Commercial Truck & DOT Inspections in Austin, TX

What this inspection is

Modern Diesel performs federal annual (periodic) commercial motor vehicle inspections under 49 CFR §396.17. Inspections are performed and signed by technicians qualified under 49 CFR §396.19, and all brake inspection, service and repair work is performed by technicians qualified under 49 CFR §396.25. Inspector qualification records are maintained at the facility and available on request.

In plain terms: a bumper-to-bumper review of every system the federal standard lists, flagging worn or defective components before they put a truck out of service. The rule lets a carrier have a commercial garage perform the inspection as the carrier's agent, and that is the role we play. You leave with a signed inspection report for your records and a decal on the vehicle.

Three things get called a "DOT inspection"

Only the first one is ours, and it is worth knowing which is which.

1. The federal annual (periodic) inspection — 49 CFR §396.17. Required at least once every 12 months, performed by a qualified inspector, documented by a report and a decal. This is what we do.
2. The CVSA roadside inspection — Levels I through VI. This is not a CVSA roadside inspection. Those are enforcement inspections performed by certified CVSA inspectors, and only they produce a CVSA decal — a repair shop cannot issue one. You do not schedule these; they happen to you.
3. The Texas state vehicle inspection — performed by stations certified by the Texas Department of Public Safety. We are not one yet.

A fourth piece of paperwork gets mixed up with all three: the driver's daily DVIR (49 CFR §396.11). That one we do sign. When a driver writes up a defect, we repair it and sign the mechanic's certification that closes the report — see DVIR repair and certification.

The Texas state inspection is a separate requirement

Modern Diesel is not a Texas state vehicle inspection station. A commercial vehicle that Texas requires to pass its state safety inspection still needs that inspection from a state-certified station — ours does not replace it.

Texas still requires a safety inspection on commercial vehicles. FMCSA treats the Texas program as equivalent to the federal one, and the federal rule says a vehicle that is subject to an equivalent state program meets the annual requirement through that program (49 CFR 396.23). We would rather tell you that here than have you find out at registration.

So, depending on the vehicle:

• If Texas requires the state inspection for it — that state inspection is its annual inspection. Ours is a thorough pre-inspection, with what would fail repaired first, so the unit passes the first time.
• If it is not subject to the Texas program — a unit registered in another state, for example — the federal annual inspection we perform is the one the rule calls for.
• For fleets — the federal standard applied on a schedule, as part of preventive maintenance.

Which of those applies depends on where a vehicle is registered and how it operates. That determination belongs to the carrier; we will tell you plainly what ours is.

One truck or a fleet

A single truck or trailer is welcome: call 512-717-2777 or book online. Bring it in with a couple of weeks of margin before it is due. An inspection on a truck nobody has serviced in a year tends to produce a repair list, and margin is what turns that list into a normal appointment instead of a truck that cannot run.

Two or more vehicles is a fleet. Call fleet sales at 512-273-7351, tell us what you run and when your inspections come due, and we will scope what handling them properly looks like.

What we inspect

• Engine components and accessories
• Cab, safety equipment, and registration
• Suspension, steering, and front end
• Drive train; wheels, hubs, and axles
• Brake components and the braking system
• Frame, support, and body
• Lighting and electrical
• Tire condition and inflation

Trailers get their own annual inspection, separate from the tractor — and they are the units most often forgotten. See trailer repair. Not to be confused with the driver's daily DVIR, which is a different requirement under a different rule.

On a compliance calendar, not in your inbox

On a fleet account, inspections are scheduled before they come due — with enough margin that a failed brake or suspension item becomes a repair in the same visit rather than a second appointment and a truck sitting past due. Trailers are tracked separately from tractors, intervals are set by duty cycle rather than by guesswork, and with pickup and delivery your drivers never make the trip at all.

Already have someone managing your fleet? We back them up à la carte through fleet maintenance support — inspections scheduled and performed, your manager still approving every line.

Why Modern Diesel

A Christian, veteran-owned shop serving the Greater Austin Area (Travis, Bastrop, Williamson, Hays), with the training, bays, and equipment to inspect a commercial truck and then actually fix what fails. Call 512-717-2777 for a single unit, or fleet sales at 512-273-7351 if you run two or more.

Responsibility for regulatory compliance remains with the motor carrier or vehicle owner, and an inspection performed by Modern Diesel does not transfer it. Ensuring the inspector is qualified, and retaining the evidence of it, is the carrier's duty under 49 CFR 396.19 — we keep our inspectors' qualification records on file and provide them on request so you can meet it. We are not a Texas state inspection station, so a Texas-registered commercial vehicle still needs its state inspection from a certified one. See our Terms of Use.

Common questions

Do you inspect a single truck, or only fleets?

Both. One truck or trailer can be booked like any other service — call 512-717-2777. Two or more vehicles is a fleet, and on a fleet account we schedule inspections ahead of their due dates so nothing lapses.

Who performs the inspection?

Technicians qualified under 49 CFR §396.19 perform and sign it, and brake inspection, service and repair work is performed by technicians qualified under 49 CFR §396.25. Their qualification records are kept at the shop and available on request, which is what a carrier needs for its own files.

What do I leave with?

A signed inspection report for the carrier’s records and an inspection decal on the vehicle. If something failed, you also get a quote to repair it, usually in the same visit. Keep the report: retaining inspection records is the carrier’s duty under 49 CFR 396.21.

Is this a CVSA inspection? Are you CVSA certified?

No. A CVSA roadside inspection is an enforcement inspection performed by a certified CVSA inspector — at a scale, a checkpoint, or a traffic stop — and it is the only thing that produces a CVSA decal. A repair shop cannot issue one. What we perform is the federal annual inspection a carrier is required to have done every 12 months.

Are you a Texas state inspection station?

No, not yet. A commercial vehicle that Texas requires to pass its state safety inspection still needs that inspection from a state-certified station, and we cannot perform that one.

Does your inspection satisfy my annual DOT requirement?

It depends on the vehicle. A commercial garage may perform the federal annual inspection as the carrier’s agent (49 CFR 396.17). FMCSA also treats the Texas inspection program as equivalent to the federal one, and a vehicle that is subject to an equivalent state program meets the annual requirement through that program (49 CFR 396.23). So if Texas requires the state inspection for your vehicle, that state inspection is your annual inspection and ours is a thorough pre-inspection. If your vehicle is not subject to the Texas program — one registered in another state, for example — the federal annual inspection we perform is the one the rule calls for. Which applies is the carrier’s determination to make.

Is the annual inspection the same as a DVIR? Do you sign DVIRs?

They are different. The DVIR is the driver’s daily report under 49 CFR §396.11; the annual inspection is the periodic one under §396.17. We do both: we perform the annual inspection, and when a driver writes up a defect on a DVIR we repair it and sign the mechanic’s certification that closes the report.

Does the trailer need its own inspection?

Yes. A commercial trailer needs its own annual inspection, separate from the tractor pulling it, and trailers are the units most often forgotten. We inspect both.