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Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-73not60

§31148 Certified Motor Carrier Safety Auditors

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VI— MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS › Part B— COMMERCIAL › Chapter 311— COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY › Subchapter III— SAFETY REGULATION › § 31148

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Require the Secretary of Transportation to finish a rule within 1 year after the law is passed to improve training and create certification for motor carrier safety auditors, including private contractors. Within 1 year after that rule is final, any safety audit or review done after December 31, 2002 must be done by a certified auditor or by a Federal or State employee who was already qualified when the law was enacted. The Secretary may delay that deadline up to 12 months if the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are told why. Private contractors may not give ratings or operating authority. The Secretary oversees and can decertify certified auditors.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §31148

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete a rulemaking to improve training and provide for the certification of motor carrier safety auditors, including private contractors, to conduct safety inspection audits and reviews described in subsection (b).
(b)Not later than 1 year after completion of the rulemaking required by subsection (a), any safety inspection audit or review required by, or based on the authority of, this chapter or chapter 5, 313, or 315 of this title and performed after December 31, 2002, shall be conducted by—
(1)a motor carrier safety auditor certified under subsection (a); or
(2)a Federal or State employee who, on the date of the enactment of this section, was qualified to perform such an audit or review.
(c)If the Secretary determines that subsection (b) cannot be implemented within the 1-year period established by that subsection and notifies the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives of the determination and the reasons therefor, the Secretary may extend the deadline for compliance with subsection (b) by not more than 12 months.
(d)The Secretary may not delegate the Secretary’s authority to private contractors to issue ratings or operating authority, and nothing in this section authorizes any private contractor to issue ratings or operating authority.
(e)The Secretary shall have authority over any motor carrier safety auditor certified under subsection (a), including the authority to decertify a motor carrier safety auditor.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(2), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–159, which was approved Dec. 9, 1999.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Inspector Standards Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, § 5205, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1537, provided that: “Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 4, 2015], the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall revise the

Regulations

under part 385 of title 49, Code of Federal

Regulations

, as necessary, to incorporate by reference the certification standards for roadside inspectors issued by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 31148

Title 49 — Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60