Clean Truck Check — Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance (HD I/M) Regulation: Freight Contractor, Broker, and Applicable Freight Facility Requirements

(Issued: November 2, 2023)

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Clean Truck Check (HD I/M)

The freight contractor requirements apply to any person, excluding a broker, who enters into a contract with any party requiring the operation of a heavy-duty vehicle subject to Clean Truck Check within California.
The broker requirements apply to any person or entity that offers, as a service, the arrangement of transportation within California between vehicle owners, shippers, receivers, or other entities like freight contractors. A motor carrier arranging its own transport is not considered its own broker.
The applicable freight facility requirements apply to seaports and intermodal railyards.

Entities entering into contracts or arranging transportation with heavy-duty vehicles operating in California subject to Clean Truck Check must ensure vehicle compliance with CARB regulations and maintain records as specified in the HD I/M Regulation.
Applicable freight facilites must ensure compliance prior to allowing these vehicles onto their property, or maintain records of all heavy-duty vehicles that enter and operate on their premises. For more information, please see the definitions, requirements, and applicable records section below.

Heavy-duty vehicle owners must ensure that reported testing information is up to date in the Clean Truck Check - Vehicle Inspection System (CTC-VIS) so that these entities can accurately verify compliance.

The requirements will be contingent on the database providing functionality to perform fleetwide compliance verification. For more information, please refer to: Guidance for Vehicle Owners on Upcoming Requirements

If you send or receive a package or use a service from a third party, you are not responsible for verifying compliance if you are the final end-user or consumer.

To get more information, please visit the TruckStop Webpage. To stay up to date, sign up through CARB’s webpage to get email updates on Clean Truck Check.

The table below is a summary of the requirements, please refer to the HD I/M Regulation for exact language.

Freight Contractor
Definition	Any person, excluding a broker, who enters into a contract with any party requiring the operation of a heavy-duty vehicle within California. This includes a shipper, receiver, carrier, or governmental agency as defined in the regulation, or any other intermediary party.
Requirements	Any freight contractor shall only contract with compliant vehicles or fleets and comply with the recordkeeping requirements specified below. In the case of contracts with intermediary parties where vehicle or fleet wide compliance cannot be verified, the freight contractor shall comply with the requirements specified in item 2 below.
Applicable Records	1.Records of either: (A) A copy of the vehicle’s HD I/M (Clean Truck Check) compliance certificate, valid at the time of dispatch; or (B) An Affirmation of Fleet Wide Compliance obtained within 12 months of dispatch. 2. Records of transactions and agreements in CA, including details on: (A) The shipper or receiver requiring transport. (B) The motor carrier or broker who hired/dispatched the vehicle. (C) The vehicle dispatched.

Broker
Definition	Any person that, as a principal or agent, sells, offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation, advertisement, or otherwise as selling, providing, or arranging for transportation within California by a motor carrier for compensation. A motor carrier, or person who is an employee or bona fide agent of a carrier, is not a broker when it arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of shipments which it is authorized to transport and which it has accepted and legally bound itself to transport.
Requirements	Any broker shall only arrange transportation within California through motor carriers with compliant vehicles or fleets and maintain applicable records for each motor carrier or vehicle owner brokered with.
Applicable Records	1. Verification of compliance, either in the form of: (A) A copy of the vehicle’s HD I/M (Clean Truck Check) compliance certificate; or (B) An Affirmation of Fleet Wide Compliance obtained within 12 months of dispatch. 2. Dispatching motor carrier information including business and contact information.

Applicable Freight Facility
Definition	Seaport facilities or intermodal railyards, where heavy-duty vehicles operate.
Requirements	Must annually attest what compliance option will be used. Options include: Compliance verification of each incoming vehicle at the time of entry by requesting a valid CARB HD I/M (Clean Truck Check) compliance certificate or by checking identifiable information through CARB’s electronic reporting system; or Maintain records of all vehicles that enter the facility property that are not compliant with the regulation. Please see the regulation for alternative compliance terminal requirements.
Applicable Records	Annual documentation attesting which requirement the facility intends to comply with and the date the attestation was made. Non-compliant vehicle records must include vehicle and owner information.