Motor carrier safety ratings are issued following a full compliance review, where an FMCSA agent will conduct an on-site evaluation of the company’s operational and safety management practices. This includes a full examination of all documentation related to transportation and safety compliance. The result of this compliance review will be a safety rating of satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory.
This is not to be confused with a new entrant safety audit, which will not produce any sort of safety rating.