Fleet Compliance Software for Small Fleets: What It Does and What It Costs

Retention periods are set by the specific FMCSA rule, not a single blanket period. Driver qualification files must be kept for the length of employment plus three years (49 CFR 391.51). Hours-of-service records of duty status and supporting documents are kept six months (49 CFR 395.8). Annual vehicle periodic-inspection reports are kept 14 months (49 CFR 396.21). The accident register covers the most recent three years (49 CFR 390.15). Drug and alcohol testing records have their own multi-year retention under 49 CFR 382.401. A compliance platform should apply the correct retention clock to each document type automatically.

Under 49 CFR 382.701, an employer must run a full pre-employment Clearinghouse query before allowing a CDL driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, and must run a query on every current CDL driver at least once every 12 months. The annual check can be a limited query, but if it returns a record you must follow up with a full query within 24 hours. Both require driver consent. Missing or late queries are a recordkeeping violation. FileFlo tracks each driver's pre-employment and annual query dates and alerts you before the rolling 365-day deadline, though the queries themselves are run in the FMCSA Clearinghouse portal.

Failing to maintain a required record, or keeping one that is incomplete, inaccurate, or false, is a recordkeeping violation under 49 CFR Part 386, Appendix B. For 2026 the penalty is up to $1,584 for each day the violation continues, capped at $15,846, and the amounts are adjusted for inflation each year. Beyond the fine, incomplete DQFs hurt your safety rating during a compliance review and can contribute to a Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating. Because the dollar figures change annually, always confirm the current amount in the live penalty schedule rather than relying on a fixed number.

Under 49 CFR 396.17, every commercial motor vehicle must pass a periodic (annual) inspection at least once every 12 months, measured from the last day of the month the prior inspection was performed. The inspection must cover, at minimum, the components in Appendix A to Part 396. The original or a copy of the inspection report must be retained for 14 months under 49 CFR 396.21. This annual periodic inspection is separate from the driver's daily pre-trip and post-trip Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRs) required under 49 CFR 396.11 and 396.13.

No. An ELD records hours of service under 49 CFR Part 395. It does not keep driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing records, annual inspection reports or the audit packet. Fleet compliance software keeps those records and their due dates, and stores the logs the ELD produces.

Published prices run from $49 per driver a month for a done-for-you driver file service (My Safety Manager) to $199 to $1,499 a month for managed safety programs (AIST), both read September 2026. FileFlo is $199 a month for up to 15 trucks after a $499 Setup, or $1,500 a month with FileFlo running the work.

Driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing records, hours-of-service records, vehicle maintenance and inspection records, and proof of insurance. In a new entrant safety audit, 49 CFR 385.321(b) lists 16 violations that fail the audit on their own.