Check a truck's DOT roadside history before you buy
Run a free VIN summary first. Unlock the $19.99 DOT Buyer Report when you want the plain-English inspection history, repeated-issue detection, seller questions, and a pre-purchase checklist.
Free FMCSA roadside summary. We accept exact 17-character VINs only and never silently correct a VIN.
Step 1 · Free VIN summary
$0
- NHTSA vPIC VIN decode (make, model, year, GVWR, engine)
- FMCSA roadside record, violation & OOS counts
- Carriers observed operating the VIN
- Most recent event and top issue categories
Step 2 · DOT Buyer Report
$19.99 one-time
- See what prior DOT inspections actually mean before you negotiate
- Spot repeat brake, tire, lighting, or maintenance patterns
- Know whether the truck was ever placed out-of-service
- Get VIN-specific questions to ask before wiring money
- Bring a targeted checklist to your mechanic or inspection
What can this help me catch?
- Repeated brake, tire, lighting, or maintenance-related inspection patterns
- Prior out-of-service events — and what was cited
- Multiple carriers observed operating the VIN
- Inspection history that gives you sharper, VIN-specific seller questions
- Specific items to verify during a pre-purchase inspection
What the $19.99 report can surface
An example of the buyer-ready output (from our sample report):
- “Repeated systems to scrutinize: Brakes (2×).”
- “1 out-of-service item across: Brakes.”
- “A brake-related out-of-service event was recorded on 2023-04-12. Request the corresponding roadside inspection report, repair invoice, and current brake measurements.”
How we build it (and why you can trust it)
TruckWhere uses official public NHTSA vPIC and FMCSA roadside inspection records. We use exact 17-character VIN matchingonly — no fuzzy matching, no silent VIN correction — and we attribute violations to the specific unit the VIN occupied, so a trailer's defect is never blamed on the tractor.
Read the full methodology →Built for DOT roadside-history due diligence
TruckWhere is not a title, lien, auction, insurance-claim, odometer, or ownership-history report. It is designed to show FMCSA roadside inspections, vehicle-specific violations, out-of-service events, repeated issue patterns, carrier observations, and buyer inspection questions for the exact VIN.
Frequently asked questions
- What do I get for free?
- A free VIN snapshot: NHTSA vPIC decode, plus counts of FMCSA roadside records, vehicle-specific violations, out-of-service events, and carriers observed operating the VIN, with the most recent event and top issue categories.
- When should I pay $19.99?
- When the VIN has meaningful FMCSA roadside history and you want the full story: every event interpreted, repeated-system detection, out-of-service analysis, carrier timeline, VIN-specific seller questions, and a pre-purchase inspection checklist.
- Is this the same as Carfax?
- No. Carfax-style reports cover passenger vehicles and title/accident-style data. TruckWhere is built for commercial trucks and focuses on FMCSA DOT roadside inspection history by exact VIN. It is not a title, lien, or ownership report.
- What does the report not include?
- No title brands, liens, insurance claims, auction records, complete odometer history, market valuation, or legal ownership history. For those, use an NMVTIS-approved provider.
- What if no FMCSA records are found?
- We tell you plainly and do not sell you a report — there's nothing meaningful to interpret. No matching record does not mean the truck is clean; it means no exact VIN match was found in the available roadside data.
- Can old violations still matter?
- Yes — not as proof of current defects, but as a precise list of what to verify before buying. A repeated brake or tire pattern tells you exactly what to inspect and what to ask the seller.