One table with every safety record a carrier keeps, how long to keep it and the rule behind it, plus the columns of the accident register that 49 CFR 390.15 requires.
DQ file, HOS records and supporting documents, accident register, five drug and alcohol record groups, Clearinghouse queries, annual inspections, DVIRs, maintenance file, IFTA, IRP, Form 2290.
The columns required by 390.15.
Why an empty accident register still matters.
Records of duty status and their supporting documents (fuel and toll receipts, bills of lading and similar) are kept 6 months under 49 CFR 395.8.
3 years, together with copies of state and insurer crash reports (49 CFR 390.15). A missing register is an automatic failure at the New Entrant Safety Audit.
3 months from the date of the report (49 CFR 396.11). Annual inspection reports are kept 14 months.
Educational resource, not legal advice. Confirm every item in the current 49 CFR (ecfr.gov) and with FMCSA before acting.
The Safety & Compliance course explains US trucking safety step by step in 61 lessons: company compliance, hiring and DQ files, drug and alcohol, units, SMS scores, inspections, hours of service and FMCSA audits. English, Romanian and Russian, with an AI assistant in every lesson.
The full Safety Compliance Toolkit is included free.
