What happens if you're cited for operating without a satisfactory safety rating. Direct answers on out-of-service risk, CSA points, and next steps.
Ranks #3,037 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency.
Motor carrier operating without a satisfactory safety rating or operating after receiving an unsatisfactory rating.
Direct answers grounded in TruckCodex inspection data
No. Across all roadside inspections in our database, 385.13(a) has never resulted in an out-of-service placement. The OOS rate for this violation is 0.0%, meaning inspectors do not have the authority or practice to immediately ground your vehicle for this citation alone.
However, this is a serious administrative violation that affects your carrier's safety rating. You should address it immediately with your fleet's safety and compliance team.
This violation carries a CSA severity weight of 8, which means it contributes substantially to your carrier's Unsafe Driving or other applicable BASIC categories during the 30-day rolling window used in CSA scoring.
The exact CSA point total depends on how many times the violation occurs within 30 days and which BASIC categories your carrier operates under. One citation at weight 8 will meaningfully impact your carrier's profile.
Yes, significantly. Our inspection records show that related vehicle marking and USDOT compliance violations (like 390.21TB2-DOT with 74,663 citations) dominate the admin category by volume, but 385.13(a) is fundamentally different: it's a carrier-level determination that your operation is unsafe.
While peer codes like 390.21T(b) and 390.21TB1-MC also carry 0.0% out-of-service rates, this violation directly challenges your carrier's authority to operate. It's not a paperwork issue—it's a safety rating issue.
Yes, your carrier can challenge this citation through the DataQs system if the safety rating determination was incorrect or improperly documented. DataQs allows carriers to dispute inspection findings within 15 days of the inspection.
For this type of violation, your carrier should gather evidence showing either (1) the rating was inaccurate, (2) the citation was issued in error, or (3) the rating was already corrected or appealed. Contact your carrier's compliance team to initiate the dispute with FMCSA.
Urgent. Although our inspection records show zero citations for 385.13(a) in the last 90 days, last 12 months, and all-time in this database, this reflects the rarity of the violation—not its lack of importance.
When this violation does occur, it means FMCSA has formally determined your carrier is operating unsafely. Your carrier must address the underlying safety issues immediately. Operating without a satisfactory rating can result in forced out-of-service orders, compliance reviews, or loss of operating authority.
This violation stays with the carrier, not the driver. The citation is issued to the motor carrier for operating without a satisfactory safety rating, which is a carrier-level determination made by FMCSA based on the company's inspection and crash history.
As a driver, you may see it reflected in your carrier's CSA scores and safety metrics, but the violation and its consequences (potential forced out-of-service, compliance monitoring, or operating authority action) apply to the company, not your personal driving record.
This violation is cited when FMCSA issues a formal safety rating determination (Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory) and a carrier continues to operate despite receiving an Unsatisfactory rating, or operates before ever receiving a rating that satisfies federal standards.
The zero-citation count in our database suggests either that most carriers comply with FMCSA safety ratings immediately, or that enforcement of this specific code is rare relative to on-the-road equipment and driver violations. Either way, it indicates this is a serious agency action rather than a routine roadside citation.
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.