CVSA Out-of-Service Criteria: What Parks a Driver or a Truck

Quick answer: The North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria are published by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and identify the violations serious enough that a driver, vehicle, or cargo may not continue until the condition is fixed. Driver OOS conditions (for example, exceeding hours-of-service limits or driving without a valid CDL) park the driver; vehicle OOS conditions (critical defects in systems like brakes or steering) park the truck. The criteria are updated by CVSA regularly — the CVSA publication itself, not secondhand summaries, is the authority for any specific threshold.

Regulatory-change disclaimer: Last reviewed July 17, 2026. The OOS criteria are a CVSA publication updated on a recurring cycle, and the underlying rules are FMCSRs that also change. This page deliberately explains the framework rather than restating numeric thresholds — confirm specifics in the current CVSA criteria and the eCFR before relying on them. Not legal advice.

What the OOS criteria are

Inspectors find violations of many severities. The OOS criteria are the line CVSA draws through that list: conditions judged to present an imminent hazard get an out-of-service order, meaning the driver or vehicle may not operate until the condition is corrected. Everything else still goes on the inspection report — it just doesn't stop the trip on the spot.

Whose rule is what, clearly separated:

• Federal regulation: the safety requirements themselves — brakes (Part 393), maintenance (Part 396), hours (Part 395), driving rules (Part 392).
• CVSA criteria: which violations of those rules rise to out-of-service severity. CVSA updates and publishes the criteria; enforcement across North America applies the same edition.
• One regulatory OOS baked into the FMCSRs directly: 49 CFR 392.5 — a driver found consuming or in possession of alcohol, or with any measured alcohol concentration, is placed out of service for 24 hours (possession as part of a manifested shipment excepted).

Why the criteria exist

Uniformity. Without a shared standard, a brake defect might park a truck in one state and roll through the next. The criteria give every certified inspector the same line, which is also why they are worth understanding rather than fearing: the line is written down.

Who they apply to

Every CMV driver and vehicle subject to roadside inspection in participating jurisdictions across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico — company drivers and owner-operators alike.

Driver OOS vs vehicle OOS, step by step

Driver out-of-service

The driver may not drive until the condition clears. Typical categories (per the CVSA criteria — check the current edition for specifics):

• Hours of service — driving past the limits; the OOS ends when enough off-duty time restores legal hours. Deep dives: 11-hour limit · 14-hour window.
• License and credentials — no valid CDL for the vehicle class, suspended or disqualified status, missing required medical qualification. See The DOT Medical Card.
• Impairment — alcohol and drug conditions, including the 392.5 24-hour alcohol OOS above and the prohibited status covered in drug and alcohol testing rules.
• Records — no record of duty status where required (why the paper-log routine in ELD Malfunctions matters).

Vehicle out-of-service

The vehicle may not be driven until repaired. The criteria address critical safety systems — brakes, steering, tires, wheels, coupling, frames, suspension, lighting where required, and cargo securement — at defect severities the CVSA publication defines item by item. A vehicle OOS often means a mobile repair or tow before the trip resumes.

Cargo/hazmat out-of-service

Securement failures and hazardous-materials violations can place the cargo or the whole operation out of service under the same framework.

Real-world example

Example (illustration, not legal advice): At a Level II, the inspector finds a brake hose chafed through its outer layer and an air leak she can hear. Whether that specific condition is OOS is exactly what the CVSA criteria answer — she looks it up in the current edition, not from memory. If it is, the truck sits until it is repaired and the repair is verifiable; if not, it is a violation on the report you must still fix. Either way, your pre-trip would have found the hose first — for the cost of a hose.

Common mistakes

• Learning thresholds from the fuel-island lawyer. Brake-adjustment numbers, tread depths, percentages: quote the current CVSA publication or don't quote at all.
• Driving "just to the next exit" on an OOS order. Operating under an OOS order is itself a serious violation with consequences for driver and carrier.
• Assuming OOS is only about trucks — driver conditions (hours, license, medical) park more careers than brake shoes do.
• Treating an OOS as the end of the process. Repairs get certified, hours recover — and inaccurate reports can be disputed through DataQs.

Compliance risks

OOS violations carry heavy weight in the Safety Measurement System and are tracked in carrier and driver histories; operating in violation of an OOS order escalates everything. The framework's whole design means most OOS conditions were findable before the trip — by inspection, by log discipline, by maintenance.

Driver checklist

• Know your hours before every dispatch — the most common driver OOS is arithmetic.
• Carry a valid CDL and current medical certificate; know your Clearinghouse status.
• Pre-trip the critical systems daily: brakes, steering, tires, coupling, securement, lights.
• Zero alcohol anywhere near duty — 392.5's 24-hour OOS has no de minimis.
• If placed OOS: fix the condition, get it documented, and never move before it clears.

Keep learning

• The inspection that applies these criteria: DOT Inspection Levels 1–8 Compared · Level 1 DOT Inspection Explained
• The clocks behind driver OOS: CDL Hours of Service Rules
• Where violations land: CSA Scores and the SMS · disputes via DataQs
• Free drills: General Knowledge practice test · Air Brakes
• Build OOS-proof habits: TLWS Academy · email list.