Free for motor carriers
The compliance calendar nobody hands a new carrier.
Enter your USDOT number. You get every deadline that can cost you your number, your plates or a fine, with the official place to handle each one. Most are free.
USDOT 1809077 · Rob'S Lawn Service And Snow Removal
Next up
Due in 17 days
IFTA quarterly fuel tax return (Q3)
October 31, 2026 · applies if you run a vehicle over 26,000 lbs GVW, or with three or more axles, across state lines
IFTA, Inc.Dated deadlines
8 coming up · soonest first
Each one says why it matters, what to do, and links to the official place to do it. Red means 7 days or less.
- 17 days
October 31, 2026
IFTA quarterly fuel tax return (Q3)
Applies if you run a vehicle over 26,000 lbs GVW, or with three or more axles, across state lines
Why it matters. A late or missing return means penalties and interest from your base state, and an IFTA license that can be revoked.
What to do. File the return with your base state's IFTA office (MI) even for a quarter with no miles. You need three things: total miles by state for the quarter (your ELD or trip sheets), gallons bought by state (keep every receipt), and the quarter's tax-rate table from IFTA, Inc. The return nets what you owe each state against the tax you already paid at the pump.
- 78 days
December 31, 2026
UCR registration for 2027
Applies if you operate across state lines
Why it matters. Roadside enforcement checks UCR. An unregistered carrier can be cited and held at the scale, and some states will not renew plates without it.
What to do. Register at ucr.gov (the official site; many look-alike sites add fees). Registration opens October 1 for the coming year.
- 209 days
May 11, 2027 – May 13, 2027 · our estimateEnforcement week
CVSA International Roadcheck (the DOT blitz), May 11–13
Why it matters. Three days of the heaviest roadside inspection of the year across the US, Canada and Mexico. About one in five vehicles inspected is put out of service, and every violation lands on your CSA record for two years.
What to do. The week before: brakes, tires and wheel ends, lights, cargo securement, and the driver's paperwork (CDL, medical card, ELD logs, inspection report). Fix what you find; carry a clean pre-trip. Running the blitz is fine; running it with a known defect is not.
- 270 days
July 11, 2027 – July 17, 2027 · our estimateEnforcement week
CVSA Operation Safe Driver Week, Jul 11–17
Why it matters. A week of traffic enforcement aimed at commercial drivers: speeding, following too closely, distracted driving, seat belts and lane changes. A moving violation that week follows the driver and the carrier for years.
What to do. Brief every driver before the week: speed, phones down, belts on, space in front. It is the one week where a warning becomes a ticket.
- 290 days
July 31, 2027
MCS-150 biennial update
Why it matters. Miss it and FMCSA can deactivate your USDOT number and assess civil penalties, even if nothing about your company changed.
What to do. Update it yourself on the FMCSA Portal. It is free. Nobody needs to charge you to file it.
- 312 days
August 22, 2027 – August 28, 2027 · our estimateEnforcement week
CVSA Brake Safety Week, Aug 22–28
Why it matters. A week of brake-focused inspections. In 2025 about 15% of the vehicles inspected were put out of service for brakes alone; a brake OOS is the costliest common violation on a CSA record.
What to do. Check pushrod stroke, slack adjusters, drums and rotors, hoses and air leaks on every unit before the week starts. A shop brake inspection the week before is cheaper than a tow from the scale.
- 321 days
August 31, 2027
Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (IRS Form 2290)
Applies if you operate a vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lbs or more (a truck first used after July is due the last day of the following month)
Why it matters. States will not register or renew the plates on a heavy truck without the stamped Schedule 1, and the IRS adds penalties and interest.
What to do. File Form 2290 with the IRS (e-file is required for 25 or more vehicles) and keep the stamped Schedule 1 for your plate renewal.
- 329 days
September 8, 2027 · our estimate
Clearinghouse annual query for every CDL driver
Applies if you employ CDL drivers, including yourself as an owner-operator
Why it matters. A driver without a current query is not allowed to operate a CMV, and a missing query is an audit finding.
What to do. Register in the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, run a pre-employment full query on every new CDL driver, and a limited query on every driver at least once every 12 months.
Your drivers, trucks and permits belong on here too.
Medical cards and CDLs per driver, annual inspections and IRP plates per truck, state permits, the BOC-3 agent, the Secretary of State report, hazmat registration. FMCSA doesn't publish those dates, so you enter each one once on your claimed profile and it joins this calendar, your phone and the reminders.
Claim your profile to add them (free)Put every date on your phone
Subscribe once and the dates stay current on their own, with a reminder 30 days and 7 days before each. Works with the calendar app you already use.
Google asks you to confirm the calendar URL once. Android: open the Google Calendar link.
Never miss one of these again
Carrier Pro emails you 30 days and 7 days before every deadline on this calendar, watches your FMCSA record every day and alerts you the day an insurance filing drops or your authority changes, and gives you the broker screening and bond claim kit. First month free, then $29.99/month. Cancel anytime.
Turn on reminders with Carrier ProAlways-on requirements
No due date, but every one of these is what a New Entrant audit or a roadside inspection checks.
Insurance filing stays on file with FMCSA
For-hire interstate authority needs a BMC-91 or BMC-91X on file ($750,000 minimum for general freight) and a BOC-3 process-agent designation. If the filing lapses, FMCSA revokes the authority after 30 days. Carrier Pro's record alerts email you the day a filing drops.
FMCSA PortalA driver qualification file for every driver
Application, MVR (reviewed every 12 months), road test or CDL, and a medical examiner's certificate renewed at least every 24 months (49 CFR part 391). Keep it current for yourself too.
49 CFR part 391Drug and alcohol testing program
Pre-employment test before any CDL driver operates, a random testing pool (a consortium works for small fleets), post-accident and reasonable-suspicion procedures, and Clearinghouse reporting (49 CFR part 382).
49 CFR part 382Hours of service and ELD
Drivers of CMVs keep records of duty status, on an ELD unless exempt (49 CFR part 395). Keep six months of logs and supporting documents.
49 CFR part 395Annual inspection and maintenance records for every vehicle
A periodic (annual) inspection at least every 12 months per vehicle, driver vehicle inspection reports, and a maintenance file for each unit (49 CFR part 396).
49 CFR part 396USDOT markings and an accident register
Your legal name and USDOT number on both sides of every power unit (49 CFR 390.21), and a register of every recordable accident for three years (390.15).
49 CFR part 390Weight-distance taxes in Kentucky, New Mexico, New York and Oregon
Four states tax miles run inside them on top of IFTA: Kentucky (KYU, quarterly), New Mexico (quarterly), New York (HUT, quarterly) and Oregon (weight-mile, monthly, with a permit before you enter). If you run any of them, add the return date to your calendar.
IFTA, Inc.
How long to keep your records
What an auditor can ask for, and when you are allowed to throw it out.
Driver logs (RODS) and supporting documents: 6 months
Keep each record of duty status and its supporting documents (fuel receipts, bills of lading, dispatch records) for 6 months from the date received, then they can be purged (49 CFR 395.8(k)).
49 CFR 395.8Driver vehicle inspection reports: 3 months
Keep every DVIR with defects noted, the certification of repairs and the next driver's review for 3 months from the report date (49 CFR 396.11).
49 CFR 396.11Periodic (annual) inspection reports: 14 months
Keep the annual inspection report for 14 months from the report date, on the vehicle or where it is housed (49 CFR 396.17 and 396.21).
49 CFR 396.21Maintenance records: 1 year, and 6 months after the vehicle leaves
Keep each unit's identification, inspection, repair and maintenance records for 1 year while you control the vehicle and 6 months after it leaves (49 CFR 396.3(c)).
49 CFR 396.3Accident register: 3 years
Keep the accident register entry and the police report or your own report for 3 years from the date of the accident (49 CFR 390.15).
49 CFR 390.15Driver qualification file: 3 years after the driver leaves
Keep the DQ file for as long as the driver works for you and 3 years after; the MVR and medical certificate from 3 years back can be removed as newer ones replace them (49 CFR 391.51).
49 CFR 391.51Drug and alcohol records: 1, 2, 3 or 5 years by type
5 years: positive results, refusals, return-to-duty and follow-up plans, the annual MIS summary. 2 years: the collection process and training records. 1 year: negative and cancelled tests. Clearinghouse query records: 3 years (49 CFR 382.401).
49 CFR 382.401IFTA and IRP mileage and fuel records: 4 years (IFTA) and 3 years (IRP)
Keep trip reports, miles by jurisdiction and fuel receipts for 4 years from the IFTA return due date and 3 years after the IRP registration year closes; an audit without them is assessed at the highest rate.
IFTA, Inc.
DOTScreener is an independent service, not FMCSA or a government agency. We don't file anything for you and never charge to file. Dates marked "our estimate" come from your registration date; the official portal has the authoritative date.
Already claimed your profile? Open your calendar in your dashboard.
Questions
What does a new motor carrier have to keep up with?
The MCS-150 biennial update, annual UCR registration if you cross state lines, quarterly IFTA fuel tax returns for qualified vehicles, the IRS Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax for trucks 55,000 lbs and up, Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse registration and annual queries for every CDL driver, and the New Entrant Safety Audit in your first year. On top of that: driver qualification files, a drug and alcohol testing program, hours-of-service records, annual vehicle inspections and an insurance filing that stays on file.
Does DOTScreener file any of this for me?
No. Every item links to the official place to do it, and almost all of them are free or a government fee. Never pay a third party to update your MCS-150.
How accurate are the dates?
The MCS-150 date comes from your USDOT number (49 CFR 390.19T). UCR, IFTA and 2290 are fixed federal dates. The New Entrant audit window and the Clearinghouse annual query are estimated from your registration date and marked as estimates.
What does Carrier Pro add?
An email 30 days and 7 days before every dated deadline, a daily watch on your FMCSA record with same-day alerts, broker screening and the bond claim kit. First month free, then $29.99/month.