Free Pre and Post Trip Vehicle Inspection Forms for Drivers

Type 1 beside each part with a defect, then print the sheet.

Pre and Post Trip Inspection Form (unofficial)

Pre-trip

Sheet

Pre-trip: a column for each day. Totals fill in as scores are typed.
	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Date
Vehicle number
Trailer or towed vehicle
Service brakes and trailer brake connections
Parking (hand) brake
Steering mechanism
Lighting devices and reflectors
Tires
Vehicle horn
Windshield wiper or wipers
Rear-vision mirrors
Coupling devices
Wheels and rims
Emergency equipment
Defects found
Cargo distributed and secured
Tailgate, doors, tarps and spare
View, movement and exit clear
Last report reviewed

Type a score and the totals fill in.

Scoring key

Unofficial sheet: Not an agency's, a state's or an employer's form. The federal rule prescribes no form, only what a report covers.
A 1 in a day's box: A defect found on that day's check. An empty box is a part that passed.
The eleven parts: From 49 CFR 392.7(a), the list a driver goes through before the vehicle moves, in the rule's order.

Dates and marks stay in this browser until you press Start a new sheet.

Next step Coupling and trailer brake questions Practice questions from 49 CFR

All 52 lines

Date and vehicle 3

Date The day of the check. A carrier keeps a driver's report for three months from the date it was prepared: 49 CFR 396.11(a)(4).
Trailer or towed vehicle The federal report is prepared on each vehicle operated (396.11(a)(1)); California's rule asks it to identify the motor vehicle and all towed vehicles (13 CCR 1215(e)).
Vehicle number The report must identify the vehicle: 49 CFR 396.11(a)(2)(i).

The eleven parts of 49 CFR 392.7(a) and 396.11(a)(1) 12

Coupling devices What joins the vehicles of a combination: 396.11(a)(1)(ix). Appendix A to Part 396, item 2, lists fifth wheels, pintle hooks, drawbars, safety devices and saddle-mounts under this name.
Defects found Adds the 1s in the eleven part rows for each day.
Emergency equipment Last on each list: 396.11(a)(1)(xi). Section 393.95 as it reads today covers fire extinguishers and warning devices for stopped vehicles.
Lighting devices and reflectors Lamps and reflectors share one line of the report: 396.11(a)(1)(iv). The table of required ones is in section 393.11.
Parking (hand) brake Called the parking (hand) brake in 392.7(a) and in California's list, and the parking brake in 396.11(a)(1)(ii).
Rear-vision mirrors Rear-vision mirror or mirrors in 392.7(a); rear vision mirrors in 396.11(a)(1)(viii).

Show all 52 lines (43 more)

The eleven parts of 49 CFR 392.7(a) and 396.11(a)(1), continued

Service brakes and trailer brake connections First on both federal lists, which say service brakes including trailer brake connections: 49 CFR 392.7(a); 396.11(a)(1)(i).
Steering mechanism Third on each list: 396.11(a)(1)(iii). Part 393 sets its limits, such as steering wheel lash, in section 393.209.
Tires One line for the tires: 396.11(a)(1)(v). Tread depth and tire condition are the subject of section 393.75.
Vehicle horn Sixth on each list: 396.11(a)(1)(vi). The equipment rule for it is section 393.81.
Wheels and rims Tenth on each list: 396.11(a)(1)(x). Section 393.205 covers cracked or broken wheels and rims and missing or loose nuts.
Windshield wiper or wipers Windshield wiper or wipers in 392.7(a); windshield wipers in the report rule, 396.11(a)(1)(vii).

Cargo, before driving (49 CFR 392.9) 3

Cargo distributed and secured Type 1 if the load is not properly distributed and adequately secured: 49 CFR 392.9(a)(1).
Tailgate, doors, tarps and spare Type 1 if the tailgate, tailboard, doors, tarpaulins, spare tire or other equipment, or the means of fastening the cargo, is not secured: 392.9(a)(2).
View, movement and exit clear Type 1 if cargo or another object hides the view ahead or to the sides, gets in the way of the driver's arms or legs, or blocks emergency accessories or the way out of the cab: 392.9(a)(3).

Report lines and signatures 5

Carrier: repaired or not needed The motor carrier or its agent certifies on a report that lists a defect that it has been repaired, or that repair is unnecessary, before the vehicle is operated again: 396.11(a)(3)(ii).
Defect or deficiency found The report lists any defect or deficiency found by or reported to the driver that would affect the safety of operation or result in a mechanical breakdown: 396.11(a)(2)(i).
Driver's signature The driver must sign the report. On a two-driver operation one signature is enough, provided both agree on the defects: 396.11(a)(2)(ii).
Last report reviewed Before driving, the driver reviews the last driver vehicle inspection report, if one had to be written, and signs it: 49 CFR 396.13(b) and (c).
Next driver's signature The next driver signs to acknowledge having reviewed the report and that the repair certification is there: 396.13(c).

Intermodal chassis: the nine components of 49 CFR 396.11(b)(1) 10

Air line connections, hoses and couplers 396.11(b)(1)(iv).
Brakes 396.11(b)(1)(i). Before taking the equipment on the road, 392.7(b) has the driver look at the service brake parts that can be seen without going under the vehicle, and at the trailer brake connections.
Chassis defects found Adds the 1s in the nine component rows.
King pin upper coupling device 396.11(b)(1)(v).
Lamps, markers and conspicuity marking Lighting devices, lamps, markers and conspicuity marking material: 396.11(b)(1)(ii).
Locking pins, clevises, clamps or hooks 396.11(b)(1)(viii).
Rails or support frames 396.11(b)(1)(vi).
Sliders or sliding frame lock 396.11(b)(1)(ix).
Tie down bolsters 396.11(b)(1)(vii).
Wheels, rims, lugs, tires One line for all four, as the rule writes it: 396.11(b)(1)(iii).

Intermodal chassis: report contents 6

Damage or defect found All damage, defects or deficiencies that would affect the safety of operation of the equipment or result in its mechanical breakdown on public roads: 396.11(b)(2)(iv).
Date and time submitted 49 CFR 396.11(b)(2)(iii).
Equipment number A unique identifying number for the item of intermodal equipment: 396.11(b)(2)(ii).
Motor carrier and USDOT number The name of the motor carrier responsible for the equipment when the damage or defect was found, and its USDOT number: 396.11(b)(2)(i) and (ii).
Provider's USDOT number The intermodal equipment provider's USDOT number: 396.11(b)(2)(ii).
Signature of the driver Signed by whoever prepared the chassis report: 396.11(b)(2)(v).

California daily report (13 CCR 1215) 3

Carrier: corrected or not needed The motor carrier or its authorized agent certifies on a report that lists a defect that it has been corrected, or that correction is unnecessary, before the vehicle is again dispatched: 13 CCR 1215(f)(1).
Driver's signature, every report In all instances the driver signs the vehicle inspection report: 13 CCR 1215(e).
No defect or deficiency found If no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver, California's rule asks the report to say so: 13 CCR 1215(e).

Key 10

A 1 in a day's box A defect found on that day's check. An empty box is a part that passed.
A day with no defect Under the federal rule no written report is needed (49 CFR 396.11(a)(2)(i)). California asks for a signed report every day (13 CCR 1215(c) and (e)).
A second vehicle that day A report is prepared for each vehicle operated that day: 396.11(a)(2)(i).
Before driving in California Inspect each vehicle daily and review the last report: 13 CCR 1215(b)(1).
The eleven parts From 49 CFR 392.7(a), the list a driver goes through before the vehicle moves, in the rule's order.
End of each day's work A written report on each vehicle operated: 13 CCR 1215(c). School bus drivers report on the list in 1215(d), which is not this one.
Exception 1215(h): a carrier operating only one motor truck or truck tractor, as its owner and sole driver.
Two drivers One signature is enough when both agree on the defects: 1215(e).
Unofficial sheet Not an agency's, a state's or an employer's form. The federal rule prescribes no form, only what a report covers.
When Reported to the equipment provider or its agent when the equipment is returned: 49 CFR 396.11(b)(1).

How this list was compiled: From Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, read on ecfr.gov on 2026-10-04 in the text current as of 2026-10-01, and from Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, section 1215. The eleven part rows are the parts and accessories listed in section 392.7(a) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-392.7), which a driver must be satisfied are in good working order before driving, and listed again in section 396.11(a)(1)(i) to (xi) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-396.11) as what the driver's written report covers; they are in the rule's order. The three cargo rows are section 392.9(a)(1) to (3) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-392.9). The lines for a defect and for the signatures follow 396.11(a)(2) and (a)(3) and section 396.13(b) and (c) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-396.13). The intermodal chassis sheet is the list of nine in 396.11(b)(1), with the report contents of 396.11(b)(2); section 392.7(b) was read with it. Sections 393.11, 393.75, 393.81, 393.95, 393.205 and 393.209 and Appendix A to Part 396 are named in a row's line only to say where the equipment rule is. The California sheet follows 13 CCR 1215, subsections (b), (c), (e), (f) and (h), read on 2026-10-04 on a public copy, the Legal Information Institute's at https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/13-CCR-1215, and not on the state's own code site; the copy's history note ends with an amendment operative August 25, 1999. Subsection (d), the separate list for school bus drivers, was read and is not printed. Sections 1202.1 and 1202.2, which say whom that rule covers, were not read, so the sheet says nothing about who must use it. No carrier's, vendor's or agency's form was copied or imitated, and no odometer line is printed because none of the sections read names one. Our own work: the wording of every line and what a 1 in a box means (a defect found on that day's check). This is an unofficial sheet, not a required form and not legal advice. Licence: own work

How it works

These unofficial pre-trip and post-trip sheets list the eleven parts named in 49 CFR 392.7 and 396.11, read October 4, 2026. The federal rule prescribes no form, only what a driver's report must cover.

Read the full guide

Fill in the driver pre-trip inspection form day by day

1. Pick a sheet in the Sheet list: Pre-trip, Post-trip report, Intermodal chassis or California daily report.

2. Type the date and the vehicle number in the top rows.

3. Type 1 beside a part with a defect. Defects found adds up the day.

4. On Pre-trip, press the + beside the column for the next day; that sheet holds four. Each report sheet holds one day.

5. Press Print blank sheet for an empty form, or print the filled sheet. Signatures go on the paper.

Post-trip report is the pre trip and post trip inspection report, with lines for the driver, the carrier and the next driver to sign.
As a pre trip truck inspection log, the Pre-trip sheet has columns for four days of one commercial vehicle.
For a pre post trip inspection PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print dialog.

Questions and answers

Is pre trip inspection time on duty under hours of service?

49 CFR 395.2 counts all time inspecting, servicing or conditioning a commercial motor vehicle as on-duty time. The sections read for this form (392.7, 392.9, 396.11 and 396.13) set no number of minutes for the inspection.

Is a pre trip inspection log no longer needed when nothing is wrong?

Under the federal rule no written report is needed on a day when no defect is found (49 CFR 396.11(a)(2)(i)); California asks for a signed report every day (13 CCR 1215(c) and (e)).

Which pre trip inspection logging regulations does this form follow?

49 CFR 392.7 for the parts a driver checks before driving, 396.11 for the written report at the end of each day's work, and 396.13 for reviewing and signing the last report. The California sheet follows 13 CCR 1215.

What are the mandatory points of inspection of a pre trip inspection?

49 CFR 392.7(a) lists eleven parts and accessories that a driver must be satisfied are in good working order, from service brakes to emergency equipment. They are the eleven part rows of the sheet, in the rule's order.

Is this pre trip vehicle inspection form official or required?

No. It is an unofficial sheet from a private site, not an agency's or a carrier's form. The federal rule lists what the report must cover and allows an electronic one (49 CFR 396.11(a)(6)); it prescribes no form.

Notes

Not a government website. Not legal advice. Forms, fees, appointments and official study materials come only from the agency itself, and its website is linked from the facts on this page.

More notes about this page

This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any government agency, licensing board, exam owner or test center named on it. Agency and exam names are used only to describe what each practice test covers, in plain text and without logos or seals.

Everything here is for study and general information. Rules change, and the statute, the regulation and the agency that runs your exam are the final word. Check the official source before you rely on an answer.

Practice questions do not replace required training, a course, supervised hours or hands-on instruction. Follow the law, the label and your trainer, not a quiz score.

Every question names the statute, regulation or official publication it was written from, and the page shows the date the bank was last checked. If you spot a mistake, please tell us through the contact page.

This sheet is for practice and study, and it is not an official inspection report or a substitute for the inspection that the law or your employer requires.

Some sections on this page were read in a public copy of the code, named with its date under the questions, so check the official code before you rely on an answer.