FMCSA Fines and Penalties 2026: What Carriers Face, and Why the Amounts Didn't Change

The Short Answer: 2026 FMCSA Fines Are the 2025 Amounts

If you are looking up FMCSA fines for 2026, the maximum civil penalties are exactly what they were in 2025. A recordkeeping violation still runs up to $1,584 per day, capped at $15,846. Most other safety regulation violations by a carrier still run up to $19,246 per violation. Clearinghouse violations are still capped at $7,155.

That is unusual. Federal law normally raises these amounts for inflation every January, and carriers have come to expect a new table each year. This year there is no new table. This post explains why, lists the amounts that apply to motor carriers, and covers the part most penalty tables leave out: how FMCSA decides what you actually pay, and what to do if a Notice of Claim lands on your desk.

Why There Was No 2026 Inflation Adjustment

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 requires federal agencies to adjust their civil penalties every year by January 15. The adjustment is calculated from the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) between October of the prior year and the October before that.

During the fall 2025 government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish October 2025 CPI-U data. Without that figure, the required calculation could not be done. On April 17, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget issued memorandum M-26-11 cancelling the 2026 adjustment government-wide. Agencies were told to keep using their 2025 penalty levels.

Since then, more than a dozen federal agencies have published Federal Register notices confirming they are holding their penalties at 2025 levels, including the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services. FMCSA has not published a separate notice, but its penalty schedule tells the same story. The amounts in Appendix B to 49 CFR Part 386 were last changed by the 2025 adjustment rule published December 30, 2024. FMCSA amended Appendix B twice in 2026, but both changes were wording cleanups (removing obsolete references to water carriers and naming brokers and freight forwarders in a registration provision). No dollar figure moved.

If you see a "2026" FMCSA penalty amount that doesn't match the ones below, check it against Appendix B. That appendix is the official schedule, and it is the only number FMCSA can assess against.

The 2026 Penalty Amounts That Matter to Motor Carriers

These are the maximums in Appendix B to Part 386 as of October 2026. The paragraph reference tells you where to find each one in the regulation.

Violation	Maximum civil penalty	Appendix B
Recordkeeping: failing to prepare or maintain a required record, or keeping an incomplete one	$1,584 per day, up to $15,846	(a)(1)
Knowingly falsifying, destroying, or altering a required record to hide a non-recordkeeping violation	$15,846	(a)(2)
Non-recordkeeping violations of Parts 382 (Subparts A-F), 385, and 390-399 by a carrier or person	$19,246 per violation	(a)(3)
Non-recordkeeping violations by a driver	$4,812	(a)(4)
Clearinghouse violations (Part 382, Subpart G) and most CDL violations (Part 383)	$7,155	(b)
Employer knowingly allowing a CDL holder to drive while under an out-of-service order	$7,155 minimum, up to $39,615	(b)(2)
Failing to maintain required financial responsibility (Part 387)	$21,114, with each day a separate offense	(d)
Operating after a final Unsatisfactory safety rating (non-hazmat)	$34,116, with each day a separate offense	(f)(1)
Operating as a for-hire property carrier without registration	$13,676 minimum per violation	(g)(1)
Failing to let FMCSA inspect or copy records on demand	$1,584 per day, up to $15,846	(h)
Evading regulation	$2,730 to $6,823 for a first violation; $3,409 to $10,224 for later ones	(i)(1)
Knowing hazardous materials violations	$102,348 per violation; up to $238,809 if it causes death, serious illness, or severe injury	(e)

The schedule covers more than this, including household goods, broker, and commercial regulation penalties. The table sticks to the ones that come up most for carriers running drivers.

What the Schedule Means for Your DQ Files

The most useful distinction in the penalty schedule is between a recordkeeping violation and a non-recordkeeping violation, because DQ file problems can fall on either side of that line.

A paperwork gap is generally a recordkeeping violation. Paragraph (a)(1) covers failing to prepare or maintain a record required by Parts 390 through 399, or keeping one that is incomplete or inaccurate. A missing annual review note, an MVR that never made it into the file, or a file with no proof of medical certification are the kinds of gaps this paragraph addresses. The cap is $15,846 for each violation, so ten incomplete files can mean ten separate penalties.

Using a driver who isn't qualified is not a paperwork problem. Letting someone drive without a current medical certification, or using a driver who is disqualified, violates the substantive rules in Part 391, which fall under paragraph (a)(3). That penalty can reach $19,246 per violation.

Clearinghouse violations follow their own schedule. Part 382, Subpart G (the Clearinghouse rules, including the pre-employment full query and the annual query) is penalized under paragraph (b), capped at $7,155 per violation. Our Clearinghouse guide covers what the queries require.

FMCSA decides which provision to cite based on the facts it finds. The practical takeaway is that a missing document costs money, but putting a driver behind the wheel who should not be there costs considerably more. Tracking expirations so that a lapsed medical card gets caught before the next dispatch is what keeps a recordkeeping problem from becoming a qualification problem.

The Maximum Is a Ceiling, Except for Patterns and Repeats

The amounts above are ceilings. Under 49 U.S.C. 521(b)(2)(D) and 49 CFR 386.81, FMCSA sets the actual penalty by weighing:

• The nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation
• The carrier's degree of culpability
• Its history of prior offenses
• The effect on its ability to continue to do business
• Other matters that justice and public safety require

The statute adds that each assessment "shall be calculated to induce further compliance." For an isolated violation, FMCSA weighs these factors and can assess well below the maximum.

Patterns and repeat violations change that math. Section 222 of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (codified as a note to 49 U.S.C. 521) says FMCSA shall assess the maximum civil penalty for each violation when a carrier has committed a pattern of violations of "critical or acute" regulations, or has previously committed the same or a related critical or acute violation. FMCSA can go lower only if it documents extraordinary circumstances, such as a repeat violation that does not reflect a failure to take corrective action.

Several DQ and driver rules are on FMCSA's list of acute and critical regulations in Appendix B to Part 385:

Regulation	Violation	Classification
391.11(b)(4)	Using a physically unqualified driver	Acute
391.15(a)	Using a disqualified driver	Acute
383.37(a)	Allowing a driver to operate without a valid CDL of the right class or endorsements	Acute
391.45(a)	Using a driver not medically examined and certified	Critical
391.45(b)	Using a driver not medically certified in the preceding 24 months	Critical
391.51(a)	Failing to maintain a DQ file on each driver	Critical
391.51(b)(2)	Failing to keep MVR inquiries in the DQ file	Critical
391.51(b)(6)	Failing to keep the medical examiner's certificate in the DQ file	Critical
382.301(a)	Using a driver before receiving a negative pre-employment drug test	Critical

That means a DQ file problem can push you to the maximum in two ways. A pattern of violations of a critical regulation, such as missing medical certification records in several files, calls for the maximum even in a first case. A violation that repeats one FMCSA already found calls for it too. Fixing the problem after the first investigation is what keeps the second one from costing the full amount.

The Bigger Cost: Your Safety Rating

A fine is a one-time expense. A safety rating follows the carrier. In a compliance review, FMCSA groups the regulations into rating factors, and Factor 2 (Driver) covers Parts 382, 383, and 391, which is where nearly every DQ file and drug and alcohol violation lands.

Each violation of an acute regulation, and each pattern of violations of a critical regulation, adds one point to its factor. A pattern means more than one violation, and when FMCSA reviews a set of documents, at least 10 percent of those examined. So a sample of 10 driver files with 2 missing medical certification records (the medical card, or for CDL drivers the CDLIS MVR showing medical status) is a pattern under 391.51(b)(6). One point makes the factor Conditional. Two or more make it Unsatisfactory, and the factor ratings together determine the overall safety rating.

A Conditional rating can raise insurance premiums and cost you shipper contracts. A final Unsatisfactory rating takes the carrier out of service, and operating after that carries the $34,116-per-day penalty in the table above. New carriers go through a separate safety audit in their first year, with its own list of automatic-failure violations, which our new entrant safety audit guide covers in detail.

What Happens If You Get a Notice of Claim

FMCSA has two main enforcement documents, and they are very different.

A Notice of Violation is informal. Under 386.11(b), FMCSA can use it to tell you about alleged violations and what it expects you to fix. If you address the deficiencies to FMCSA's satisfaction, that can be the end of it. If you don't, formal enforcement can follow. Respond to it, and document what you corrected.

A Notice of Claim is a civil penalty proceeding. Under 386.11(c), it states the facts alleged, the regulations violated, the proposed penalty, the statutory maximum, and how to respond. From there, the rules in Part 386 set a firm clock.

You have 30 days to reply

Under 386.14, you have 30 days from service to respond, and you must choose one of three options:

1. Pay the full amount. Payment within the 30 days counts as your response, and no written reply is needed. Payment is an admission of liability for every fact alleged in the notice, unless you and FMCSA agree in writing that it isn't (386.18). Paying ends the case, and the notice becomes the final agency order.
2. Contest the claim through administrative adjudication. You can submit written evidence without a hearing, or request an informal or formal hearing. Your reply must admit or deny each numbered allegation and raise every defense you intend to use. Any allegation you don't specifically deny is treated as admitted, and a general denial is not enough.
3. Request binding arbitration. This lets you dispute the amount, but only if you admit the violations occurred.

A case can also end in a settlement agreement under 386.22, which can reduce the penalty or allow payment over time. Read the terms closely. Missing a payment or a condition of the settlement can reinstate penalties that were held in abeyance and make the original amount due immediately.

Ignoring it makes it worse

If you don't reply within 30 days, FMCSA can issue a Notice of Default and Final Order. The default counts as an admission of every fact alleged, the full proposed penalty becomes the final order, and the order takes effect 5 days after it is served.

Not paying shuts you down

Under 386.83 and 386.84, if you haven't paid a final penalty in full within 90 days of its due date, you are prohibited from operating in interstate commerce starting on the 91st day, and a for-hire carrier's registration is suspended. FMCSA sends a warning notice at 45 days. Installment plans are available, but missing an installment voids the plan, makes the full balance due immediately, and starts the same 90-day clock.

Given how much depends on the reply, it is worth talking to an attorney who handles FMCSA enforcement before choosing an option, especially if you plan to contest.

When the Amounts Will Change Next

The 2015 Act still requires annual adjustments, so the 2026 freeze came from missing data, not a change in the law. The next adjustment may also be affected, because the formula for 2027 compares October 2026 with the missing October 2025 figure, and no guidance has been published yet on how agencies will handle that. Watch the Federal Register for DOT's next adjustment rule. When FMCSA's amounts do change, the new figures will appear in Appendix B to Part 386, and that is the source to check before quoting any number.

The Cheapest Penalty Is the One You Never Get

Most DQ file violations that lead to a penalty come down to a date that slipped: a medical certificate that expired before anyone noticed, an annual MVR review that didn't happen, a new hire's MVRs that never came back within 30 days. Our breakdown of the most common DOT audit violations shows the same handful of items appearing again and again, and the 2026 DQ file checklist lays out every deadline.

Core Compliance tracks 14 document types for every driver and flags anyone missing a required document or with one expiring within 30 days. A Monday email digest lists everything expiring in the next 90 days, and urgent alerts go out at 10, 5, and 1 day before an expiration, so a lapsed medical card gets caught while it is still a reminder instead of a violation.

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