Definition
"Post-trip inspection" is the everyday name for the end-of-day check that supports the driver vehicle inspection report. Section 396.11(a) requires every driver to prepare a report in writing at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated, covering at least the service brakes including trailer brake connections, parking brake, steering mechanism, lighting devices and reflectors, tires, horn, windshield wipers, rear vision mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment.
The report identifies the vehicle, lists any defect or deficiency discovered by or reported to the driver, and is signed by the driver. Under the current text of 396.11(a)(2)(i), drivers are not required to prepare a report when no defect is found or reported. FMCSA first removed the no-defect report for property-carrying drivers in a 2014 final rule.
What happens next
Before the vehicle is driven again, the motor carrier or its agent must repair any listed defect likely to affect safety, and certify on the report that the defect was repaired or that repair is unnecessary. The carrier keeps the original report, the certification and the following driver's review for three months.
Pre-trip and post-trip together
The post-trip finds and records the defect. The repair and certification happen overnight or before the next dispatch. The pre-trip, under 396.13, is where the next driver reviews and signs. A gap anywhere in that chain, such as a repair done but never certified, leaves the carrier exposed in an audit.
For repair shops
Post-trip write-ups are a steady source of next-morning work. Ask fleet customers to send DVIRs with defects as soon as they are filed, open one repair line per defect, and return a signed certification that matches each item. See DVIR requirements for repair shops, how to certify DVIR repairs, and pre-trip inspection.