Safety Rating
A rating assigned by FMCSA after a compliance review: Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory. An Unsatisfactory rating can trigger an out-of-service order. However, most carriers have never been reviewed and carry no rating — absence of a rating does not indicate safety. CarrierOk includes safety rating status in carrier profiles.
Definition
A safety rating is an evaluation assigned by FMCSA after conducting an on-site compliance review of a motor carrier's operations. There are three possible ratings: Satisfactory (the carrier has adequate safety management controls), Conditional (the carrier has deficiencies that need corrective action but can continue operating), and Unsatisfactory (the carrier has critical safety deficiencies). An Unsatisfactory rating is serious — FMCSA can issue an operations out-of-service order that forces the carrier to cease all operations within 45 days of the final rating (or sooner in imminent hazard situations). However, the most important thing to understand about safety ratings is that the vast majority of carriers have never been reviewed. FMCSA has limited resources to conduct compliance reviews and prioritizes carriers already flagged by CSA data. As a result, having no safety rating is the most common status and tells you nothing about the carrier's actual safety performance. This is why data-driven approaches using BASIC percentiles and ISS scores are more valuable for risk assessment — they cover carriers with inspection history regardless of whether FMCSA has conducted a formal compliance review. CarrierOk includes the safety rating (safety_rating_desc) and the type of review that produced it (latest_review_type_desc) in the carrier profile.
Why It Matters
For Underwriters
A Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating is an automatic decline for most programs, but the absence of a rating means nothing — you must use BASICs and ISS as primary screens because most carriers will never receive a formal safety rating.
For Brokers
An Unsatisfactory rating means the carrier faces imminent shutdown — never tender loads to a carrier with this status. A Conditional rating is a yellow flag warranting extra scrutiny on the specific deficiencies cited.
For Developers
Treat safety_rating_desc as a categorical override — if it's 'Unsatisfactory,' block the carrier regardless of other scores. But don't use 'no rating' as a positive signal, since most carriers simply haven't been reviewed.
Key Values
| Satisfactory | Adequate safety management controls |
| Conditional | Deficiencies require corrective action |
| Unsatisfactory | Critical deficiencies, potential shutdown |
| Not Rated | Most carriers — never formally reviewed |
In the API
/v2/profileRelated Fields
safety_rating_desclatest_review_type_desccrashes_totalinspections_totalviolations_totalFrequently Asked Questions
What are the FMCSA safety ratings?
FMCSA assigns three safety ratings: Satisfactory (adequate safety management), Conditional (deficiencies requiring corrective action), and Unsatisfactory (critical safety failures that can lead to a shutdown order). These ratings are assigned after an on-site compliance review of the carrier's operations, records, and safety management controls.
What happens if a carrier has no safety rating?
Having no safety rating is the most common status — the vast majority of carriers have never undergone a formal FMCSA compliance review. No rating does not mean the carrier is safe or unsafe; it simply means FMCSA hasn't reviewed them. This is why BASIC percentiles and ISS scores are more useful for day-to-day risk assessment, since they're available for any carrier with inspection history.
What triggers an FMCSA compliance review?
FMCSA prioritizes compliance reviews based on CSA data — carriers with multiple elevated BASIC percentiles, high ISS scores, or involvement in fatal crashes are most likely to be selected. New entrants also receive a safety audit within their first 18 months. Complaints from the public, whistleblower tips, and post-crash investigations can also trigger reviews. Resource constraints mean FMCSA conducts far fewer reviews than the carrier population warrants.
Related Terms
CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability)
FMCSA's enforcement and compliance program that uses the Safety Measurement System to identify and prioritize high-risk motor carriers for intervention. CSA drives BASIC percentile scores, warning letters, and compliance reviews. CarrierOk provides all 7 BASIC percentiles, alert flags, and historical trend data via API.
BASIC Percentile
A 0-100 peer-relative safety score across seven FMCSA categories: Unsafe Driving, HOS, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances, Driver Fitness, Hazmat, and Crash Indicator. Higher is worse. CarrierOk computes all 7 BASICs including the two FMCSA withholds from public view.
ISS Score (Inspection Selection System)
FMCSA's composite 1-100 algorithm for prioritizing carriers at roadside inspections. Higher scores mean higher inspection probability. The insurance industry widely uses ISS as a single-number risk indicator because it synthesizes multiple BASIC dimensions. CarrierOk serves ISS scores via the iss_score API field.
New Entrant
A motor carrier registered with FMCSA for less than 18 months, subject to a New Entrant Safety Audit. New entrants have limited inspection history, making traditional risk scoring unreliable. CarrierOk flags new entrants in risk_signals and provides a New Registrants feed for discovering newly authorized carriers.