FMCSA safety rating
The formal safety rating FMCSA issues to a motor carrier after a compliance review. Three possible values: Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory. A fourth state — Not Rated — is the default for carriers that have not yet received a compliance review, which is the majority of registered carriers.
Why it matters
The safety rating is the formal federal determination, distinct from the rolling SMS percentile measures. A Satisfactory rating is the federal sign-off that the carrier passed a compliance review. A Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating signals that the review found problems serious enough to require corrective action or, in the Unsatisfactory case, to potentially bar the carrier from interstate operation.
Where it appears in a Hoffman Report
The Hoffman Report's Federal record summary shows the FMCSA safety rating on file and the date the rating was assigned. A rating from 2002 doesn't mean the carrier has been Satisfactory for 24 years; it means the last compliance review was in 2002. Rolling SMS percentile measures are how federal oversight tracks safety performance in the years between formal reviews.
Related terms
FMCSA safety rating is a federal determination. The rating shown on a Hoffman Report reflects what is on file with FMCSA at the time of the most recent monthly data refresh. The authoritative source is FMCSA SAFER.