Guide · the failure list

The 16 automatic-failure lines of a new entrant safety audit

Section 385.321(b) says it in one sentence: a new entrant automatically fails a safety audit if found in violation of any one of 16 regulations. Fourteen fail on a single occurrence. Two — duty status records and annual inspections — fail when the violation shows up in 51% or more of the records examined. Here is every line in plain words, with the evidence that proves it.

Drug & alcohol program — 5 lines

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
1	§382.115(a) and (b)	Operating without a drug and alcohol testing program.	Your written program policy, and proof every driver is in a testing pool (consortium/TPA enrollment or your own pool records).
2	§382.201	Using a driver you knew had an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.	Your records and your word: no driver has driven after a known 0.04+ result.
3	§382.211	Using a driver who refused a required test.	No refusal in your testing records followed by that driver driving.
4	§382.215	Using a driver you knew had tested positive, outside the return-to-duty process.	Pre-employment results on file for every driver, and no known positive followed by driving.
5	§382.305	Operating without a random testing program.	Draw lists and completed random tests from the last 12 months — a pool on paper that never drew is not a program.

Licensing — 4 lines

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
6	§383.3(a), §383.23(a)	Knowingly using a driver with no valid CDL.	A current CDL copy for every driver, checked before he first drove.
7	§383.37(b)	Allowing operation on a disqualified or suspended license or permit.	The annual driving record you pulled — it is how you would know.
8	§383.51(a)	Knowingly allowing a disqualified driver to drive.	Your word, backed by a file that shows you actually check.
9	§391.15(a)	Knowingly using a driver who is disqualified.	The annual review note: you read the record and wrote down whether he still qualifies.

Insurance — 2 lines

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
10	§387.7(a)	Operating a property carrier without the required insurance in force.	The insurer's filing (BMC-84/BMC-85 or MCS-90), at the required limit, with no gap in coverage.
11	§387.31(a)	The same, for a passenger carrier.	The passenger-carrier filing, in force. (Only one of lines 10–11 can apply to you.)

Physical qualification — 1 line

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
12	§391.11(b)(4)	Knowingly using a driver who is not physically qualified.	Current medical proof for every driver — for CDL holders, the state driving record showing medical certification status. See the paper-card trap.

Hours of service — 1 line, judged on a sample

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
13	§395.8(a)	Failing to require records of duty status — fails when 51% or more of the records checked are missing.	Your duty status records themselves, complete enough that a sample holds up.

Vehicle — 3 lines

#	Rule	The line	Evidence an auditor accepts
14	§396.9(c)(2)	Operating a vehicle placed out of service, before repairs.	Repair records showing an out-of-service vehicle stayed parked until it was fixed.
15	§396.11(a)(3)	Running a vehicle before correcting an out-of-service defect noted on its inspection report.	DVIRs with the correction certified before the next run.
16	§396.17(a)	Using a vehicle that has not had its periodic (annual) inspection — fails at 51% or more of vehicles checked.	Annual inspection reports, current for the fleet an auditor would sample.

The second way to fail

The 16 lines are not the whole test. Under §385.321(a), the audit also fails a carrier for "a lack of basic safety management controls" — the Appendix A factors: driver qualification, duty status, vehicle maintenance, accident register, drug & alcohol. A file can dodge all 16 lines and still fail on controls that plainly do not exist. Any honest rehearsal samples both.

Questions, answered

Which line fails new carriers most?

The drug & alcohol cluster (lines 1–5) is the classic: the program was never really set up, or the pool exists on paper and never drew a name. It is also the easiest cluster to fix before the letter comes.

Does one bad line really end the audit?

Yes — that is what "automatically fail" means. The consequence is not instant shutdown, though: a failed audit starts the corrective action plan clock. What happens next.

How do I check my own lines?

Start with the free mini-check (7 sampled items), or run the full rehearsal, which scores all 16 against your actual files and counts every line it cannot prove.

This software rehearses your audit and flags what an auditor would flag. It does not certify compliance, and it is not the audit. FMCSA decides.