Carrier Safety Score Lookup
A carrier’s safety score is the single fastest signal of how risky it is to do business with. The FMCSA tracks carrier safety through BASIC scores, out-of-service rates, and formal safety ratings. Searchmule lets you look up any carrier’s safety score for free and understand what it means before you book a load.
Free FMCSA carrier lookup — no account or signup required.
What Is a Carrier Safety Score?
The FMCSA evaluates carriers under its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program using seven BASIC categories: Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances and Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Crash Indicator. Each carrier receives a percentile score in the categories where it has enough data — a higher percentile means worse performance relative to peers. Carriers above the FMCSA intervention threshold in any category warrant closer scrutiny.
How to Check a Carrier’s Safety Score
Search for the carrier by name, USDOT number, or MC number using the box above. The carrier profile shows its BASIC percentile scores, driver and vehicle out-of-service rates, FMCSA safety rating, and crash history side by side, so you can judge risk at a glance.
Reading the Numbers
- Safety rating — Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory; Conditional and Unsatisfactory both signal identified deficiencies
- BASIC percentile — scores closer to 100 indicate worse relative performance; watch for categories over the intervention threshold
- Out-of-service rate — the share of inspections that placed a driver or vehicle out of service; compare against national averages
- Crash indicator — reported crash involvement weighted by severity
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the carrier safety score lookup free?
Yes. Checking a carrier’s BASIC scores, out-of-service rates, and safety rating on Searchmule is completely free, with no signup.
What is a good FMCSA BASIC score?
Lower percentile scores are better. A carrier below the FMCSA intervention threshold in every BASIC category is generally lower risk; scores above threshold in categories like Unsafe Driving or Vehicle Maintenance warrant caution.
What does a Conditional safety rating mean?
A Conditional rating means the FMCSA found safety management deficiencies during a compliance review. It is not an automatic disqualifier, but you should document your rationale before booking a Conditional-rated carrier.
How often are safety scores updated?
Searchmule refreshes carrier data daily from FMCSA sources. The FMCSA itself recalculates BASIC scores on a monthly cycle.