The four ratings
- Satisfactory: FMCSA found adequate safety controls.
- Conditional: controls are inadequate in ways that could lead to violations or crashes.
- Unsatisfactory: inadequate controls that have led to those problems. This leads to an out-of-service order.
- Unrated: FMCSA hasn’t done a compliance review. About 94% of eligible interstate carriers were unrated in FMCSA’s 2022 figures.
What brokers accept
The most common rule is “Satisfactory or Unrated”. C.H. Robinson stopped using Conditional and Unsatisfactory carriers in 2026, and many others publish the same rule. A few brokers go further and reject Unrated carriers too. See each broker’s rule on the requirements table.
How to request an upgrade
- Fix what the compliance review found: driver files, hours-of-service records, maintenance, drug and alcohol testing.
- Document the corrective actions: policies, training records, new procedures, proof of the fixes.
- Send a written upgrade request with that evidence to FMCSA under 49 CFR 385.17. You can do this any time.
FMCSA has firm decision deadlines (30 or 45 days) only for Unsatisfactory ratings. There’s no set deadline for a Conditional upgrade, so send a complete package the first time. If the request is denied you can ask for administrative review under 385.15 within 90 days.
While you wait
Apply to brokers that don’t publish a safety-rating rule, keep inspections clean, and track which brokers approve you. The free check shows which brokers your rating currently blocks.
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See which of 23 brokers will approve you.
Enter your USDOT or MC. We pull your FMCSA record and check it against every broker's published rules. No sign-up.
Questions carriers ask
Is Unrated bad?
No. Most small carriers are Unrated and most brokers accept it. Unrated only means FMCSA hasn't done a compliance review.
How long does a Conditional rating last?
Until FMCSA changes it after an upgrade request or a new compliance review. It doesn't expire on its own.
Related guides
- Why your carrier setup got rejected
- Out-of-service rates: how brokers judge yours
- Passing the new entrant safety audit
- Carrier requirements for the top brokers
Sources
- 49 CFR 385.3 definitions (eCFR)
- 49 CFR 385.17 change to safety rating (Cornell LII)
- FreightWaves: feds told to start rating unrated trucking companies (Dec 1, 2023)
- C.H. Robinson: new carrier safety measures (June 5, 2026)
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This guide is general information, not legal or insurance advice.