Safety rating
An FMCSA safety rating is satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory. If none was assigned, the carrier is unrated. No rating on file means FMCSA has not rated that carrier. It does not mean the carrier is safe.
Key facts
The sources are listed on this page.
A safety rating is FMCSA's judgment, after a review, of whether the carrier has safety controls that meet the fitness standard. Satisfactory means the controls are adequate for that carrier's size and type of work. Conditional means they are not adequate and the listed problems could happen. Unsatisfactory means they are not adequate and those problems have happened. Unrated means no rating has been assigned.
How to say it
Say "no rating on file," which is what 49 CFR 385.3 calls unrated: FMCSA has not assigned a rating. Do not say the company is safe because the field is blank. Read the inspections and the out-of-service line on the SAFER snapshot if they are present, and read the date. A rating from years ago describes that review, not this morning.
How it differs from authority
Authority says the company may haul or broker for hire. A safety rating says what a review found about compliance. A carrier can be authorized and unrated. A carrier can be unsatisfactory and still show an old ad. Check both. RideShipper does not assign ratings.