Pre-trip and post-trip DVIRs, filed from the driver’s phone.
Motentra’s DVIR app walks drivers through the 49 CFR 396.11 inspection items, puts the trailer they are pulling on the report, and turns every defect into a task for your shop — with the DVIR kept against the truck, the trailer and the driver.
Runs in any phone browser — nothing for drivers to install
Filling out the DVIR is the easy part
Drivers do the form. Then it sits in a cab, the defect waits for someone to read it, and the next driver has no way to tell whether it was fixed.
Defects nobody reads
A driver writes up a soft brake pedal at the end of the day. The report goes in a pile, and the truck is dispatched in the morning before anyone has seen it.
No trail of the repair
Before the truck runs again, the carrier is expected to repair any defect that affects safe operation and certify it. With paper, proving that means chasing the shop, the driver and a signature.
Three months of paper to keep
Carriers keep each DVIR, the repair certification and the next driver’s review for three months. A filing box turns every audit question into a scavenger hunt.
Built on the 49 CFR 396.11 items
The checklist follows the parts and accessories the regulation names, plus fluids and dashboard warning lights — the things that actually take a truck off the road.
Pre-trip or post-trip
Drivers pick the kind of inspection, scan the truck’s QR code and work through twelve checkpoints, marking each OK, defect or N/A with a note.
- Pre-trip and post-trip on one form
- OK, defect or N/A on every item
- A note on every defect
The trailer on the report
The driver picks the trailer they are pulling, so the DVIR covers the whole combination. Trailers are assets in their own right, with their own records, inspections and damage history.
- Trailer picked from your fleet
- Dry van, reefer, flatbed and more
- No odometer, so no oil schedule
Defects become shop work
Every defect opens a task against that truck. Service brakes, parking brake, steering, coupling devices and warning lights are critical and open at high priority.
- Five critical items, high priority
- The driver’s note travels with the task
- Out of service in one tap
Drivers on record
A DVIR requires a driver from your roster. Each driver carries license number, class, state and expiry, plus the DOT medical card, with a warning 30 days before either lapses.
- CDL Class A and B, and non-CDL classes
- Medical card expiry tracked
- Active and inactive — history kept
Every report on file
Each DVIR is kept with the truck, the trailer and the driver — date, answers and defects noted — so the inspection history is a search, not a filing box.
- History per truck and per trailer
- Driver and trailer on every report
- Electronic records instead of paper
Maintenance on the same list
PM A and B services, DOT annual inspections, DEF and aftertreatment, air systems and trailer service sit on the same task list as DVIR defects.
- 24 trucking task types
- Schedules by miles or date
- Recalls checked by VIN
The 12 DVIR checkpoints
Ten come straight from the regulation’s list. Tires — the eleventh item it names — are flagged wheel by wheel on every inspection, with tread depth in 32nds. Fluids and dashboard warning lights are added because they ground trucks too.
| # | Checkpoint | What the driver looks at | If it’s a defect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Service brakes | Including trailer brake connections | Task opens at high priority |
| 2 | Parking (hand) brake | Holds the vehicle | Task opens at high priority |
| 3 | Steering mechanism | Play, binding, leaks | Task opens at high priority |
| 4 | Lighting devices & reflectors | Head, tail, brake, clearance and turn signals | Task opens |
| 5 | Wheels & rims | Cracks, loose lugs, rust streaks | Task opens |
| 6 | Horn | Works | Task opens |
| 7 | Windshield wipers | Blades and operation | Task opens |
| 8 | Rear vision mirrors | Present, secure, adjusted | Task opens |
| 9 | Coupling devices | Fifth wheel, kingpin, air and electrical lines | Task opens at high priority |
| 10 | Emergency equipment | Fire extinguisher, triangles, spare fuses | Task opens |
| 11 | Fluid levels / leaks | Oil, coolant, DEF, air leaks | Task opens |
| 12 | Dashboard warning lights | Check engine, ABS, low air | Task opens at high priority |
From the driver’s phone to the shop floor
A DVIR program only works if defects get fixed before the truck runs again, and if the drivers on the road have the paperwork to be there.
Every defect lands on a list someone works
When a driver marks a defect, Motentra opens a task against that truck or trailer with the driver’s note attached. Critical items go to the top, and the truck can be marked out of service with a reason until the repair is done.
- Priority, due date and status on every task
- Out of service with a reason, back in service with a tap
- The repair history stays on the vehicle
From today’s DVIRs
License and med card, before they lapse
Every driver on your roster carries their license number, class, state and expiry, and the DOT medical card on trucking fleets. Thirty days before either runs out, the Drivers tab is badged and you get a warning — not a surprise at a roadside inspection.
- 30-day warning before paperwork expires
- Usual vehicle on each driver
- Inactive drivers keep their history
Drivers · paperwork
What the DVIR rules ask — and what Motentra handles
Under 49 CFR 396.11, motor carriers must have drivers prepare a report at the completion of each day’s work on each vehicle they operated, covering the parts and accessories the rule lists. In outline:
- No defect, no report. Since December 2014, drivers of property-carrying vehicles only have to prepare a DVIR when a defect or deficiency is found or reported to them. A 2020 rule extended the same relief to passenger carriers.
- Repair before it runs. Before the vehicle is operated again, the carrier must repair any listed defect likely to affect safe operation, and certify on the report that it was repaired or that repair was unnecessary.
- The next driver reviews it. Under 49 CFR 396.13, a driver must be satisfied the vehicle is safe, review the last DVIR and, if it listed defects, sign it to acknowledge that the repairs were certified.
- Keep it three months. The DVIR, the certification of repairs and the driver’s review are kept for three months from the date the report was prepared.
- Electronic is explicitly allowed. An FMCSA final rule published in February 2026 added language to 396.11 and 396.13 confirming that DVIRs may be created and maintained electronically, in line with 49 CFR 390.32. Paper is still allowed too.
Motentra handles the record-keeping half: the checklist, the defects and notes, the driver, the trailer, the date, and a task for every defect until it is done. Your safety manager still owns the program — repair certification, driver review and retention policy. For the full walk-through, read DVIR requirements: 49 CFR 396.11 explained.
The rest of the truck’s record
PM, DOT annuals and trailers
Twenty-four trucking task types, schedules by miles or date, costs and invoices on every job.
See maintenance → DamageDamage on tractors and trailers
Eighteen body areas including tailgate, bed and trailer, with photos, severity and a driver.
See damage tracking → Service & truckingMotentra for your whole fleet
Fleet records, drivers, inspections, damage and maintenance for service fleets and carriers.
See the fleets side →Running DVIRs by the end of the week
No hardware, no ELD swap, no app store.
Load trucks, trailers and drivers
Send your tractors and trailers with VINs, plates and mileage, and add your drivers to the roster. Print a QR code for each truck and trailer.
Drivers run the DVIR
Open the link, scan the truck’s QR, choose pre-trip or post-trip, pick the trailer and work the twelve checkpoints. Their name comes from the roster.
Your shop works the defects
Every defect is a task with a priority. Critical items go to the top, and the truck can sit out of service until the repair is done.
DVIR app FAQ
Do drivers need their own logins?
Is Motentra’s DVIR FMCSA-compliant?
Do drivers have to file a DVIR when nothing is wrong?
How long do we have to keep DVIRs?
Are electronic DVIRs allowed?
Does it cover trailers?
Does it track CDL and medical card expiry?
Does it replace our ELD?
What does it cost?
Guides for carriers
DVIR requirements: 49 CFR 396.11 explained
What carriers must do when a driver reports a defect — and how long to keep the paperwork.
Read the guide → Guide · TruckingThe CDL pre-trip inspection checklist
A walk-around in the order drivers do it, with the numbers each air brake test has to hit.
Read the checklist → Guide · TruckingDOT annual inspection requirements
How often each truck and trailer needs one, who may inspect and the records you keep for 14 months.
Read the guide → Guide · TruckingMinimum tire tread depth for trucks
4/32 inch on steer tires, 2/32 on the rest, and where to set your own replacement line.
Read the guide → Guide · All fleetsHow to build a preventive maintenance schedule
Intervals by miles, date or engine hours, and a PM A/B/C template you can adapt.
Get the template → ProductAll Motentra inspections
DVIRs, walk-arounds and DSP end-of-shift checks, compared side by side.
See inspections →