17 new updates to the OOS Criteria now in effect

April 2, 2026

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA’s) latest North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria are now in effect, including 17 changes that took effect April 1.

Motor carrier enforcement personal and industry professionals use these criteria to determine if drivers or vehicles are posing a serious enough hazard to be placed out of service (OOS) during an inspection. Drivers and motor carriers should review the criteria so they’re aware of the safety violations that will put an immediate stop to a vehicle’s operation.

Consider the upcoming Roadcheck event

With International Roadcheck just around the corner on May 12–14 and its 2026 focus on electronic logging device (ELD) tampering and falsification, one particular addition to the criteria is worth noting.

The criteria for placing drivers OOS for log falsification have been clarified to address situations where a record is falsified so much that the officer can’t determine when the driver was driving and/or resting. Drivers will be cited for violating 49 CFR 395.8(e)(2) and placed OOS for 10 hours (or 8 hours for passenger carriers) for ELD tampering that makes the entire record suspect. Officers will continue to cite 395.8(e)(1) for false logs when the officer can determine rest periods and drive time, and will place drivers OOS “until such time as eligibility to drive is re-established.”

Update categories

Changes were made to the following categories. Find more details at CVSA’s 2026 Out-of-Service Criteria.

For drivers

ELD tampering
English-language proficiency violations
License-restriction violations
In-state-restricted drivers
Alcohol content threshold

For vehicles

Air connections
Brake pad thickness
Parking brakes
Log securement
Wire rope
Upper couplers
Rims
Wheel hub lubricant
Emergency exit markings
Placarding

Publish Date

April 2, 2026

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Type

Industry News

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