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Out-of-service violations: how they weigh in SMS

In four BASICs an out-of-service violation adds 2 to its severity weight. The inspection cap of 30 and the time weight still apply, and a conviction of a different charge removes the addition.

On this page

What out-of-service means

FMCSA's SMS Methodology: "The OOS violations must be corrected before the affected driver or vehicle is allowed to return to service." (p. 2-3).

The additional weight of 2

"OOS violations receive an additional severity weight of 2. In cases where there are multiple occurrences of the same violation, this weight applies to any of those violations that meet the OOS conditions." (pp. 3-11–3-12).

Each violation cite counts only once per inspection. If it occurs more than once and any occurrence meets the OOS conditions, the additional weight of 2 applies once (pp. 3-10–3-12).

The HOS Compliance (p. 3-11), Vehicle Maintenance (p. 3-14), HM Compliance (p. 3-20), and Driver Fitness (p. 3-23) sections each state this rule.

Where there is no out-of-service addition

Unsafe Driving: "Out-of-service (OOS) weights are not assigned for Unsafe Driving violations as most violations in this category are not considered OOS violations." (p. 3-2).

Controlled Substances/Alcohol: "OOS weights are not assigned for Controlled Substance/Alcohol violations, as most violations in this category are considered OOS violations." (p. 3-18).

The cap still comes first

Within each inspection and BASIC, severity weights including any out-of-service additions are summed, capped at 30, and only then multiplied by the time weight. Violations in other BASICs do not enter that cap.

So when an inspection's severity weights in a BASIC already reach 30 without it, an out-of-service addition does not change that inspection's contribution.

Brakes out of service: 396.3A1BOS

"When these underlying brake violations indicate that 20% or more of the total brakes are defective, 396.3A1BOS is cited and recorded as an OOS violation." (p. B-15).

A conviction of a different charge drops the addition

The methodology's table of adjudicated citation results gives, for "Convicted of a different charge": "Severity weight set to 1 and not subject to OOS weight" (p. 2-5).

Source

FMCSA, Safety Measurement System (SMS) Methodology, Version 3.21, methodology revised May 2026, document revised June 2026. Page numbers above are the document's own.

Sources and factual review

Editorial source check: .

Document dates and data snapshot dates are separate from this editorial review. This review does not validate production calculations, document processing or storage controls.

More in Calculation and impact

See what it did to your score

Live lookup in the app for the USDOT you enter. Illustrative examples are separate from your results.

Unsafe Driving, HM Compliance and Crash Indicator are not included in this lookup.

What this lookup supports

What this lookup supports

Vehicle Maintenance

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: When data and checks allow

Weighted numerator contribution: When data and checks allow

BASIC measure: When data and checks allow

Estimated position and range: When data and checks allow

Hours-of-Service Compliance

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: When data and checks allow

Weighted numerator contribution: When data and checks allow

BASIC measure: When data and checks allow

Estimated position and range: When data and checks allow

Controlled Substances/Alcohol

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: When data and checks allow

Weighted numerator contribution: When data and checks allow

BASIC measure: When data and checks allow

Estimated position and range: When data and checks allow

Driver Fitness

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: When data and checks allow

Weighted numerator contribution: When data and checks allow

BASIC measure: When data and checks allow

Estimated position and range: When data and checks allow

Unsafe Driving

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: Not offered

Weighted numerator contribution: Internal calculation only; not in lookup

BASIC measure: Not offered

Estimated position and range: Not offered

HM Compliance

Reference codes: Available

Listed violations: Not offered

Weighted numerator contribution: Not offered

BASIC measure: Not offered

Estimated position and range: Not offered

Crash Indicator

Reference codes: Not offered

Listed violations: Not offered

Weighted numerator contribution: Not offered

BASIC measure: Not offered

Estimated position and range: Not offered

The four supported BASICs require readable snapshot data and a computed measure to list violations or open a report. Estimated positions also require sufficient carrier data and passed publication checks; calibration failure can withhold a position or retain a dated previous estimate. Controlled Substances/Alcohol is subject to these checks too. Missing carrier data, no relevant inspections, no applicable violations and an unavailable calculation are different states. An unavailable result is not a zero or a claim that there are no violations. HM Compliance and Crash Indicator have no report calculation in this product.

Unsafe Driving’s SMS denominator is average power units × utilization factor, which depends on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and carrier segment (Equation 3–1). Our product lacks the historical power-unit inputs needed to reconstruct and validate that full calculation. It calculates numerator points internally only; Unsafe Driving records, measure and estimated position are not offered in this lookup.

Severity weight is an input. Weighted numerator contribution accounts for time weighting and the inspection cap. The marginal change in a named BASIC measure also depends on its denominator. An estimated percentile compares carriers within a safety event group and must be read with its range. Do not add points across BASICs. SMS calculations are separate from an official safety rating. This is our estimate from public FMCSA data, not an official FMCSA percentile.

FMCSA SMS Methodology v3.21, Chapter 3 Safety rating: 49 CFR 385.3