For any motor carrier, CSA scores are among the most important numbers to track. They influence which carriers FMCSA targets for warning letters and investigations, how often your trucks get pulled in for roadside inspections, what you pay for insurance, and whether shippers and brokers want to work with you. Yet many fleet managers only look at their scores after a problem shows up.
The system is also about to change. FMCSA has approved the biggest overhaul of its Safety Measurement System since CSA launched in 2010, and carriers should understand both how scores work today and what is coming. This guide explains how CSA scores are calculated, what the categories mean, who looks at your data, and the practical steps that bring scores down and keep them there.
What Is CSA?
CSA stands for Compliance, Safety, Accountability. It is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) program for identifying carriers with safety problems and stepping in before those problems lead to crashes. FMCSA launched CSA in 2010, replacing an older system called SafeStat.
CSA vs. SMS
People often use "CSA score" loosely, but there are two parts to know:
- CSA is the overall enforcement and compliance program.
- SMS (Safety Measurement System) is the tool inside CSA that turns data into scores. Each month, it takes roadside inspection results, state-reported crashes and investigation findings and turns them into percentile rankings by category.
When someone talks about a "CSA score," they almost always mean a carrier's SMS percentile in one or more categories. Percentiles run from 0 to 100, and a higher percentile is worse: it means your carrier performs worse than more of its peers.
Where the Data Comes From
SMS pulls from FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System. The main inputs are:
- Violations recorded during roadside inspections
- Crash reports submitted by states
- Results of FMCSA and state investigations
- Carrier census data, such as power units and vehicle miles traveled, used to adjust for exposure
Who Can See Your Scores
Under the FAST Act, percentiles and alerts for property carriers are hidden from the public SMS website. Passenger carrier percentiles remain public. Your underlying inspection, crash and investigation data stays visible to anyone, though, and you can see your own full profile by logging in to the FMCSA portal. Insurers, brokers and shippers also often ask for it directly.
The Seven BASICs Explained
SMS groups safety data into seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, known as BASICs. Each one is scored separately.
BASIC
What it covers
Common violations
Unsafe Driving
Dangerous or careless operation of a CMV
Speeding, following too closely, improper lane changes, texting or handheld phone use, no seat belt
Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance
Driving while fatigued or out of compliance with HOS rules
Exceeding driving limits, missing or false logs, ELD problems
Driver Fitness
Drivers who are unqualified or medically unfit
No valid CDL, expired medical certificate, incomplete driver qualification file
Controlled Substances/Alcohol
Impairment from drugs or alcohol
Possession or use of drugs or alcohol on duty
Vehicle Maintenance
Failure to inspect, repair and maintain vehicles
Brakes, lights, tires, cargo securement, defects missed on pre-trip inspections
Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance
Unsafe handling of hazardous materials
Missing placards, improper shipping papers, leaking containers
Crash Indicator
History of crash involvement
State-reported tow-away, injury and fatal crashes
Only roadside and investigation data feed the first six BASICs. The Crash Indicator is based on crashes alone, and its percentile isn't shown publicly for any carrier.
How CSA Scores Are Calculated
Under the current methodology, SMS looks back over a rolling 24-month window. Three factors shape how much each violation counts.
Severity Weights
Each violation carries a severity weight from 1 to 10, based on how strongly it relates to crash risk. An out-of-service violation adds 2 more points, up to the maximum of 10. A reckless driving violation weighs far more than a minor paperwork issue.
Time Weights
Recent violations count more than older ones:
- Violations from the past 6 months are multiplied by 3
- Violations 6 to 12 months old are multiplied by 2
- Violations 12 to 24 months old are multiplied by 1
After 24 months, a violation drops out of SMS entirely. This means a bad inspection hurts most right away, then fades over time.
Normalization and Peer Groups
SMS divides the weighted total by exposure, such as the number of relevant inspections or a utilization-adjusted count of power units. It then places the carrier in a safety event group of carriers with similar activity and ranks it against them to produce a percentile.
Intervention Thresholds
When a percentile reaches or passes a threshold, the carrier gets an alert in that BASIC. Thresholds are lower for categories most closely tied to crashes, and lower again for passenger and hazmat carriers:
BASIC
General carriers
Passenger carriers
HM carriers
Unsafe Driving, HOS Compliance, Crash Indicator
65%
50%
60%
Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance
80%
65%
75%
HM Compliance
80%
80%
80%
What's Changing
In November 2024, FMCSA approved major enhancements to SMS and said a separate notice would announce the launch date. Key changes include:
- Compliance Categories replace BASICs. Controlled Substances/Alcohol folds into Unsafe Driving.
- Vehicle Maintenance splits in two. A new "Vehicle Maintenance: Driver Observed" category covers defects a driver should catch on a walk-around.
- 959 violations become 116 violation groups. Multiple violations in the same group from one inspection count only once.
- Severity weights simplify to 1 or 2. Out-of-service violations and driver-disqualifying offenses get a 2; everything else gets a 1.
- Proportionate percentiles replace safety event groups, reducing sudden jumps when a carrier's inspection count changes.
- A greater focus on recent violations. Most categories will only calculate a percentile if the carrier has violations in the past 12 months.
- Higher thresholds for Driver Fitness and HM Compliance.
Check your FMCSA portal and the agency's announcements to confirm when the enhanced methodology goes live.
Why CSA Scores Matter
A high percentile is more than a number on a website. It affects your business in several ways.
FMCSA Interventions
Carriers with alerts are prioritized for intervention. FMCSA's options escalate with the seriousness of the problem:
- Warning letters that spell out the problem and the consequences if it continues
- Targeted roadside inspections, since inspectors can see alert status and are more likely to pull your trucks in
- Offsite investigations, where you send documents to FMCSA for review
- Onsite investigations, focused or comprehensive, at your place of business
- Cooperative safety plans, notices of violation, fines and, in the worst cases, an unsatisfactory safety rating or out-of-service order
FMCSA says its data support this focus. According to its effectiveness testing, carriers identified for intervention have a 61% higher crash rate than carriers that are not.
Insurance, Customers and Liability
Insurers review SMS data when setting premiums, and poor scores can raise rates or limit coverage options. Brokers and shippers often screen carriers by their inspection and crash history. After a crash, plaintiffs' attorneys routinely request a carrier's SMS history to argue that the company knew about safety problems and failed to fix them. A clean record protects you in all of these settings.
How to Improve Your CSA Scores
There's no shortcut to a better score. Violations stay in the system until they age out or are removed through DataQs. What you can control is the flow of new violations and the number of clean inspections you earn. Focus on these areas.
Review Your SMS Profile Every Month
Log in to the FMCSA portal monthly and look at which categories are rising, which violations appear most often and which drivers or vehicles are involved. Patterns matter more than single events. Five lighting violations across different trucks point to a pre-trip inspection problem, not bad luck.
Make Pre-Trip Inspections Count
Vehicle Maintenance is often the BASIC with the most violations, and many of them are things a driver could have spotted: burned-out lights, low tire tread, air leaks, loose cargo securement. Train drivers to do thorough pre-trip and post-trip inspections, use a consistent checklist, and make sure reported defects get fixed before the truck goes back out. Under the coming methodology, these driver-observed defects will get a category of their own, so this matters even more.
Strengthen Preventive Maintenance
Schedule maintenance by mileage and engine hours, not just by breakdowns. Pay special attention to brakes, tires and lighting, which account for a large share of roadside violations. Keep records organized so you can prove work was done.
Coach Driver Behavior
Unsafe Driving violations carry heavy weight. Use telematics and camera data to spot speeding, hard braking and phone use, then coach drivers one-on-one. Recognize drivers with clean inspections, not just those with violations. Make seat belt use non-negotiable; it's one of the easiest violations to prevent.
Manage Hours of Service
Audit ELD data regularly for form-and-manner errors, unassigned driving time and patterns that suggest fatigue. Build realistic dispatch schedules so drivers aren't pressured to run over their hours.
Keep Driver Qualification Files Complete
Track medical certificate expiration dates, CDL status, annual MVR reviews and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse queries. Expired documents are easy violations to avoid with a reminder system.
Earn Clean Inspections
Clean inspections count in your favor because they add to the denominator in several BASICs. A well-maintained truck with an organized, compliant driver is more likely to pass, and every clean inspection helps dilute older violations.
Challenging Incorrect Data
Not every violation or crash on your record belongs there. FMCSA gives carriers two main ways to fix inaccurate data.
DataQs
DataQs is FMCSA's online system for requesting a review of federal and state data. You can challenge an inspection violation that was cited in error, a crash assigned to the wrong carrier, a duplicate record or incorrect details. Strong requests are specific and backed by evidence, such as repair receipts, ELD records, photos, court documents showing a citation was dismissed, or the inspection report itself.
A few tips:
- File promptly while records and memories are fresh
- Stick to the facts and explain exactly what is wrong
- Attach documentation for every claim
- Track each request and follow up if there's no response
Crash Preventability Determination Program
Crashes count against your Crash Indicator whether or not your driver was at fault, unless you get a ruling under FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP). Eligible crash types include being struck from behind, hitting a wrong-way driver, being hit by a driver under the influence and striking an animal. If FMCSA finds a crash not preventable, it is excluded from the Crash Indicator calculation. Submit the police report, photos, dash camera footage and any other evidence through DataQs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good CSA score?
Because CSA scores are percentiles, lower is better. A score of 0 or close to it means few or no relevant violations compared with your peers. A score near 100 means your carrier ranks worse than almost everyone in its group. The practical line to watch is the intervention threshold for each BASIC: 65% for Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service and Crash Indicator, and 80% for most other categories for general property carriers. Passenger and hazmat carriers have lower thresholds.
That said, staying just below a threshold isn't a safe goal. Insurers, brokers and shippers may look at your raw inspection and crash data no matter where your percentile sits. Scores can also jump quickly after a few bad inspections because recent violations carry triple weight. Aim to keep every category well below its threshold, and pay attention to the trend. A score that's rising month after month is a warning sign even if it hasn't triggered an alert yet.
How long do violations stay on my CSA score?
Under the current methodology, violations and crashes stay in SMS for 24 months from the date of the inspection or crash. Their weight decreases over that time: violations in the most recent 6 months count three times, those 6 to 12 months old count twice, and those 12 to 24 months old count once. After 24 months, they drop out of the SMS calculation completely, though the inspection records remain in FMCSA's broader databases.
The approved enhanced methodology puts even more emphasis on recent activity. In most categories, a carrier will only receive a percentile if it has a violation in the past 12 months. That means fixing a problem quickly can pay off faster than it does today. Either way, the only ways to remove a violation early are to prove it was cited in error through DataQs or to have a related citation dismissed in court and submit that result.
Can a carrier with no inspections have a CSA score?
Not really. SMS requires a minimum amount of data before it calculates a percentile in a category. A new carrier, or a small one that rarely gets inspected, may show "insufficient data" in some or all BASICs. That isn't the same as a good score. It simply means FMCSA doesn't have enough information to rank you.
This can cut both ways. A carrier with insufficient data won't receive alerts, but it also can't point to a clean track record when a broker or insurer asks. A single bad inspection can also have an outsized effect when a carrier has few inspections overall. Small carriers should be especially careful with pre-trip inspections and driver files, since each inspection carries a lot of weight in their profile.
Do clean inspections help my CSA score?
Yes. In BASICs that are measured per inspection, such as Vehicle Maintenance, Hours-of-Service and Driver Fitness, a clean inspection adds to the total number of relevant inspections without adding violations. That lowers your measure and, over time, your percentile. Clean inspections are one of the few ways to actively improve a score instead of just waiting for old violations to age out.
You can't request an inspection to boost your score, but you can increase your odds of passing the ones you get. Keep trucks in excellent condition, make sure drivers have their paperwork organized and their logs in order, and train them to be professional and cooperative with inspectors. Some states also allow carriers to report clean inspections that weren't uploaded correctly, so check your profile to make sure each one is counted.
Does a crash count against my score if my driver wasn't at fault?
Under the standard SMS approach, yes. The Crash Indicator counts reportable crashes regardless of fault, because FMCSA's research found that crash involvement in general predicts future crash risk. A carrier whose truck was rear-ended at a red light could see that crash affect its Crash Indicator just like one its driver caused.
The fix is the Crash Preventability Determination Program. If a crash fits one of the eligible types, such as a rear-end collision where your truck was struck, a crash with a wrong-way driver, or a crash with a driver who was under the influence, you can submit a request through DataQs with the police report and other evidence. If FMCSA determines the crash was not preventable, it is removed from the Crash Indicator calculation and noted on your record. Dash cameras make these requests much stronger, because video often shows exactly what happened in a way that a police report alone can't.
Take Control of Your CSA Scores
CSA scores reflect what happens every day in your fleet: how well drivers inspect their trucks, how carefully they drive, how closely you track hours and qualifications, and how quickly defects get fixed. Carriers that treat compliance as a daily routine, rather than a reaction to a warning letter, see lower scores, fewer interventions and better insurance terms.
With FMCSA's enhanced SMS methodology on the way, now is the right time to review your profile, clean up inaccurate data through DataQs and tighten the processes behind your biggest violation categories. Digital tools for vehicle inspections, driver qualification files and DOT compliance make it much easier to spot problems early and prove compliance when it counts.
