How Long Does a CSA Violation Stay on Your Record?
Most carriers know violations do not stay in their CSA score forever. The harder question is what “forever” actually means across FMCSA’s different safety systems.
For SMS percentile calculations, the key window is 24 months. After that, the violation drops out of the SMS calculation. But that does not mean the record disappears everywhere.
The 24-Month SMS Window
FMCSA's Safety Measurement System runs on a rolling 24-month window, recalculated monthly. Every month, anything older than two years drops out. What's left gets time-weighted so recent performance counts more.
| Time Since Inspection | Severity Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 0–6 months | 3x |
| 7–12 months | 2x |
| 13–24 months | 1x |
| 25+ months | Removed from calculation |
A violation with a base severity weight of 5 contributes 15 points to your BASIC in the first six months. Ten points in months 7–12. Five in months 13–24. Then it's gone.
Carriers who understand this use it strategically. They can generally anticipate when a high-severity violation will age from 3x to 2x, and they can build a monthly review cadence around those changes.
SMS BASICs are updated monthly, so it’s worth building a regular review cadence around your BASIC percentile rankings.
“We see carriers breathe a sigh of relief when a high-severity violation hits the 7-month mark and drops from 3x to 2x weighting. But the real strategy is not waiting for time to fix your score, it's filing DataQs on inaccurate violations and running clean inspections to dilute the bad ones.”
Three Systems, Three Different Timelines
This is where fleet managers get confused. SMS is the system most people mean when they talk about “CSA scores,” but not every SMS detail is public. For property carriers, some BASIC information is publicly available, while Crash Indicator and Hazardous Materials Compliance BASICs require login access and are available to the carrier or enforcement users.
| System | What It Contains | Practical Timeline | Who Sees It |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS | BASIC measures and percentiles used for prioritization | Generally based on applicable inspections and crashes from the past 24 months, with recent events weighted more heavily | Public view includes some BASIC information; non-public BASICs require login or enforcement access |
| MCMIS / FMCSA safety data | Source data behind crash and inspection records | FMCSA policy requires at least 3 years of inspection records and 5 years of crash records; archived records may still exist, so avoid treating this as one simple “5-year record” for every data type | FMCSA, state systems, and downstream safety-data tools |
| PSP | Individual driver inspection and crash history | 3 years of inspection records and 5 years of FMCSA-reportable crashes | Carriers using PSP with required consent; drivers reviewing their own record |
For hiring: PSP reports show three years of driver inspection history and five years of FMCSA-reportable crash history. That means a driver’s inspection history may still appear in PSP even after related violations are no longer part of a carrier’s 24-month SMS calculation.
For insurance underwriting: Insurers may review SMS, SAFER/company snapshot information, loss history, and FMCSA/MCMIS-derived safety data when evaluating risk. A cleaner recent SMS trend helps, but it does not necessarily erase the broader safety record an insurer may consider.
For litigation: A lawsuit can involve discovery of safety records, inspection history, crash history, and your company’s corrective-action documentation. Your current SMS score does not tell the whole story, so keep clear records of how your team investigated issues, coached drivers, repaired equipment, and corrected inaccurate data when appropriate.
Crashes Are Different
FMCSA-reportable crashes are included in carrier and driver reports without assigning fault or responsibility. For SMS Crash Indicator, applicable crashes are generally evaluated within the 24-month SMS window, while PSP reports include five years of FMCSA-reportable crash history.
One important caveat: crashes reviewed and determined “Not Preventable” through FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Determination Program are excluded from the carrier’s Crash Indicator BASIC calculation and noted in PSP.
DataQs: Removing Violations Before 24 Months
Not every violation on your record is accurate. Wrong carrier assignments, incorrect violation codes, factual errors in inspection reports — these happen more often than you'd think, and carriers routinely leave bad data sitting there because they don't bother to challenge it.
FMCSA’s DataQs system lets carriers, drivers, and other stakeholders request review of federal or state crash and inspection data they believe is incomplete or incorrect. If the responsible agency corrects the record, that correction can flow into downstream systems. However, SMS and PSP update monthly, so the visible impact may not appear the same day the DataQs decision is made.
| Challenge Type | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Wrong carrier or USDOT number | Strongest when documentation clearly shows the wrong carrier was assigned |
| Incorrect or duplicate violation | Requires evidence that the violation was recorded incorrectly, listed multiple times, or does not match the inspection facts |
| Severity weight dispute | Usually not a simple DataQs correction unless the underlying violation or citation record supports a change |
| Crash preventability through CPDP | Applies only to eligible crash types and requires a police accident report plus supporting documentation |
A successful correction can remove or change the impact of inaccurate data in the appropriate FMCSA systems, but SMS and PSP updates follow FMCSA’s monthly update cycle. Because snapshot and upload timing can vary, build a regular review cadence rather than relying on one specific date.
Don't wait six months to review inspection reports. Review them within 30 days, while the details are fresh and documentation is accessible.
When inaccurate data is involved, that can be one of the fastest levers for improving your CSA score.
Foley helps carriers monitor CSA and FMCSA safety signals through the Foley Platform and keep related compliance workflows, driver records, MVR monitoring, drug testing, Clearinghouse activity, and documentation easier to manage. Learn more about CSA score management.
Frequently asked questions
How long do CSA violations affect my SMS score?
CSA violations affect your SMS percentile for 24 months from the inspection date. Violations are time-weighted within that window: 3x severity for months 0-6, 2x for months 7-12, and 1x for months 13-24. After 24 months, the violation is removed from the calculation automatically.
What is the difference between SMS and MCMIS retention?
SMS uses a 24-month rolling window for BASIC percentile calculations. MCMIS retains raw inspection and violation data for 5 years. PSP reports show 5 years of crash data and 3 years of inspection data. Each system serves a different purpose with a different retention period.
Can I get a CSA violation removed before 24 months?
Yes. Submit a DataQs challenge at dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov for violations recorded in error: wrong carrier assignment, incorrect violation code, or factual inaccuracy. Successful challenges remove the violation from SMS calculations immediately upon resolution.
Do violations drop off automatically after 24 months?
Yes. FMCSA's monthly SMS update automatically removes inspection data older than 24 months from the percentile calculation. No carrier action is required.
How does time weighting affect my CSA score?
A violation with a base severity weight of 5 points contributes 15 points in months 0-6 (3x), 10 points in months 7-12 (2x), and 5 points in months 13-24 (1x). This means a single recent violation has triple the impact of the same violation at 18 months old.
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