What TruckComplianceHQ says it offers
From TruckComplianceHQ's own page, read on October 14, 2026:
- DOT compliance software for owner-operators and small fleet managers, which it describes as compliance tracking without the spreadsheet.
- Six fields. For each driver, the CDL, the medical certificate and the drug test schedule; for each vehicle, the registration, the annual DOT inspection and the insurance.
- Alerts. At 60, 30 and 7 days before each expiry and again once it has expired, until it is resolved, with a morning email that lists every item needing attention.
- Setup. Drivers and vehicles added by hand or imported from a CSV file; its Fleet plan adds an onboarding call and a personal import.
- The file and the report. A digital compliance file for every driver and vehicle, and an audit-ready report of each document's status to export.
Dates, documents and notes: what a driver file holds
An expiry date is one part of a driver file. The items 391.51(b) lists fall into three groups:
- Documents with a date that runs out: the medical examiner's certificate (391.43), good for up to 24 months under 391.45.
- Documents made once, at hire: the application (391.21); the driving records from each state and the safety performance history from previous employers, due within 30 days of the start (391.23); and the road test or the license accepted in its place (391.31, 391.33).
- Records made every year: the annual driving record and a note of its review with the reviewer's name and the date (391.25).
Each truck has its own list too: the periodic inspection, passed at least once in the preceding 12 months (396.17), and the inspection, repair and maintenance records (396.3). Compare the kinds of option on which of these each one holds:
| Kind | What it does | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Expiration tracker | Watches each expiry date and sends alerts | TruckComplianceHQ describes itself this way |
| Spreadsheet and calendar | The office keeps the list and the reminders | Costs nothing extra; depends on whoever keeps it |
| Managed file service | A vendor's staff keep the files | The carrier still answers for them under 391.51 |
| Records software | Files each document against its rule and shows what is missing | FileFlo is this kind |
How to compare on your own records
- Pull one driver file and one truck file. List every item in each with the rule that requires it; the driver qualification file checklist names the driver's with their rules.
- Mark each item three ways for every option: does it file the document, does it date it, and does it show it as missing when it is not there.
- Ask who signs the annual review under 391.25, and where the files of drivers who left in the last three years are kept.
Or start from the public record: the free finding sheet reads what FMCSA's record shows about your carrier from your USDOT number. For the wider field, see driver qualification file software, seven compared, and the four kinds of alternative to J. J. Keller.
Switching from TruckComplianceHQ: what to take with you
Under 391.51(a) the duty to keep a qualification file for each driver is the motor carrier's. Before you change, gather the documents themselves, wherever they sit today: the folder, the drawer, the phone and the tool. Include the files of drivers who left in the last three years (391.51(c)).
Worked example: a four-truck carrier with a list of dates
Illustration, not a customer
The owner keeps four drivers and four trucks on a list of expiry dates, and checks the list against the rules before choosing a tool:
- The medical certificates. Each has a date that runs out, so each is on the list.
- The annual reviews. Due every 12 months under 391.25, with a note naming the reviewer. Nothing on a card expires, so a review is on the list only if someone adds it.
- The hire documents. The applications and the inquiries under 391.21 and 391.23 have no expiry date at all, and the file must hold them under 391.51(b).
- The trucks. The periodic inspection under 396.17 has a date; the maintenance records under 396.3 do not.
The list covers the first item and part of the fourth. The owner compares the options on all four.
Where FileFlo does the work
Most compliance tools track a date someone typed in and send a notice. FileFlo does the work behind the date: it reads each document, finds the date, checks it against the rule, files it where the rule wants it and works out what is due next, for every driver and every recurring item. Every driver gets a qualification file ordered the way 391.51 lists it, each requirement cited, dated where the rule dates it, and marked on file or not on file with an upload door. Maintenance records, DVIRs and roadside inspection reports are filed against the truck. Nothing goes out to your drivers until you switch each routine on and choose who hears, how and when.
Sources
Checked
- TruckComplianceHQ: DOT compliance software for carriers, TruckComplianceHQ. Read October 14, 2026
- 49 CFR 391.51, driver qualification files and their retention, eCFR
- 49 CFR 391.21, application for employment, eCFR
- 49 CFR 391.23, investigation and inquiries at hire, eCFR
- 49 CFR 391.25, annual inquiry and review of driving record, eCFR
- 49 CFR 391.31 and 391.33, road test and its equivalent, eCFR
- 49 CFR 391.43 and 391.45, medical examination and certificate, eCFR
- 49 CFR 396.17, periodic inspection, eCFR
- 49 CFR 396.3, inspection, repair and maintenance records, eCFR
Questions
What does TruckComplianceHQ offer?
From its own page, read October 14, 2026: DOT compliance software for owner-operators and small fleet managers that tracks six fields, a driver's CDL, medical certificate and drug test schedule and a vehicle's registration, annual DOT inspection and insurance, and emails alerts at 60, 30 and 7 days before each one expires and again once it has expired. It keeps a digital compliance file for every driver and vehicle and exports an audit-ready report of each document's status.
Is a list of expiry dates enough for a driver file?
A date list covers the items whose date runs out, such as the medical certificate. Section 391.51(b) also asks for documents made once at hire, the application and the inquiries under 391.21 and 391.23, and records made every year, the annual driving record and the note of its review under 391.25.
What should a small fleet compare?
Which of the documents 391.51(b) lists each option files, which it dates and which it shows as missing; who signs the annual review; and, for each truck, where the periodic inspection under 396.17 and the maintenance records under 396.3 are kept.
What should a carrier take when switching from TruckComplianceHQ?
The documents themselves, wherever they sit today, and a copy of each file for a driver who left in the last three years, since 391.51(c) keeps a file for three years after the driver leaves.