Annual inspection

The rule names it the periodic inspection; the trade calls it the annual or the DOT inspection. A motor carrier may not use a vehicle unless every component listed in Appendix A "passed an inspection in accordance with the terms of this section at least once during the preceding 12 months" and "documentation of such inspection is on the vehicle" (§ 396.17(c)). A tractor, a semitrailer and a full trailer in one combination are three annual inspections, because the rule counts each vehicle in the combination separately. That is § 396.17(a).

The proof is either the inspection report required by § 396.21(a) or a sticker or decal based on it, showing the date, the name and address of whoever keeps the report, the vehicle's identification where the vehicle is not clearly marked, and a certification that it passed (§ 396.17(c)). A state's or Canadian province's own inspection that meets Appendix A counts for 12 months from the last day of the month it was done (§ 396.17(f)).

A carrier may inspect its own vehicles (§ 396.17(d)), or use "a commercial garage, fleet leasing company, truck stop, or similar commercial business" as its agent, provided that business has suitable facilities and inspectors qualified under § 396.19 (§ 396.17(e)). That sentence is the independent heavy-duty shop's place in the rule.

In Wrenchy the DOT annual inspection is a typed template, so a failed item becomes a line the advisor can quote. The DVIR and qualified brake inspector entries cover the two records beside it.