What this checklist is for
It is basically a pre-trip cargo securement walk for a trailer or CMV. Fill in the fields in the screen and it downloads to either a CSV or PDF file.
The header will have the cargo weight, commodity, trailer, and carrier information. The check stations include rows for specific types of cargo, tie-downs and working load limits (WLL), and general securement. Sign off includes who signed, when to do the next cargo recheck, and any defects found.
The process is governed at the federal level. For securing cargo, you are following 49 CFR 393.100 through 393.136, protecting cargo from shifting and falling. For inspecting cargo and securement devices before operating, you are following 49 CFR 392.9.
And you need to repeat that inspection within the first 50 miles, then whenever duty status changes, or every 3 hours or 150 miles, whichever comes first. For the complete securement standard, the FMCSA Motor Carrier Safety Planner sends carriers to Subpart I. Rules in the U.S. parallel efforts to harmonize cargo securement across North America under the CVSA-hosted North American Cargo Securement Harmonization.
This form is used when it’s a loaded box or on deck. You must verify that the cargo will not fall, blow, spill, or leak. You must also verify that it will not shift enough to impact stability. The tractor walk is not what you are looking for here; this is the cargo walk.
The first steps are Carrier, Trailer, and Load. Date, Carrier, USDOT, Unit, Trailer, Commodity, and Cargo Weight. Cargo weight is the item or group of items being secured. Use it for the one-half aggregate WLL test required by 393.106(d).
What it is not
- It is not a Class A tractor-and-trailer vehicle walkaround. Lamps, brakes, tires, coupling, and in-cab air tests belong on the CMV pre-trip inspection checklist.
- It is not a trailer equipment inspection of kingpin, landing gear, ABS lamp, or underride guard. Use the commercial trailer inspection checklist for those stations. That trailer form has only cargo-point rows. This form is the 393.100 through 393.136 load walk.
- It is not a 49 CFR 396.11 end-of-day driver vehicle inspection report. File that separately if the carrier requires a written DVIR.
- It is not CVSA out-of-service criteria. Those are roadside inspection thresholds, not the OK, Defect, and N/A boxes on this template.
- It is not a reprint of every paragraph in 393.116 through 393.136. Those extra commodity sections exist. This form gives walk rows for logs, metal coils, concrete pipe, and vehicles, plus N/A rows for the other listed commodities. If that is the load, open the matching CFR section.
How to fill each block
The second part covers Forward Blocking and Longest Article Length. Tells you what 393.110 count you must use.
Sealed-Load Box Check. This applies only under 392.9(b)(4) for a load that cannot be practically inspected or a sealed CMV that you were ordered not to open. Still inspect seals and doors from the exterior.
Cargo can’t shift enough to affect stability or fall. Tiedowns, shoring, dunnage, structure or any combination securely hold the cargo. 392.9(a)(2) and (a)(3) still apply. Fasteners, spare parts, doors, and tarps must be secured. Cab exit, controls, and view must be clear.
114. If the cargo is more than 4 ft above the ground, use 4 ft or the height of the cargo to prevent it from falling out of the vehicle, whichever is less. 0.4 if 6 ft or greater. Mark row N/A if cargo doesn’t touch headerboard. Wherever a tiedown abrades or is cut off at the cargo edge, there’s edge protection. No knots allowed. Downward force on the item is at least 20 percent of the cargo weight if the item isn’t fully contained within the vehicle structure.
There are two tests: working load limit and tiedowns. When tiedowns are used, both are required. Total WLL shall not be less than one-half the cargo weight. Direct vehicle-to-cargo tiedown gets credit as one-half WLL. Same-side over-or-around tiedown gets credit as one-half WLL. Opposite-side over-or-around tiedown gets credit as full WLL.
Next, you calculate the min # of tiedowns using 393.110. It’s based on length & if the article is blocked forward or not.
If it’s 5 ft or less, and 1,100 lb or less: Use 1 tiedown.
If it’s 5 ft or less but over 1,100 lb, or longer than 5 ft but no more than 10 ft long: Use 2 tiedowns.
If it’s longer than 10 ft: Use 2 for the first 10 ft, then 1 additional tiedown for each 10 ft or fraction of the next 10 ft.
If it’s blocked forward: Use 1 tiedown for each 10 ft or fraction.
There is no uniform interval in inches or feet stated in 49 CFR. Don’t make up your own. Purdue Extension PPP-75 cross-checks both the length count and the one-half WLL. It says some states (like Indiana) have added placement rules. Only the federal length count is followed by this template.
The lowest value is the tiedown WLL.
Tiedown WLL is the lowest component, including the tensioner or the anchor, whichever is less. Marked by the manufacture. If not marked then use tables in 393.108. Use Grade 30 if there is no mark.
Use the width table if there is no mark on the webbing. Width 1-3/4 inch = 1,750 lb. Width 2 inch = 2,000 lb. Width 3 inch = 3,000 lb. Width 4 inch = 4,000 lb.
If friction mats are not marked, use 50 percent of the weight on the mat. Driver cannot invent a WLL that isn’t stated by the marking/table.
Steel strapping does not require tightening during transport.
There are sections for specific commodities. When they add to the requirements, 393.116 through 393.136 supersede the general rules. Every row that isn’t this load, you mark N/A.
What varies
Logs: Bunks or stakes, pack rules. Use at least one-sixth the stack for tiedowns on a frame or bunked flatbed. It is not the generic one-half fraction.
For metal coils over 5,000 lbs, check if the eye pattern is lengthwise, crosswise, or vertical. Support coil off deck for crosswise. No nailed blocking alone allowed. Prohibit X through eye.
393.124: Concrete pipe on lowboys and flatbeds includes 45 in inside-diameter split pipe. Follow 393.124, including the 45 in inside-diameter split.
Applies to: CMV or trailer.
For heavier equipment (10,000 lb or more), accessories must be down, there should be no articulation, and there must be at least four tiedowns. Extra sections left on the form stay as N/A rows. Don't pretend they don't exist.
Next, use the defects and sign-off section to write down what didn’t work. Then you select what you did as an action. The Cargo-ok box, 392.9(a)(1), means the cargo is adequately secured and properly distributed. No carrier can require or permit a driver to drive unless that’s true. Next, for the recheck under 392.9(b), do not enter a number created by this form.
The interstate floor is Federal Subpart I. The length count is 393.110. Certain states layer additional placement rules above that. They don't make a copy of 49 CFR to publish like this template. Sometimes commodity-specific sections alter how. Occasionally they alter the WLL fraction.
When bulk without shape sits in a box, hopper or tank, it's outside 393.106. A sturdy-sided van may be an equivalent means under 393.102(c)(2) if each article cannot tip or shift. That doesn't eliminate the duties for distributing cargo, managing doors, and handling tarps under 392.9.
After you finish
Under 392.9(b), you must confirm all devices and cargo before you travel. Adjust or inspect them during the trip. Adding devices is OK. The only exception is 392.9(b)(4), the Sealed-Load Exception.
Rows can be added by fleet policy. When marked, the device must follow the manufacturer's tiedown rating(s). If there is no mark, use the 393.108 tables. Do not invent your own Pass/Fail #; it's not stated in 49 CFR.
CVSA covers both Canada and Mexico for the North America cargo securement effort. The document aligns with the U.S. eCFR language. If you operate across the border, confirm the local adoption.
CVSA’s out-of-service criteria is its own roadside handbook. That is not scored on this sheet; it is a different handbook.
If you want a copy of it elsewhere, you can download the completed PDF or CSV from here. If you want a blank copy to fill out by hand, you download that. Your answers are only stored in this browser. Next person gets a blank form. No data is saved on the server. Using this page does not file your information with the FMCSA.
392.9, You have to recheck your cargo within the first 50 miles, then every 3 hours or 150 miles (whichever comes first). Anytime there’s a change in duty status, you recheck. Every 150 miles or 3 hours (whichever happens first), you recheck. The only exception is the sealed-load exception. This doesn’t do that latter walk for you.
Not a substitute for the OEM or a licensed inspection
That’s also a different 396.11 report if the carrier wants a written DVIR at the end of the day. And then you have those published BenchTab checklists for walking the trailer structure or the tractor itself if needed. The form is above this article. Below the form is the blank PDF preview.
It’s not a substitute for the tiedown manufacturer’s instructions.
It’s not a substitute for the carrier’s securement procedure.
It’s not a substitute for 49 CFR.
It’s not a substitute for a licensed or roadside inspection.
It’s not legal advice.
You don’t make up your own Pass/Fail limits with numbers not found in 49 CFR 392.9 or 393.100 through 393.136.
It’s just a recordkeeping template.