CSA score chart and how to check your scores
Your CSA scores are how FMCSA decides which carriers to look at first. Brokers, shippers and insurers look at the same data. Here is what the scores measure, how to check them, and what moves them.
What a CSA score is, and what it isn't
CSA scores come from FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS). The SMS uses roadside inspection and crash data from the last two years, plus investigation results, and is updated monthly. For each category, called a BASIC, your carrier is grouped with carriers that have a similar number of safety events and given a percentile from 0 to 100. A higher percentile is worse.
A CSA percentile is not a safety rating. Safety ratings (Satisfactory, Conditional or Unsatisfactory) come only from an investigation (49 CFR 385.3). A percentile above the intervention threshold means FMCSA may prioritize you for a warning letter or an investigation.
Timing matters. Under the current SMS methodology, violations from the past 6 months count three times, violations from 6 to 12 months ago count twice, and violations from 12 to 24 months ago count once.
CSA score chart: the seven BASICs
Intervention thresholds shown are for general property carriers. Passenger and hazmat carriers have lower thresholds in most categories (SMS methodology).
- Unsafe Driving: speeding, texting, seat belt, inattention. Threshold 65%
- Crash Indicator: state-reported crash history. Threshold 65%. Not public for property carriers
- Hours-of-Service Compliance: log and hours violations. Threshold 65%
- Vehicle Maintenance: brakes, lights, tires, defects, inspections. Threshold 80%
- Controlled Substances/Alcohol: drug and alcohol violations. Threshold 80%
- Hazardous Materials Compliance: placarding, packaging, shipping papers. Threshold 80%. Not public
- Driver Fitness: licensing, medical certification, qualification files. Threshold 80%
How to check your CSA scores
Open the SMS website
Go to FMCSA's Safety Measurement System and search by your USDOT number or company name.
Read the public view
Anyone can see your inspections, violations, crashes and investigation results here, including brokers and shippers checking you before a load.
Log in for your full results
To see your own percentiles and the non-public BASICs, log in as the carrier. The SMS site explains how to get access if you don't have it yet.
Go through every inspection
Check that each inspection is really yours, that the truck and driver are right, and that each violation matches what happened.
Challenge errors in DataQs
If a record is wrong, request a review through FMCSA's DataQs system. Send facts and documents, not arguments.
What's public and what isn't
Since the FAST Act, FMCSA has removed alerts and percentiles for property carriers from public view. The Crash Indicator and Hazardous Materials Compliance BASICs are hidden from the public entirely. Passenger carrier information remains public.
Your inspection and violation details are still public, and that's what most brokers and insurers look at. A string of brake or hours violations is visible to anyone, even without a percentile next to it.
The new SMS methodology: what's confirmed
In a Federal Register notice on November 20, 2024, FMCSA announced an updated SMS. The approved changes include:
- The BASICs are reorganized into new categories. Controlled Substances/Alcohol violations move into Unsafe Driving, and Vehicle Maintenance splits into two categories, one of them "Driver Observed".
- Similar violations are grouped, and severity weights are simplified from a 1-to-10 scale to 1 or 2.
As of October 2026, FMCSA's preview site says the new methodology has not launched and carriers should keep using the current SMS. The SMS site itself (data current as of September 25, 2026) still shows the seven BASICs. FMCSA has said it will give advance notice before the switch. You can see how your carrier would look under the new method on the preview site now.
How to improve your CSA scores
- Do a real pre-trip every day. Lights, tires and brakes cause many vehicle violations
- Fix defects drivers report before the truck moves again
- Plan loads inside the hours rules so drivers aren't forced to choose
- Keep medical cards, licenses and driver files current
- Run your drug and alcohol program on schedule, including random testing
- Challenge wrong records in DataQs promptly
- Remember that time helps: older violations count less and drop off after 24 months
Backed by education
Our help with CSA scores is backed by the education we created at Freight University. We use education, data, technology and academics to stay on top of the newest FMCSA rules and regulations. You don't get one person. You get a team, a platform and a network with up-to-date information, making sure it's done the right and correct way. How we work.
- Current on the newest FMCSA rules
- A team, a platform and a network behind you
- Done the right and correct way
Questions and answers
Can brokers and shippers see my CSA scores?
For property carriers, the public can't see your percentiles or alerts, but anyone can see your inspection, violation and crash history on the SMS website. Many brokers make decisions from that history.
Do truck drivers have their own CSA scores?
The SMS ranks carriers, not individual drivers. A driver's own inspection and crash history is available to a prospective employer, with the driver's consent, through FMCSA's Pre-Employment Screening Program.
Is a high score a fine?
No. A percentile over the threshold is not a penalty by itself. It makes FMCSA more likely to contact you or investigate, and penalties can follow from what an investigation finds.
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Ask for a CSA score review
Send your USDOT number and tell us what concerns you. We'll look at your public record and explain what we see.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.
Sources
- FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS)
- FMCSA CSA — How SMS measures carriers (the seven BASICs)
- FMCSA — SMS Methodology, BASIC Prioritization Status Version 3.21 (methodology revised May 2026)
- FMCSA — FAST Act and CSA public display
- Federal Register, Nov 20, 2024 — Enhanced Carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS)
- FMCSA CSA — Prioritization Preview
- 49 CFR 385.3 — Definitions and acronyms (safety ratings)
- FMCSA DataQs