172.404(a) — 172.404(a)
FMCSA violation code under Hazardous Materials. 1 events recorded in roadside inspections. Severity weight: N/A.
Violation code 172.404(a) is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations citation issued under 49 CFR 172.404. It tracks a specific compliance failure recorded against motor carriers and drivers during FMCSA roadside inspections. The code rolls up into the FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) Hazardous Materials BASIC, which feeds the carrier's percentile ranking and prioritization for FMCSA interventions. It applies to interstate motor carriers, drivers, and the commercial motor vehicles they operate; intrastate operators are subject when their state has adopted Part 350 of the FMCSR by reference. 1 citations have been recorded against this code in the FMCSA inspection record.
- Code:
- 172.404(a)
- Code System:
- FMCSR
- BASIC Category:
- Hazardous Materials
- OOS Eligible:
- No
- Severity Weight:
- N/A
- Total Events:
- 1
- Carriers Cited:
- 1
Ranks #2,811 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency • OOS rate of 0.0% is below the FMCSR-wide average of 33.3%.
What 172.404(a) means
Code 172.404(a) is the FMCSA citation for "172.404(a)".
Not Out-of-Service eligible by itself; the citation still feeds the carrier's BASIC percentile when scored.
1 citations recorded in the FMCSA inspection mirror across 1 carriers.
Ranks #2,811 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency.
How to use this code
CSA weight, OOS trigger, inspector focus, fix path, and DataQs — from published FMCSA fields and citation counts on this page
CSA / SMS weight
No published severity weight is on file for this code in our FMCSA dictionary snapshot. Rolls into the Hazardous Materials BASIC. SMS applies time weights (3× / 2× / 1×) over a 24-month window before ranking carriers by percentile.
OOS trigger
This code is not OOS-eligible by itself. It still appears on the inspection report and can move the carrier's BASIC percentile.
What inspectors typically check
FMCSR/HMR violations for improper placarding, shipping paper errors, container issues, and transport regulation failures.
- Placarding and labeling for placardable quantities
- Shipping-paper accuracy and package integrity
- Securement and training documentation for HM loads
Fix and prevent
- Correct the underlying condition and document the fix (date, work performed, who signed off).
- Build a recurring check (pre-trip, file audit, or supervisor review) that targets the requirement in the regulation text above.
- Keep the correction in the compliance file — undocumented fixes look the same as non-compliance in a review.
DataQs challenge grounds
Carriers and drivers can file a Request for Data Review within 24 months when the record itself looks wrong. Common accepted grounds:
- Wrong violation code for the condition the inspector described
- Citation attributed to the wrong USDOT, driver, or unit
- Condition was already corrected / not present when the report was finalized
- Supporting evidence (photos, receipts, calibration, ELD extract) contradicts the citation
For brokers and shippers
Most-cited carrier in our table: TITAN TRANSFER INC (1 citations). 1 carriers have at least one 172.404(a) citation in the mirror — open a carrier's inspection list to see whether this code is a pattern or a one-off.
Regulatory Reference
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
This violation references 49 CFR 172.404 in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Top Carriers Cited
Ranked by frequency • 1 carriers total
| # | Carrier | USDOT | # Violations |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | TITAN TRANSFER INC | 845505 | 1 |
Recent Inspections
Latest inspections where 172.404(a) was cited • 1 total events
How to comply with violation code 172.404(a)
- Locate the regulation in the eCFR. Open https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-172.404 on eCFR.gov to read the legal text the citation is written against. The eCFR is the National Archives' continuously updated electronic Code of Federal Regulations and is the canonical reference for any FMCSR section.
- Determine if your operation is subject. Confirm whether your operation is interstate (always subject to the FMCSR) or intrastate (subject when your state has adopted 49 CFR Part 350 by reference; most have). Intrastate operators in non-adopting states may be subject to a state analog instead of the federal rule.
- Identify the documented requirement. Read the regulation text from Step 1 and identify the specific equipment, driver document, or operational practice the rule covers. Citations under 172.404(a) hinge on whether that specific requirement was met at the moment of the inspection.
- Inspect or maintain to standard. Build a recurring inspection, training, or filing routine that catches this gap before a roadside inspector does. Pre-trip checks, scheduled preventive maintenance, driver-qualification file audits, and supervisor reviews are the standard places this kind of issue is caught early.
- Document compliance to demonstrate it on review. Keep a dated, signed record of each inspection, repair, training session, or filing tied to 172.404(a). During an FMCSA compliance review or a customer onboarding audit, the documentation is what proves the program runs — undocumented compliance is indistinguishable from non-compliance to the auditor.
Frequently asked questions about 172.404(a)
What is FMCSA violation code 172.404(a)? ▾
Is 172.404(a) an out-of-service violation? ▾
What's the severity weight of 172.404(a)? ▾
How many inspections have cited 172.404(a)? ▾
Which BASIC category is 172.404(a) in? ▾
What does a carrier do to fix 172.404(a)? ▾
How is 172.404(a) different from FMCSR section 172.404? ▾
Where can I find the full text of 172.404(a)? ▾
About FMCSA violation codes
Every violation found during an FMCSA roadside inspection is recorded under a code drawn from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations — the codified safety rules motor carriers, drivers, and commercial motor vehicles must comply with in interstate commerce. Codes roll up into one of seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Crash Indicator. Each code carries a published severity weight (1–10) and an Out-of-Service eligibility flag.
Citations counted in the FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) feed a 24-month rolling percentile rank for every motor carrier. Recent citations weigh more heavily than older ones — FMCSA applies a 3× multiplier to events 0–6 months old, 2× for 6–12 months, and 1× for 12–24 months. Carriers above the published intervention threshold for a given BASIC are prioritized for warning letters, focused investigations, and full compliance reviews.
TruckCodex mirrors the FMCSA Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and the published violation dictionary on a daily refresh cycle. We do not author or modify violation records — every count, severity weight, and OOS flag on this page reflects what the FMCSA has on file. For real-time confirmation immediately before an enforcement decision, click through to the FMCSA Violations Search link above. Carriers who believe a citation was recorded in error can file a Request for Data Review through the FMCSA DataQs system.
Related Records
Data sources & freshness
TruckCodex aggregates official public-sector datasets. See the Source registry for dataset-level coverage and the Freshness log for last-import timestamps.
Census, SAFER, SMS, Licensing & Insurance (L&I), roadside inspections, crashes, and authority history.
Vehicle recall campaigns, defect investigations, and consumer safety complaints (SCRS).
Cross-border carrier registry and Canadian recall campaigns where applicable.
TruckCodex is an independent aggregator; it is not affiliated with FMCSA, NHTSA, EIA, or Transport Canada. Always verify compliance-critical information directly with the originating agency.