FMCSA Safety Data
Check CSA/SMS data, inspections, BASICs, and PSP records
What drivers often call a “CSA score” is actually several different records. Learn which FMCSA system to open, what the data means, what is public, and how to challenge information that may be incomplete or incorrect.
Four systems serving different purposes
- CSA — FMCSA’s safety compliance and enforcement program
- SMS — carrier safety-performance measurement data
- PSP — individual driver crash and inspection history
- DataQs — requests to review disputed federal or state data
[ Official Carrier SMS Search ]
Open a carrier’s Safety Measurement System record
Enter a USDOT number to open the official FMCSA SMS carrier overview. Public results may be limited. Motor carriers can log in through the official system to view additional data connected to their own company.
Search by USDOT Number
Use digits only. The official FMCSA record will open in a new tab.
SMS results are carrier-focused. Individual drivers do not receive their own carrier BASIC percentiles through this search.
[ Do Not Mix These Up ]
CSA, SMS, safety ratings, and PSP are not the same record
Understanding the difference prevents bad assumptions about a carrier, a driver, or a roadside inspection.
The overall FMCSA program
Compliance, Safety, Accountability is FMCSA’s data-driven safety compliance and enforcement program. CSA is not one number attached to a driver or carrier.
The carrier measurement system
SMS organizes carrier inspection, violation, crash, and investigation information into seven BASIC categories and helps FMCSA prioritize carriers for possible intervention.
A separate FMCSA determination
Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory safety ratings may be assigned after a rated investigation. An SMS percentile or alert is not itself a federal safety rating.
An individual driver record
The Pre-Employment Screening Program provides a driver’s FMCSA crash and roadside-inspection history. It does not give the driver a personal carrier CSA percentile.
[ How SMS Measures Carrier Data ]
SMS looks for safety and compliance patterns
FMCSA uses roadside inspection violations, state-reported crashes, and investigation information to evaluate carrier performance and identify operations that may need additional monitoring or intervention.
Recent carrier performance
SMS generally evaluates roadside inspection and crash information from the previous 24 months. More recent events receive greater weight in the measurement process.
Not only out-of-service violations
Safety-based roadside inspection violations can affect SMS data even when the violation did not place the driver or vehicle out of service.
The record changes over time
SMS results are updated monthly. Violations age, new inspections are added, data may be corrected, and carrier percentiles can change as comparison groups change.
[ Seven BASIC Categories ]
What the BASICs cover in plain English
BASIC stands for Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category. Each category groups related roadside violations, crashes, or safety information.
Unsafe Driving
Speeding, reckless driving, improper lane changes, texting, handheld-phone use, inattention, and other unsafe driving behavior.
Crash Indicator
State-reported crash involvement. Crash information should not automatically be interpreted as proof that the carrier or driver caused the crash.
Hours-of-Service Compliance
False logs, form-and-manner issues, missing records, ELD problems, driving beyond allowable hours, and other HOS violations.
Vehicle Maintenance
Brakes, tires, lights, cargo securement, required inspections, repairs, maintenance defects, and other vehicle-condition issues.
Controlled Substances and Alcohol
Operating while impaired, possession issues, and other roadside violations involving controlled substances or alcohol.
Hazardous Materials Compliance
Packaging, placarding, loading, securement, shipping-paper, routing, and other hazardous-material compliance requirements.
Driver Fitness
CDL status, medical qualification, required endorsements, disqualification, and whether the driver is properly qualified for the commercial vehicle being operated.
[ Public Data vs. Carrier Data ]
Not every SMS detail is visible to the public
Public users can view selected carrier safety information. Motor carriers and enforcement users may have access to additional details after signing into the appropriate FMCSA system.
Information available without carrier login
- Selected public BASIC information
- Inspection and crash summaries
- Recent investigation summaries when displayed
- Public carrier registration information
- Intervention-priority indicators when applicable
Additional company-specific detail
- Complete SMS profile information available to the carrier
- Additional inspection and violation details
- BASIC performance and supporting records
- Performance tools and trend information
- Information not displayed in the public carrier view
[ Review the Inspection — Not Just the Citation ]
Use the inspection report to find the actual problem
Citations and roadside inspection violations are not the same record. Review the complete inspection report and determine what failed, why it happened, and which operating process needs to change.
Read every violation
Identify the regulation, violation description, vehicle or driver designation, and whether an out-of-service condition was recorded.
Find the system failure
Determine whether the cause involved maintenance, driver training, dispatch pressure, paperwork, qualification records, HOS procedures, or poor follow-up.
Document the correction
Keep repair records, receipts, photographs, training notes, corrected documents, and any other proof showing how the issue was addressed.
Review earlier inspections
Look for repeated violation types, equipment units, drivers, locations, or processes instead of treating each inspection as an isolated event.
Verify the official data
Compare the inspection report with SMS, PSP, and your internal records. Confirm that dates, violations, driver information, and carrier information are accurate.
Challenge incorrect information
When federal or state data appears incomplete or incorrect, collect supporting documentation and submit a Request for Data Review through DataQs.
[ Driver PSP Record ]
See the FMCSA history connected to your driving record
A PSP report is an individual driver record used for pre-employment screening. It shows FMCSA-reportable crashes and roadside inspections connected to the driver—not a personal CSA score.
Drivers may request their own PSP record. A prospective motor carrier may request a driver’s PSP record for pre-employment screening only after obtaining the driver’s required written authorization.
[ Incorrect or Incomplete Data ]
Use DataQs to request an official review
DataQs allows drivers, carriers, and other users to request review of federal or state safety data they believe is incomplete or incorrect. It is a review process—not an automatic deletion process.
Identify the exact record
Locate the inspection, crash, investigation, or other record and collect the report number, date, location, and related carrier or driver information.
Upload useful documentation
Provide inspection reports, court documents, photographs, repair records, crash reports, correspondence, or other information that supports the requested review.
Monitor the request
Watch for questions, status updates, requests for additional information, and the final determination through the DataQs account.
[ Improve the System Behind the Data ]
Better SMS results start before the roadside inspection
You cannot talk your way out of repeated operating problems. The strongest improvement plan fixes the process producing the violations.
Strengthen vehicle maintenance
Track defects, repairs, scheduled service, annual inspections, recurring unit problems, and proof that reported issues were corrected.
Review HOS and ELD records
Monitor missing logs, unidentified driving, form-and-manner problems, edits, supporting documents, malfunction procedures, and recurring driver patterns.
Keep driver files current
Verify CDL status, endorsements, medical qualification, MVR reviews, Clearinghouse requirements, and other qualification records before they become roadside problems.
Review every inspection
Do not file inspection reports away without review. Record the violation, responsible unit or driver, correction, supporting proof, and any needed follow-up.
Train around actual patterns
Build training around the violations your operation is actually receiving instead of relying only on generic annual reminders.
Monitor the official record
Review the carrier’s SMS data regularly, compare it with internal records, and address unexplained or incorrect information through the proper process.
[ Organize the Records Behind the Numbers ]
The inspection data shows the result. Your compliance system shows the work.
SOS helps owner-operators and small trucking companies organize company documents, driver records, equipment information, maintenance records, expiration dates, and file links in one practical control center.
[ CSA, SMS, Inspection and PSP Questions ]
Frequently asked questions
Does a trucking company have one official CSA score?
No. CSA is FMCSA’s overall safety compliance and enforcement program. SMS evaluates carrier information across seven BASIC categories. People often use “CSA score” as an informal phrase, but it is not one official overall grade.
Does a truck driver have a personal CSA score?
No. Drivers do not receive carrier SMS percentiles or federal safety ratings. Roadside inspections and reportable crashes may appear on the driver’s PSP record and may also affect the safety data of the carrier the driver was operating for.
Is an SMS percentile the same as a safety rating?
No. SMS measurements and percentiles are used to evaluate relative carrier performance and help prioritize possible interventions. A federal safety rating is a separate determination that may be issued following a rated investigation.
Does a violation count only when the driver receives a ticket?
No. Roadside inspection violations and citations are separate records. Safety-based inspection violations may be included in SMS and PSP data even when no traffic citation was issued.
Does crash information prove the driver or carrier was at fault?
No. FMCSA crash records generally reflect reportable crash involvement and should not automatically be read as a determination of fault. Eligible crashes may qualify for review through FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Determination Program.
Can an employer pull a driver’s PSP record without permission?
PSP account holders may request records for pre-employment screening only with the driver’s required written authorization. Drivers may request and review their own PSP records.
Does submitting a DataQs request guarantee that the record will be removed?
No. DataQs allows a user to request review of information believed to be incomplete or incorrect. The appropriate reviewing organization evaluates the request and supporting documentation before making a determination.
How often should a carrier review its SMS data?
SMS is updated monthly, so carriers should review the official record regularly and after inspections, reportable crashes, investigations, DataQs decisions, or other events that may affect the displayed data.
[ Continue Your Compliance Review ]
Use the full Freight Pro Hub compliance toolbox
Verify the official records that apply to your operation, document what you find, and follow up when the systems do not match your paperwork.