When Do Roadside Inspections Yield the CVSA Inspection Sticker?
A commercial motor vehicle (bus, truck, truck tractor, semitrailer, or trailer) that passes a Level I or Level V roadside inspection will be awarded a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decal.
"Pass inspection" means that no violations are found of those items listed in the "North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria." Decals are only issued for the vehicle portion of any roadside inspection.
The decal is affixed to the vehicle by the certified CVSA inspector. The term certified means the government employee performing inspections and/or affixing CVSA decals must have first successfully completed a training program approved by the CVSA.
Decals remain valid for no longer than 3 months. The quarter in which an inspection is performed is indicated by the color of the decal issued. For instance, the first quarter is indicated by a green decal.
The following table provides the appropriate color for each quarter of the year:
| Inspection Period | Color Designations |
|---|---|
| January/February/March | Green |
| April/May/June | Yellow |
| July/August/September | Orange |
| October/November/December | White |
Locations on the various vehicles for affixing the decals have been designated as follows:
- Power unit — lower right corner of the exterior surface of the passenger’s windshield;
- Trailers — lower right corner as near the front as possible;
- Cargo tanks — right side of the undercarriage near the front of the cargo tank (vehicle inspection items), eye level on the right side near the front of the cargo tank (specification inspection items);
- Passenger buses — window of the passenger door as close to the inspector’s eye level as possible.
Vehicles displaying a valid decal are generally not subject to re-inspection unless a problem is observed.