How long do you keep DOT driver vehicle inspection reports and truck maintenance records?

General information, not legal advice.

The short answer

Two DOT rules cover the paperwork behind a truck's condition:

1. The driver vehicle inspection report (49 CFR 396.11). The driver writes a report at the end of each day if defects are found. The carrier certifies the repairs on it. Keep it 3 months.
2. Maintenance records (49 CFR 396.3). Record the vehicle's identification, a schedule of inspections and maintenance, and each repair with its date and nature. Keep them 1 year, plus 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier.

This guide covers only those points. Read the full sections for who the rules apply to and for any exceptions. Driver duty-status records are a separate rule (49 CFR 395.8, kept 6 months) and are not covered here.

Record 1: the driver vehicle inspection report

What the rule says (49 CFR 396.11):

• The driver writes a vehicle inspection report at the end of each day if defects are found.
• The carrier certifies the repairs on that report.
• The report is kept for 3 months.

Good habits (ours, not the rule's):

• Write the report the same day, before the driver leaves the yard.
• Name the truck by its unit number, the same way every time, so a search finds it.
• Say in plain words which part is wrong and how, and add a photo.
• Certify the repair as soon as it is done, and name who did it and when.
• A short "no defects found" note on clean days is a habit, not a rule: as we read it, the rule asks for a report when defects are found.

Record 2: maintenance records

What the rule says (49 CFR 396.3): for each vehicle, record

• the vehicle's identification
• a schedule of inspections and maintenance
• each repair, with its date and nature

These records are kept for 1 year, plus 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier.

Good habits:

• Keep one running record per truck, under the same unit number as its inspection reports.
• Set reminders before each scheduled inspection or service is due, not on the day.
• For each repair, write what was done, who did it and the date, and attach the shop invoice.
• When a truck is sold or leaves your fleet, write a dated entry that says so. The 6-month period counts from that point, so you will want that date later.

How long to keep them

Those are the periods the rule states. Keeping them longer, for example because your insurer asks, is a habit, not a rule. State rules were not researched here; check them separately.

Why the way you keep them matters

Someone may ask which defects were reported on a truck, whether each was repaired, and whether the record was changed afterwards. The last is hard to answer from a binder or spreadsheet, where a date can be changed later.

Checklist

• Rule: a vehicle inspection report at the end of each day when defects are found (396.11)
• Rule: the carrier certifies repairs on that report (396.11)
• Rule: inspection reports kept 3 months (396.11)
• Rule: each vehicle's identification recorded (396.3)
• Rule: a schedule of inspections and maintenance (396.3)
• Rule: each repair recorded with its date and nature (396.3)
• Rule: maintenance records kept 1 year, plus 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier (396.3)
• Habit: the same unit number on every record for a truck
• Habit: a photo of each defect, and the invoice for each repair
• Habit: reminders set before each scheduled service is due
• Habit: a dated entry when a truck leaves the fleet
• Habit: mistakes fixed with a new, dated correction, never by changing the old record
• Habit: state rules and insurer requirements checked separately

How Cibotti helps

Cibotti does not decide whether you meet a rule. It helps you keep these records and prove later what they said on the day they were written.

• Sealed when saved. Each entry gets a fingerprint and is chained to the one before. Every 10 minutes the newest fingerprint is sent for a Bitcoin timestamp, which Bitcoin confirms some hours later. Once an entry is covered, any change to it shows when the chain is checked. There is no edit button: a correction is a new entry. Attach the defect photo or shop invoice.
• Routines for the schedule. Make a routine for each truck's inspection or service. It repeats every N days, weeks or months, or every weekday, and is given to one person. Cibotti tracks whether each was done on time and can email that person reminders.
• Proof and sign-off. Run a repair as a project task that needs photo proof and a manager's sign-off. An outside repair shop can confirm a repair entry through a one-time link, with no account.
• Help while writing. When you pick Maintenance, Repair completed or Vehicle mileage or fuel log on a new entry, the Oversight box sums up what these DOT rules say. Drivers can speak instead of typing.
• Ready to show. Filter All entries by type and date, export to CSV or JSON, or print a report. The Lens and the printable Bird's-Eye Summary show overdue tasks and missed routines.

Sources

The rule details in this guide come from the official text, read on 2026-10-08. Each link opens the current official text in a new tab; check it there before you rely on a detail.

• 49 CFR 396.11 on eCFR (opens in a new tab): driver vehicle inspection reports.
• 49 CFR 396.3 on eCFR (opens in a new tab): inspection, repair and maintenance records.
• 49 CFR 395.8 on eCFR (opens in a new tab): driver duty-status records (mentioned only).

Try it

Open the live demo at https://cibotti.app ("Open the live demo"), log a defect with a sample photo, set up a monthly service routine for one truck, then look for a way to change a saved record. There is none; a correction is a new entry. If you save anything there, use made-up details: the demo company is shared, and entries in it are permanent.

John, Cibotti