FMCSA SAFER company snapshot",
      "file_url": "https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/",
      "publisher": "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration",
      "published_date": null,
      "retrieved_date": null,
      "data_as_of": "2026-07-22",
      "sha256": null
    }
  ],
  "published_date": "2026-07-22",
  "modified_date": "2026-07-22",
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_key": "ecfr-49-cfr-385",
      "name": "49 CFR Part 385 — Safety Fitness Procedures",
      "publisher": "eCFR, Office of the Federal Register",
      "official_url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-385",
      "source_date_kind": "accessed",
      "source_date": "2026-07-22",
      "limitation": "Part 385 defines the safety-rating framework. It does not report any carrier's current rating; ratings are carrier-specific records FMCSA publishes separately."
    },
    {
      "source_key": "fmcsa-safer",
      "name": "FMCSA SAFER company snapshot",
      "publisher": "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration",
      "official_url": "https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/",
      "source_date_kind": "accessed",
      "source_date": "2026-07-22",
      "limitation": "SAFER reflects FMCSA records as of its own refresh cycle. A displayed rating or an unrated status is not a service-quality ranking or an insurance or hiring conclusion."
    }
  ],
  "facts": [
    {
      "fact_key": "rating-definitions",
      "label": "The three rating values",
      "value": "49 CFR 385.3 defines satisfactory (adequate safety management controls meeting the § 385.5 standard), conditional (controls not adequate to ensure compliance), and unsatisfactory (inadequate controls that have resulted in § 385.5 occurrences), plus unrated when FMCSA has not assigned a rating.",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "ecfr-49-cfr-385",
        "name": "49 CFR Part 385 — Safety Fitness Procedures",
        "publisher": "eCFR, Office of the Federal Register",
        "official_url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-385",
        "source_date_kind": "accessed",
        "source_date": "2026-07-22",
        "limitation": "Part 385 defines the safety-rating framework. It does not report any carrier's current rating; ratings are carrier-specific records FMCSA publishes separately."
      }
    },
    {
      "fact_key": "notice-window",
      "label": "How a rating is issued",
      "value": "Ratings follow a compliance review of carrier operations, and FMCSA provides written notice of the resulting safety rating as soon as practicable but not later than 30 days after the review, per Part 385.",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "ecfr-49-cfr-385",
        "name": "49 CFR Part 385 — Safety Fitness Procedures",
        "publisher": "eCFR, Office of the Federal Register",
        "official_url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-385",
        "source_date_kind": "accessed",
        "source_date": "2026-07-22",
        "limitation": "Part 385 defines the safety-rating framework. It does not report any carrier's current rating; ratings are carrier-specific records FMCSA publishes separately."
      }
    },
    {
      "fact_key": "lookup-surface",
      "label": "Where a carrier's rating is published",
      "value": "FMCSA's SAFER company snapshot publishes carrier records, including safety-rating information, searchable by name, USDOT number, or MC number, observed 2026-07-22.",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "fmcsa-safer",
        "name": "FMCSA SAFER company snapshot",
        "publisher": "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration",
        "official_url": "https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/",
        "source_date_kind": "accessed",
        "source_date": "2026-07-22",
        "limitation": "SAFER reflects FMCSA records as of its own refresh cycle. A displayed rating or an unrated status is not a service-quality ranking or an insurance or hiring conclusion."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "What do satisfactory, conditional, and unsatisfactory mean?",
      "answer": "They are the three safety-rating values 49 CFR 385.3 defines around one question: whether the carrier has adequate, functioning safety management controls to meet the § 385.5 safety-fitness standard. Unsatisfactory means inadequate controls that have already resulted in § 385.5 occurrences."
    },
    {
      "question": "Is a DOT safety rating the same as a CSA score?",
      "answer": "No. The safety rating is a regulatory safety-fitness conclusion under 49 CFR Part 385 issued after a compliance review. FMCSA's separate safety-measurement data groups inspection and crash records outside Part 385; the two should not be conflated."
    },
    {
      "question": "How do I check a specific carrier's rating?",
      "answer": "Search FMCSA's SAFER company snapshot by carrier name, USDOT number, or MC number. Many carriers are unrated, which under 49 CFR 385.3 means FMCSA has not assigned a rating, not that the carrier failed a review."
    }
  ]
}