After a qualifying accident, a motor carrier needs records that can be found, reviewed, and updated—not a guess about what an insurance policy will do. A practical accident-register process helps the people responsible for safety, compliance, and insurance discussions work from the same current information.
This article is general information, not legal, compliance, claims, or insurance advice. Whether a rule applies, what reports are required, and what any policy covers depend on the operation, the event, contracts, policy language, and current law. Consult qualified compliance, legal, and insurance professionals about a specific situation.
Start with the current federal rule
49 CFR 390.15 says motor carriers must maintain an accident register for three years after the date of each accident. The section identifies information for each accident, including the date, the city or town (or nearest place) and state, the driver name, injuries, fatalities, and whether qualifying hazardous materials were released. It also calls for copies of accident reports required by state or other governmental entities or insurers.
Read the current rule before relying on a copied checklist. The register is a recordkeeping requirement; it is not a claim decision, a proof of coverage, or a substitute for reporting procedures in a contract or policy.
Build one controlled accident-record folder
Use a single controlled digital or paper location for each event. Record the event date, a file owner, and a review date. Give the safety or compliance team a clear method for adding new documents while preserving the original record. Avoid putting unrelated driver-file or policy materials in the accident folder just because they are easy to find; link to their official location instead.
- Accident-register entry with the fields required by the current rule.
- Copies of reports required by state or other governmental entities or insurers.
- Event-specific correspondence and report-submission confirmations, organized by date.
- A log identifying the person responsible for the next records review.
- Any follow-up questions that need an answer from qualified compliance, legal, or insurance professionals.
Keep factual records separate from opinions about fault, coverage, or settlement. A register should help the business retrieve what it has; it should not become an informal coverage analysis.
Check the entry fields before the review
For each in-scope event, compare the register entry with the records in the folder. Confirm the date, location, driver name, injury count, fatality count, and hazardous-material release field against the documents your business maintains. If an item is unknown or inconsistent, flag it for the person responsible for compliance rather than filling the gap with an assumption.
Also verify that the folder clearly identifies which reports were required and whether copies are present. If a report is still pending, record that status and the next follow-up date. This makes a review more useful than a loose collection of emails and attachments.
Prepare for a compliance or insurance conversation
Bring the current register, relevant reports, and a concise list of open questions. Ask who is responsible for each unanswered item and what additional records are needed. Do not treat a certificate, a carrier email, or a prior claim outcome as a final statement of what a policy covers. Policy terms, endorsements, notices, and the facts of the event can matter.
For broader documentation work, see LST Insurance’s trucking proof-of-financial-responsibility records checklist. For driver-file organization, see the driver qualification file checklist for motor carriers. Those pages address different record sets; keeping the purposes separate can make each review more manageable.
Set a retention and review routine
The federal section cited above specifies three years for the accident register. Your operation may have other retention duties or contractual requirements, so use qualified guidance for the full retention plan. Schedule a periodic check to confirm that active entries are complete, documents remain readable, and access is limited to appropriate staff.
A simple routine is to review the register after an event, after required reports are added, and at a recurring management interval. Document the review date and follow-up owner. This supports orderly recordkeeping without making promises about regulatory outcomes or insurance coverage.
Frequently asked questions
How long must a motor carrier keep an accident register?
49 CFR 390.15 says motor carriers must maintain an accident register for three years after the date of each accident. Confirm the current rule and obtain qualified guidance on any additional retention duties that may apply to the operation or related records.
What information belongs in an accident-register entry?
The cited federal section lists the accident date, location and state, driver name, number of injuries, number of fatalities, and whether qualifying hazardous materials were released. It also addresses copies of accident reports required by state or other governmental entities or insurers.
Does an accident register determine insurance coverage?
No. An accident register is a recordkeeping tool. Coverage and claim questions depend on the facts, applicable policy terms, endorsements, notices, contracts, and other information. Ask qualified insurance and legal professionals about a particular event.
Should a motor carrier keep accident records with driver qualification files?
Keep each record set organized for its own purpose. A driver qualification file and an accident register address different requirements. Linking related records may help retrieval, but the responsible team should preserve and review each file according to the applicable rules and business process.
Source
49 CFR 390.15, Assistance in investigations and special studies (current e-CFR text as retrieved September 8, 2026).
