Maintenance Records:
What Auditors Ask For and How
Long You Keep It
Maintenance Records: What Auditors Ask For and How Long You Keep It
A well-maintained truck with no paper trail looks the same as a neglected one to an auditor. Part 396 is where that gets decided.
What the file has to show
For each vehicle you control, you need a record that identifies it (unit number, make, serial number, tire size, owner), a schedule of when inspections and maintenance are due, and a record of every inspection, repair, and service done. Keep it where the vehicle is housed or maintained, for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves your control.
Annual inspection
Every truck and trailer needs a documented annual inspection within the last 12 months, done by a qualified inspector. Keep the report for 14 months. Trailers get forgotten more than trucks do.
DVIRs
A driver has to write up defects found on a vehicle. The carrier keeps the report for three months and has to show that defects were repaired or certified as not needing repair. A DVIR with a defect and no sign-off is a problem on its own.
The two gaps I saw most
- Repairs done but never tied to the defect that prompted them.
- Annual inspection dates nobody tracked until one lapsed
Keeping it clean
One file per unit. Calendar every annual inspection date. Close the loop on every DVIR defect. Run through a few units each quarter the way an auditor would.
Records like these take an hour to organize and save weeks of explaining later. Bring a unit file to the weekly member call and I'll tell you what an investigator would ask for first.
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