What Happens When a Truck Is Placed Out of Service?

You pull the crash report and see a phrase you don’t recognize. The truck that hit you was “placed out of service.” The trooper’s notes may mention worn brake linings, a cracked frame rail, or a tire that should never have been on I-35.

An out-of-service designation is a federal safety finding, and it can become one of the most important pieces of evidence in your truck accident case.

The DOT out-of-service violations list and related inspection records can show why a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) was removed from the road and whether the required repairs were completed.

What “Out of Service” Means Under Federal Law

A truck is placed out of service when a federal or state-certified inspector, including a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper working under CVSA reciprocity, finds a condition that “would likely cause an accident or a breakdown.” That standard comes from 49 CFR § 396.9, the federal rule behind every roadside out-of-service order in the country.

Once the vehicle carries an out-of-service sticker, the carrier and driver are legally barred from operating it. The only exception is moving the truck by tow, crane, or hoist to a repair location, which does not count as “operating” the vehicle under the rule.

No one may remove that sticker until the disqualifying defect is repaired. This applies whether a CMV placed out of service is a loaded rig on I-10 or an empty flatbed parked in a Dallas rail yard.

In a truck accident investigation, this rule can determine whether the vehicle should have been on the road and whether the carrier violated other federal trucking regulations.

Repairing, Certifying, & Documenting an Out-of-Service Defect

After an inspector cites a defect, federal law requires the carrier to repair it, certify the repair, and retain documentation. Maintenance and inspection records may be needed when filing a truck accident claim.

1. The driver completes a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) under 49 CFR § 396.11, noting any defect that could affect safe operation.
2. The driver delivers that report to the carrier at the next terminal, or within 24 hours if the truck will not reach one sooner.
3. The carrier must repair any defect likely to affect safety before dispatching the truck again.
4. The carrier certifies the repair and must file that certification within 15 days under § 396.9.
5. The carrier keeps the inspection and repair-certification records for 12 months.

This paper trail shows whether a defect was fixed or whether a truck went back on the road carrying the same problem that later caused a crash.

CVSA Out-of-Service Criteria & the Roadside Inspection Levels (I to VIII)

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) publishes the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, the detailed rulebook inspectors use to determine when brake wear, tire damage, or lighting failure crosses the line into a violation. CVSA is not a federal agency, but its criteria are incorporated by reference into federal law under 49 CFR § 385.4.

This is a different standard than the annual inspection checklist in Appendix A to Part 396, covered below. Appendix A governs the mandatory yearly inspection, while the CVSA criteria govern what an inspector checks during a roadside stop.

CVSA also defines eight inspection “levels” that determine how much of a truck and driver get examined:

• Level I (North American Standard Inspection): the most thorough check, covering the driver’s license, medical certificate, and hours-of-service records along with a full vehicle inspection, including components underneath the truck.
• Level II (Walk-Around Inspection): the same driver and vehicle review as Level I, without going underneath the vehicle.
• Level III (Driver/Credential Inspection): a driver-only review of license, medical certificate, and hours-of-service records, with no mechanical check.
• Level IV (Special Inspection): a one-time or targeted check of a single item, often used during campaigns like CVSA’s Brake Safety Week.
• Level V (Vehicle-Only Inspection): a full mechanical inspection performed without the driver present, often at a terminal or impound lot.
• Level VI (Enhanced Inspection for Radioactive Shipments): an expanded Level I inspection required for select radioactive cargo.
• Level VII (Jurisdictional Inspection): a state program inspection for vehicles such as school buses or limousines that do not fit the other categories.
• Level VIII (Electronic Inspection): a wireless inspection conducted while the truck is moving, without a physical stop.

Only Levels I, V, and VI can result in a CVSA decal. A truck can clear a roadside stop without incident and still carry problems that a more limited inspection level was never designed to catch.

Annual Inspections, Appendix A Standards, & Texas Enforcement

Separate from roadside stops, federal law requires every commercial truck to undergo a full inspection at least once every 12 months under 49 CFR § 396.17, measured against the pass/fail standards in Appendix A to Part 396. Those standards cover:

• The brake system, including drums, rotors, hoses, and air or antilock components
• Coupling devices such as fifth wheels, pintle hooks, and safety chains
• The steering mechanism, suspension, and frame
• Tires, with a minimum tread depth of 4/32 inch on steering axles and 2/32 inch elsewhere
• Wheels, rims, lighting devices, windshield glazing, and wipers
• Cargo securement and rear impact guards

Texas DPS enforces both this annual standard and the CVSA roadside criteria and participates each year in the multi-day International Roadcheck enforcement effort.

During the 2021 International Roadcheck, Texas DPS inspected 6,288 commercial vehicles and placed 1,628 of them, about 26 percent, out of service, most often for brake and tire defects. DPS also pulled 277 drivers out of service that year.

In the 2017 Roadcheck, roughly 23.6 percent of the 8,355 Texas vehicles inspected had violations serious enough to trigger an out-of-service order.

These figures provide historical snapshots because more recent Texas-specific data is not currently available. Nationally, CVSA’s 2025 International Roadcheck recorded an 18.1 percent vehicle out-of-service rate across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with brakes and tires again the leading violation categories.

Out-of-Service Violations as Evidence in a Truck Accident Case

When a carrier or driver operates a truck after it has been placed out of service, or certifies a repair that was never made, that is a direct violation of federal safety law. Those violations can become central evidence in a Texas truck accident case.

Texas recognizes a legal doctrine called negligence per se. An unexcused violation of a safety regulation may support a negligence claim when the regulation was intended to protect people like you from the type of harm you suffered. Texas courts use a multi-factor test to determine whether the doctrine applies.

That test comes from Perry v. S.N., 973 S.W.2d 301 (Tex. 1998), a Texas Supreme Court case that did not itself involve trucking. The case sets out the general framework that Texas courts use to determine whether any regulatory violation, including a federal trucking safety violation, supports a negligence-per-se claim. It does not guarantee any particular outcome, and every case depends on its own facts.

Building this kind of case often requires the roadside inspection report, the carrier’s repair certifications and DVIR records, and its out-of-service history from FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot and Safety Measurement System. These records can show whether the defect was repaired before the crash or remained unresolved.

Talk to Angel Reyes & Associates About an Out-of-Service Truck Accident

If you were hurt by a commercial truck that had an out-of-service violation, a history of prior violations, or a defect that was never properly repaired, you don’t have to track down these records alone.

Angel Reyes & Associates has guided injured Texans through truck accident claims for over 30 years, and our team knows how to obtain and evaluate inspection reports, out-of-service histories, and repair certification records. Get a free consultation to talk through what happened and your options.

Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.