387.301(a) — Carrier -Motor carrier shall not engage in interstate or foreign commerce without proof of public liability and property damage insurance as required in 49 CFR 38
FMCSA violation code under General/Admin. 2,899 events recorded in roadside inspections. Severity weight: N/A.
Violation code 387.301(a) is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations citation issued under 49 CFR 387.301. 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) General/Admin 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. 2,899 citations have been recorded against this code in the FMCSA inspection record.
- Code:
- 387.301(a)
- Code System:
- FMCSR
- BASIC Category:
- General/Admin
- OOS Eligible:
- No
- Severity Weight:
- N/A
- Total Events:
- 2,899
- Carriers Cited:
- 2,642
Ranks #466 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency • OOS rate of 0.1% is below the FMCSR-wide average of 33.4%.
What 387.301(a) means
Carrier -Motor carrier shall not engage in interstate or foreign commerce without proof of public liability and property damage insurance as required in 49 CFR 38
Not Out-of-Service eligible by itself; the citation still feeds the carrier's BASIC percentile when scored.
2,899 citations recorded in the FMCSA inspection mirror across 2,642 carriers.
Ranks #466 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 General/Admin 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. Note: 2 co-occurring OOS flags appear on inspections that also cited 387.301(a) — those OOS orders came from other defects on the same stop.
What inspectors typically check
Administrative and general regulatory violations including operating authority, insurance filing, and registration requirements.
- Operating authority and insurance filing status
- USDOT marking / URS registration requirements
- Lease, interchange, and other administrative filings
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: WESTERN EXPRESS INC (18 citations). 2,642 carriers have at least one 387.301(a) citation in the mirror — open a carrier's inspection list to see whether this code is a pattern or a one-off.
Violation Description
Carrier -Motor carrier shall not engage in interstate or foreign commerce without proof of public liability and property damage insurance as required in 49 CFR 38
Regulatory Reference
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
This violation references 49 CFR 387.301 in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Top Carriers Cited
Ranked by frequency • 2,642 carriers total • Page 1 of 106
| # | Carrier | USDOT | # Violations |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | WESTERN EXPRESS INC | 511412 | 18 |
| #2 | SWIFT TRANSPORTATION COMPANY OF ARIZONA LLC | 54283 | 17 |
| #3 | J B HUNT TRANSPORT INC | 80806 | 7 |
| #4 | FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION | 86876 | 5 |
| #5 | US XPRESS INC | 303024 | 5 |
| #6 | NEW PRIME INC | 3706 | 5 |
| #7 | SCHNEIDER NATIONAL CARRIERS INC | 264184 | 5 |
| #8 | STG DRAYAGE LLC | 688143 | 4 |
| #9 | MARTEN TRANSPORT LTD | 74432 | 4 |
| #10 | VIP TRANSPORT LLC | 3475211 | 4 |
| #11 | APX SHIPPING INC | 4020095 | 4 |
| #12 | BIG ALS AUTOMOTIVE LLC | 1786240 | 4 |
| #13 | COVENANT TRANSPORT LLC | 273818 | 4 |
| #14 | UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC | 21800 | 4 |
| #15 | SAFE TRANSPORT LLC | 2485172 | 3 |
| #16 | CRETE CARRIER CORPORATION | 73705 | 3 |
| #17 | FPS LOGISTICS LLC | 3806865 | 3 |
| #18 | FERGUSON ENTERPRISES LLC | 282018 | 3 |
| #19 | GREENWOOD MOTOR LINES INC | 63391 | 3 |
| #20 | GURJOT TRANSPORTATION CORP | 3098157 | 3 |
| #21 | PAPE MACHINERY INC | 1018719 | 3 |
| #22 | DAILY AMERICAN INC | 1839032 | 3 |
| #23 | DULAY HOLDING CARRIER LLC | 1568244 | 3 |
| #24 | RESERVE TRUCK LINES LTD CO | 3175112 | 3 |
| #25 | CHEEMA TRUCKLINE LLC | 3014873 | 3 |
Recent Inspections
Latest inspections where 387.301(a) was cited • 2,899 total events • Page 1 of 116
| Date | Report # | State | Level | OOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82910354 | NC | Level 2 | No | |
| 82913639 | CA | Level 2 | No | |
| 82898307 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82898306 | WA | Level 2 | No | |
| 82898294 | WA | Level 2 | No | |
| 82905850 | WI | Level 1 | No | |
| 82897180 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82893023 | SD | Level 3 | No | |
| 82907258 | ID | Level 2 | No | |
| 82906665 | SD | Level 3 | No | |
| 82894464 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82886007 | OH | Level 2 | No | |
| 82889224 | TX | Level 2 | No | |
| 82888176 | MI | Level 1 | No | |
| 82876046 | PR | Level 2 | No | |
| 82907377 | US | Level 1 | No | |
| 82902977 | CA | Level 1 | No | |
| 82889203 | TX | Level 2 | No | |
| 82884986 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82884836 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82884807 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82884477 | WA | Level 3 | No | |
| 82876408 | VA | Level 1 | No | |
| 82876384 | PR | Level 1 | No | |
| 82875824 | WV | Level 2 | No |
How to comply with violation code 387.301(a)
- Locate the regulation in the eCFR. Open https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-387.301 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 requirement carefully: "Carrier -Motor carrier shall not engage in interstate or foreign commerce without proof of public liability and property damage insurance as required in 49 CFR 38" Map it to the specific equipment, driver document, or operational practice it covers.
- 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 387.301(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 387.301(a)
What is FMCSA violation code 387.301(a)? ▾
Is 387.301(a) an out-of-service violation? ▾
What's the severity weight of 387.301(a)? ▾
How many inspections have cited 387.301(a)? ▾
Which BASIC category is 387.301(a) in? ▾
What does a carrier do to fix 387.301(a)? ▾
How is 387.301(a) different from FMCSR section 387.301? ▾
Where can I find the full text of 387.301(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.