Book a demo

DVIR

Driver vehicle inspection report: the written report a commercial driver prepares at the end of each day's work on each vehicle operated, listing any defect that would affect safety or cause a breakdown. The carrier, or the shop acting as its agent, repairs the defect and certifies the report before the vehicle runs again.

The rule is 49 CFR § 396.11. The motor carrier must require each driver to prepare the report at the end of each day's work, and the driver signs it; where two drivers share the vehicle, one signature is enough if both agree on the defects. No DVIR is required when the driver finds no defect, so a shop will only ever see the reports with something on them.

The report covers, at a minimum, service brakes including trailer brake connections, the parking brake, steering, lighting devices and reflectors, tires, horn, windshield wipers, rear-vision mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment (§ 396.11(a)(2)).

The shop's part is paragraph (a)(3): before the vehicle is driven again, the carrier "or its agent" repairs any listed defect likely to affect safety and certifies on the report that it was repaired or that repair was unnecessary. The report, the repair certification and the driver's certification that the report was reviewed are kept three months from the date the report was prepared (§ 396.11(a)(4)). Carriers running a single commercial vehicle, driveaway-towaway operations and private non-business passenger carriers are exempt (§ 396.11(a)(5)).

In Wrenchy the fleet's manager requests service from the customer portal, so a reported defect reaches the shop in their own words, and the audit log keeps who changed what and when. The diesel and heavy-duty page and the post on the 49 CFR 396 records a fleet customer needs cover the other three records.

Sources (1)

  • Annual inspection

    The periodic inspection 49 CFR 396.17 requires of every commercial motor vehicle: each component in Appendix A to part 396 has to have passed an inspection at least once in the preceding 12 months, and proof of it rides on the vehicle as the inspection report or a sticker.

  • Facility registration

    In Michigan, the annual registration of each place of business that repairs motor vehicles for compensation, under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act.

  • Fleet customer records

    Part 396 binds the carrier, not the shop. But the carrier's maintenance file is made of the shop's repair orders, DVIR certifications, annual inspection reports and brake inspector evidence. The four records, what each has to contain, and how long each is kept.

See it on your own cars.

45 minutes with the founder.

Book a demoRequest early access