What an FMCSA safety rating means

The three codes, as the regulation defines them

A Satisfactory rating (census code S) means the carrier has in place, and functioning, adequate safety management controls to meet the safety fitness standard; controls are adequate if they suit the size and type of the operation. A Conditional rating (C) means the controls are not adequate to ensure compliance and could result in the occurrences the rule lists. An Unsatisfactory rating (U) means the inadequate controls have resulted in those occurrences. An unrated carrier is one to which FMCSA has not assigned a rating (49 CFR 385.3).

The census file records the code, the date the rating took effect and the date of the review behind it. YardPermit shows all three beside the date the census file itself was last updated, because those dates are routinely confused with one another.

What an Unsatisfactory rating triggers

A carrier rated unsatisfactory is generally prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle. Carriers of placarded hazardous materials and passenger carriers must stop from the 46th day after FMCSA’s notice of the proposed rating; all other carriers, movers included, from the 61st day. FMCSA may allow up to 60 more days if the carrier is making a good-faith effort to improve, and when the rating becomes final it issues an out-of-service order covering the carrier’s interstate operations (49 CFR 385.13).

Why most movers have no rating

A rating comes only from a compliance review, which the rule defines as an examination of a carrier’s operations — hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, financial responsibility, accidents and other records — to determine whether it meets the safety fitness standard (49 CFR 385.3). FMCSA does not review every registered carrier, so the most common value in the census file is no rating at all. That is the absence of a review, not a hidden failing grade, and not a passing one either.

For the same reason, a Satisfactory rating dated years ago records what FMCSA found on that date. It is not renewed on a schedule and it is not an YardPermit endorsement.

What a rating is not

It is not a measure of customer service, claims handling or pricing, and it is not a trust, scam or safety score; YardPermit computes none of those. It is also not a licence: authority to carry household goods is a separate registration, described in the guide on federal registration.

Where the current rating is published

The regulation itself says where to look: information on motor carriers, including their most current safety rating, is available from FMCSA’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov or by telephone at (800) 832-5660 (49 CFR 385.13). If a rating matters to your decision, confirm it there, because a rating can change after a follow-up review and the census file reflects the file as of its last update.

Sources

• 49 CFR 385.3 — Definitions and acronyms

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: The definitions of the satisfactory, conditional and unsatisfactory ratings, of an unrated carrier, and of a compliance review.

• 49 CFR 385.13 — Unsatisfactory rated motor carriers; prohibition on transportation

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: When an unsatisfactory-rated carrier must stop operating (the 46th or 61st day after the notice), the possible 60-day extension, and where FMCSA says the current rating is published.

• Company Census File

  U.S. Department of Transportation open data (FMCSA) · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: The registration records Mover Check queries, including the safety rating code and its dates.