CVSA inspections: how they work, from level to decal
Every roadside inspection in North America follows one standard, written by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. Knowing it tells you what inspectors check, what earns a decal, and what puts a truck out of service.
Written by Inely Baez
CVSA inspections in numbers
A CVSA inspection is a check of a commercial driver, vehicle, or both under the North American Standard Inspection Program. CVSA now defines nine levels. A vehicle that passes a Level I or Level V inspection with no critical violations earns a CVSA decal; out-of-service conditions stop the driver or vehicle until fixed.
A roadside inspection is an audit that arrives without notice. What it finds usually reflects work done days earlier: the pre-trip, the last maintenance visit, the documents in the cab.
I lead operations at Simplex, and I treat inspection results as the output of a system. This guide explains how CVSA inspections work, so you can build that system around them.
The full briefing, read aloud
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Generated with AI text-to-speech from this article's key insights, in order, rather than reading it word for word. Chapter times come from a transcript of the audio. The article itself was written and reviewed by Inely Baez.
Key takeaways
CVSA writes the standard, states apply it
Trained inspectors in every state, territory, and province inspect to CVSA's procedures and criteria.
Nine levels, two standard decals
Only Level I and Level V inspections can earn the standard CVSA decal. Level VI has its own single-trip decal.
The decal is about the vehicle
A driver can be placed out of service while the vehicle still earns a decal, valid for the month of issuance plus two months.
Out of service means stopped
Out-of-service conditions must be corrected before the driver or vehicle returns to service. CVSA updates the criteria every April 1.
The paperwork runs on a clock
The carrier certifies repairs within 15 days and keeps the report for 12 months under 49 CFR 396.9.
In this articleContents
What is a CVSA inspection?
A CVSA inspection is a check of a commercial driver, vehicle, or both, carried out to the North American Standard Inspection Program. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) writes the procedures and criteria; trained inspectors in each state, territory, and province carry them out.
CVSA is a nonprofit association of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal commercial vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. It puts the total at about 4 million inspections a year across North America.
In the U.S., the inspector is usually state or local law enforcement certified under FMCSA's Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, and the results go into FMCSA's records for your carrier. A full Level I inspection follows a 37-step procedure, from choosing the inspection site to checking brake adjustment and fifth-wheel movement.
What are the CVSA inspection levels?
CVSA's current definitions list nine inspection levels. They differ in what gets checked, the driver, the vehicle, or both, and only two of them can earn the standard CVSA decal.
| Level | What it checks | CVSA decal |
|---|---|---|
| I · North American Standard | Driver credentials, hours of service, alcohol and drugs, and the full vehicle, including under it | Yes |
| II · Walk-Around | The same driver items, plus vehicle items that can be checked without getting under the vehicle | No |
| III · Driver/Credential | Driver documents, hours of service, seat belt, inspection reports, carrier identification and status | No |
| IV · Special | A one-time check of one item, usually for a study or a suspected trend | No |
| V · Vehicle-Only | Every Level I vehicle item, with no driver present, at any location | Yes |
| VI · Radioactive Shipments | An enhanced Level I for transuranic waste and highway route controlled quantities of radioactive material | Level VI decal, one trip |
| VII · Jurisdictional | State or provincial programs that fit no other level, such as school buses, limousines, and taxis | No; a jurisdiction's decal may apply |
| VIII · Electronic | A wireless data check while the vehicle moves: license, medical certificate, hours of service, USDOT number, authority, UCR | No |
| IX · Post-Crash | All accessible Level I items after a fatal, serious-injury, or high-profile crash, or when a jurisdiction requires it | No |
For what inspectors look at in each of the common levels, see our guide to the DOT inspection levels.
What happens when an inspector finds a violation?
The outcome turns on two questions: is the problem a critical inspection item, and does it meet the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, CVSA's pass-fail standard for inspections?
| What the inspector finds | Decal | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| No violations | Yes | The vehicle proceeds |
| A violation outside the critical items, such as a clearance lamp out | Yes | The vehicle proceeds |
| A critical item violation that does not meet the out-of-service criteria | No | The violation is documented and the vehicle proceeds |
| A violation that meets the out-of-service criteria | No | Out of service until repaired |
Out of service means stopped. Under 49 CFR 396.9, no one may operate a vehicle declared out of service until the required repairs are complete, and it may only be towed away by a vehicle using a crane or hoist.
Drivers can be placed out of service too, and must correct the condition before returning to service. Because the decal reflects only the vehicle, a driver can be out of service while the vehicle still earns one.
CVSA updates the criteria every year, effective April 1. The 2026 edition took effect April 1, 2026, with 17 changes approved by CVSA's voting member jurisdictions. The full handbook is sold by CVSA, so buy the current edition if your safety team works from it.
What does a CVSA decal mean?
A CVSA decal shows that a vehicle recently passed a Level I or Level V inspection with no critical vehicle inspection item violations. Its purpose is to avoid duplicate inspections, so a vehicle with a valid decal is generally not re-inspected.
- Each vehicle qualifies on its own. The tractor can earn a decal while a trailer with a flat tire does not.
- Administrative problems block it. No operating authority, an inactive or missing USDOT number, or operating under a federal out-of-service order means no decal.
- On-site repairs can still earn one. After a Level I inspection, critical violations repaired on site and re-checked by the same inspector at the same location qualify.
How to read a CVSA decal
The color shows the quarter, the number shows the year, and the corners show the month.
| Months issued | Decal color |
|---|---|
| January, February, March | Green |
| April, May, June | Yellow |
| July, August, September | Orange |
| October, November, December | White |
The number printed at the top is the last digit of the year, so a decal marked 6 was issued in 2026. Decals issued in the first month of a quarter have both upper corners removed, in the second month only the upper right corner, and in the third month none.
A decal is valid for the month of issuance plus two months: one issued July 28 expires September 30. On a power unit it goes on the lower right corner of the passenger side of the windshield.
It is not a free pass. An inspector who notices an obvious defect can re-inspect, and a re-inspection that finds maintenance below the minimum criteria removes the decal. The separate Level VI decal for radioactive shipments is valid for a single trip.
When do CVSA inspections increase?
CVSA runs announced and unannounced campaigns that concentrate inspections on one theme. During these windows, expect more inspections and closer attention to that theme.
- International Roadcheck: an annual 72-hour inspection event. In 2026 it ran May 12 to 14, with 54,575 inspections; 81% of vehicles and 94.2% of drivers had no out-of-service violations. Our International Roadcheck 2026 guide covers preparation.
- Operation Airbrake: brake-focused campaigns, including Brake Safety Week and an unannounced Brake Safety Day. On the 2026 Brake Safety Day, inspectors restricted 574 of 4,021 vehicles (14.3%) for brake-related out-of-service violations. See our Brake Safety Week guide.
- Operation Safe Driver Week: traffic enforcement aimed at unsafe driving by truck and car drivers alike.
CVSA posts the next year's campaign dates at the end of each year, so check its program pages before planning around them.
How to prepare for a CVSA inspection
Preparation is the routine you run before and after the stop. Give each step an owner and a deadline.
Step 1: Check the critical items before every trip
CVSA's critical vehicle inspection items include brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, lighting, steering, suspensions, tires, and wheels, rims and hubs. Build your pre-trip and preventive maintenance checklists around them.
Step 2: Keep driver documents ready
A Level III inspection checks the license, medical examiner's certificate, any SPE certificate, record of duty status, hours of service, seat belt, vehicle inspection reports, and carrier identification and status. Every one of those can be checked before the truck leaves.
Step 3: Route every report to one owner
Under 49 CFR 396.9(d), the driver must deliver the inspection report to the carrier at the next terminal, or send it immediately if not due at one within 24 hours.
Step 4: Close it out within 15 days
Within 15 days of the inspection, the carrier certifies that every violation was corrected and keeps a copy for 12 months. Since July 22, 2026, the form goes back to the state only when that state asks for it.
Step 5: Watch what inspections do to your scores
Violations feed FMCSA's Safety Measurement System whether or not a ticket was issued, and count for 24 months, weighted most heavily in the first six. Clean inspections count too: a Level I with no violations adds to the inspections your Hours-of-Service and Vehicle Maintenance violations are measured against.
Our CSA program explains how those scores work. If a report is wrong, request a review through FMCSA's DataQs system; if it is right, see how to recover from a DOT violation.
How Simplex helps you prepare for CVSA inspections
Clean inspections come from routines that run every day. We help you build them and keep them running.
DOT safety compliance
Our DOT safety compliance team helps carriers stay compliant with FMCSA rules, from driver files and hours of service to audit guidance and support.
A program that keeps checking
Our compliance programs include CSA monitoring, HOS management, and mock audits, so repeat findings surface before an inspector finds them.
Help with high CSA scores
Our CSA program support helps you understand the inspection violations behind your scores and work to improve them.
Frequently asked questions
How many levels of CVSA inspection are there?+
Which inspection level covers only the driver?+
When is a CVSA decal placed on a vehicle?+
What does the 6 on a CVSA sticker mean?+
How long is a CVSA decal good for?+
After a roadside inspection, what paperwork do I owe and by when?+
Where this information comes from
The standards below come from CVSA's own inspection documents, federal regulation, and FMCSA's Safety Measurement System, checked on September 24, 2026.
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1
CVSA — All Inspection Levels
Definitions of inspection Levels I through IX, including which levels cannot earn a decal.
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2
CVSA — Inspection Decals
Decal eligibility, colors, year number, corner cuts, validity, and placement.
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3
CVSA — Operational Policies for Roadside Inspections
Operational Policy 5, revised April 23, 2026: critical inspection items, decal rules, and re-inspections.
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4
CVSA — Out-of-Service Criteria
The criteria as the pass-fail standard for inspections, updated every April 1.
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5
eCFR — 49 CFR 396.9
Out-of-service vehicles and the carrier's 15-day duty to certify and keep inspection reports.
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6
Federal Register — Completed Inspection Report Disposition
Since July 22, 2026, reports go back to the state only when it requests them.
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7
FMCSA — SMS Methodology, version 3.21
How inspection results, including clean inspections, count in the BASICs for 24 months.
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8
CVSA — International Roadcheck Results
The 2026 International Roadcheck dates, inspection count, and out-of-service rates.
Written by
Inely Baez
Chief Operating Officer, Simplex Group
Chief Operating Officer at Simplex Group, with nearly eight years at the company leading operational strategy and execution across compliance, technology, logistics, and performance systems. She is a Certified Public Accountant with a background spanning operations and finance, including leadership roles within Simplex's Freight 4 U division and Velox Transport Solutions. Her work focuses on building scalable, disciplined systems that support long-term performance and growth.
Published · Updated
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