Take your phone or tablet to the shop. Your inspector fills out the checklist on the screen and signs it. Save it to your Compass Star account and it stays with your truck's records, with the PDF ready anytime.
Compass Star is an independent company. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation or FMCSA.
Under 49 CFR Part 396.17, every motor carrier must systematically inspect, repair, and maintain all commercial motor vehicles subject to its control. Every vehicle must be inspected at least once every 12 months by a qualified inspector. The inspection record must be kept on file.
That means if your truck is on the road and it hasn't had a documented annual inspection in the last 12 months — you are already out of compliance.
A vehicle without a current annual inspection can be placed out of service on the spot. Your truck doesn't move until the violation is resolved — on the side of the road, at a weigh station, wherever it's caught.
Inspection violations go on your CSA record. A poor CSA score means more scrutiny, more roadside inspections, and for carriers that use brokers — load offers dry up. Brokers check scores before they call.
FMCSA can assess civil penalties for failure to maintain required inspection records. Fines per violation can reach into the thousands — for paperwork that costs nothing to keep current.
The annual inspection is a compliance document, and it is also a record of your truck's condition. Keep every completed form with your maintenance records. Save it to your Compass Star account and every annual inspection stays in one place, with the PDF ready when you need it.
A single inspection tells you where your truck is today. A year of inspection records tells you whether it's getting better or slowly degrading — and that's the information that prevents the expensive surprise.
Daily inspections that do save: the Digital DVIR is free with a Compass Star account. Pre-trip, en-route, and post-trip inspections are timestamped, signed, saved to your history, and exportable as PDF. Open the Digital DVIR →
The FMCSA annual inspection covers 13 categories of vehicle systems and components. Every category must be inspected and documented. A failure in any single category means the vehicle does not pass.
Pads, shoes, drums, air lines, adjustment, ABS function
Fifth wheel, kingpin, glad hands, safety chains
Leaks, routing, DPF condition, emissions components
Tank mounting, caps, lines, leaks
Headlights, tail lights, markers, turn signals, reflectors
Cargo securement, load distribution, tie-down condition
Play, linkage, power steering, column condition
Springs, air bags, shocks, U-bolts, torque arms
Cracks, corrosion, cross-member condition, cab mounts
Tread depth, pressure, sidewall condition, mounting
Lug nuts, cracks, welds, spacers
Cracks, visibility obstruction, wiper condition
Fire extinguisher, warning triangles, spare fuses
Fill out the form, review the summary, and sign. Then save it to your account, or print it / save the PDF.
| Category / Item | Pass | Fail | N/A | Notes |
|---|
Save it to your account and it stays with your records, next to your DVIRs. No account? Print it or save the PDF before you leave this page. For daily inspections, use the free Digital DVIR →