Mexican Motor Carriers Operating in U.S. Must be Inspected Annually

Excerpt from: Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade | March 17, 2016

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has accepted the official Mexican standard concerning the periodic inspection of commercial motor vehicles (NOM-68) and determined that it should be added to the list of programs that are comparable to, or as effective as, the federal periodic inspection requirements contained in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

As a result, FMCSA states, Mexico-domiciled motor carriers operating in the United States must ensure that their CMVs are inspected annually as required by the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. The carrier must retain a copy of the inspection report and a sticker/decal indicating that the vehicle has passed inspection must be affixed to the vehicle. Carriers will no longer have the option of relying on their employees to conduct inspections of the CMVs the carrier controls, using commercial garages for such inspections, or passing a roadside inspection based on criteria published by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance to comply with the federal periodic inspection requirements.