Guides
DataQ & CSA score guides for truckers
Straight answers on removing wrongful violations, filing DataQ challenges, and lowering your CSA score. Plain English, grounded in FMCSA rules, written for drivers and fleets.
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Removing violationsHow to remove a violation from your CSA scoreThe step-by-step on getting a wrongful violation off your record through DataQs.Read the guideFiling a challengeHow to dispute a DOT violation and file a DataQWhat a DataQ is, how to file one, and the documentation that actually wins.Read the guideMisassigned violationsAn inspection on your record that isn't yoursWrong USDOT number, a leased or rented truck, a sold unit: how to check it and what proves it.Read the guideCourt resultsYour ticket was dismissed in court: how to get it off your CSA scoreDismissed, not guilty or a different charge: what each court result does in the SMS, and how to file it.Read the guideCSA scoresHow to lower your CSA scoreFive levers from FMCSA's own method: correct wrong data, fix your MCS-150, clean inspections, the cause, time.Read the guideRules & changesNew DataQs rules in 2026: the three-stage review and its deadlinesThe three review stages, the deadlines, what a denial must contain, and how to appeal.Read the guideCSA scoresWhat is a CSA score?Seven BASICs, one percentile each: how the SMS weighs a violation, who sees it, and what changes it.Read the guideCSA scoresHow out-of-service violations count in your CSA scoreWhy an out-of-service violation weighs more, by how much, and for how long.Read the guideViolation typesDOT tire violations: what 49 CFR 393.75 says and how it counts on your CSA scoreThe tire rule word for word, how tire violations are weighted, and what a challenge can fix.Read the guideViolation typesDOT lighting violations: what 49 CFR 393.9 and 393.11 require and how they count on your CSA scoreThe lamp rules word for word, which lamps each vehicle must have, and how lighting violations are weighted.Read the guide
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