{
  "slug": "annual-inspection-in-blue-collar-parts",
  "title": "How to Record an Annual Inspection in Blue Collar Parts",
  "description": "How to record a federal annual inspection on a truck or trailer in Blue Collar Parts, what the qualification record is for, and what the record does and does not establish.",
  "track": "product",
  "kind": "article",
  "status": "available",
  "isRegulatoryAdjacent": true,
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-20",
  "cfr": [
    "49 CFR 396.17",
    "49 CFR 396.19",
    "49 CFR 396.21"
  ],
  "related": [
    "start-a-service-event",
    "who-can-perform-dot-inspection",
    "annual-inspection-report-form",
    "bcp-and-part-396-recordkeeping"
  ],
  "topics": [],
  "nextStep": {
    "kind": "start",
    "target": "/start/annual-inspection",
    "text": "Record the annual inspection item by item"
  },
  "sources": {
    "citations": [
      {
        "label": "49 CFR 396.17",
        "name": "49 CFR 396.17 — Periodic inspection.",
        "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-396.17",
        "heading": "§ 396.17 Periodic inspection.",
        "edition": "2026-10-01"
      },
      {
        "label": "49 CFR 396.19",
        "name": "49 CFR 396.19 — Inspector qualifications.",
        "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-396.19",
        "heading": "§ 396.19 Inspector qualifications.",
        "edition": "2026-10-01"
      },
      {
        "label": "49 CFR 396.21",
        "name": "49 CFR 396.21 — Periodic inspection recordkeeping requirements.",
        "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-396.21",
        "heading": "§ 396.21 Periodic inspection recordkeeping requirements.",
        "edition": "2026-10-01"
      }
    ],
    "reviewed": "2026-10-20",
    "reviewedEdition": "2026-10-01",
    "reviewedText": "Reviewed 2026-10-20 against the eCFR edition of 2026-10-01"
  },
  "url": "https://shopbluecollarparts.com/kb/annual-inspection-in-blue-collar-parts",
  "markdownUrl": "https://shopbluecollarparts.com/kb/annual-inspection-in-blue-collar-parts.md",
  "body": "**Blue Collar Parts can record an annual inspection on a truck or trailer and send it to your customer like any other record.** The inspection is yours: you attest to your qualification, you perform it, and you are responsible for it. Blue Collar Parts records it; it does not verify, certify, or establish compliance.\n\n## Before you start: your qualification record\n\nYour qualification record describes how you meet the federal inspector qualifications; most people save it when they sign up. If you have not saved one, Blue Collar Parts asks for it before the annual inspection opens. Blue Collar Parts does not verify it. Read [how to become a DOT inspector](/kb/who-can-perform-dot-inspection) for what the qualification requires. You can view your qualification record later under **QUALIFICATION** in your [account](/account#qual).\n\n## Record the inspection\n\n1. [Start a service event](/customers?new=event) and choose **Annual inspection** as the **Type of work**. Annual inspections are available for truck and trailer assets only.\n2. Work through the inspection categories. The inspection follows the categories of Appendix A to Part 396; see the [Appendix A checklist](/kb/appendix-a-inspection-standards).\n3. Press **FILE INSPECTION** and complete the filing details: **Inspection** (authority, date, time and location, plus the state program jurisdiction when the authority is a state program), **Vehicle**, **Motor carrier**, **Inspector**, **Brake inspector**, **Report**, and your **Certification** signature.\n4. Mark the work complete and send the record as you would a PM: see [send a record to your customer](/kb/send-a-record-to-your-customer).\n\n## What the record does not do\n\n- It does not certify the inspector or the vehicle, and it does not establish compliance with 49 CFR Part 396.\n- It does not replace the motor carrier's own recordkeeping. Federal rules put retention of the inspection report on the carrier or other responsible entity; see [the annual inspection report form](/kb/annual-inspection-report-form) and [where Blue Collar Parts fits against Part 396](/kb/bcp-and-part-396-recordkeeping).\n- It does not issue an inspection decal.\n\n*Links into the app open your account. If you are not signed in, you will be asked to sign in first.*",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}