Missing chain-of-custody copies is the number one finding. Here is the checklist we run before every audit — and the four other gaps that show up right behind it.
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The rules that trip carriers up most.
Ten years of audit findings, condensed into guidance you can act on this week. No filler, no regulatory quoting for its own sake.
DOT Tips & Blogs
Stay audit-ready, not audit-anxious.
Plain-English guidance on the rules that trip carriers up most — written by the people who sit through the audits with you.
Got a question we have not covered?
Ask it. If it is a good one we will write it up — and answer you directly either way.
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Post-accident testing: the clock starts sooner than you think
8 hours for alcohol, 32 for drugs — and exactly what to document when you cannot make the window.
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Clearinghouse queries: full vs. limited, and when you need which
Get the annual query wrong and every driver in your fleet is out of compliance. It takes five minutes to get right.
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Random selections are not random enough (and auditors check)
Why your pool needs a defensible selection record — and how carriers quietly fall below the minimum rate.
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Hiring a CDL driver: the four things that must happen before they drive
A verified negative, a full Clearinghouse query, three years of previous-employer testing history, and a DQ file that holds together. Miss one and the hire is not compliant.
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Follow-up testing is where return-to-duty programs quietly fail
The RTD test is easy to remember. A five-year schedule of unannounced, directly observed tests is not — and it travels with the driver to their next employer.
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Two hours of supervisor training closes one of the most common findings
Sixty minutes on drugs, sixty on alcohol, for everyone who could order a reasonable-suspicion test. Most carriers discover the requirement during an audit.
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Your policy template is probably mixing DOT and company authority
If you added a zero-tolerance rule or extra substances, those must be clearly separated from federal requirements. It is in nearly every downloaded template we review.
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Medical marijuana cards and DOT testing: there is no grey area
Part 40 expressly bars an MRO from accepting a state authorisation as a legitimate medical explanation. What to tell drivers before they test, not after.
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Switching TPAs without creating a records gap
Your obligation to produce historic records does not transfer with your business. What to request, when to request it, and what to do if the old provider goes quiet.
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Reading about audits
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Book a mock audit and find out what an investigator would find — on your own terms, with a plan to fix it.
