NOVCO INC
USDOT 541947MC-Docket MC287838ELK RIVER, MN
Review before tendering34 power units
NOVCO INC (USDOT 541947) in ELK RIVER, MN — has findings to review before tendering. FMCSA authority, fleet size, BASIC safety measures, crash and inspection history.
- Has active operating authority that's tenderable today (common or contract).
- No pending authority revocation.
- Not under an uncleared federal out-of-service or safety action.
- BIPD on file: $1,000,000.
- No cargo insurance on file. Required for many shipper contracts.
- No history of insurance lapses.
- Current BIPD policy (NATIONAL UNION FIRE INS. CO. OF PITSBGH. PA) was filed 27 day(s) after the last involuntary revocation (2025-08-05) — a refile-to-reinstate pattern worth a closer look.
- Satisfactory safety rating.
- No BASIC alerts in any of the five public SMS categories.
- Vehicle out-of-service rate is above the national roadside average.
- 2 preventable crash(es) in the last 24 months; recordable crash rate not available.
- No fatal crashes in the last 24 months.
- No link to a prior revoked authority.
- Authority involuntarily revoked 35 times, most recent 2025-08-05 — recurring instability (typically insurance-lapse / reinstate cycles).
- FMCSA compliance review on file dated 2010-01-07 (C).
- Crash Indicator and Hazmat Compliance BASICs are statutorily withheld from public SMS under the FAST Act — their absence is not a clean record; use the crash-risk signals above instead.
Built from FMCSA's public Safety Management System data — guidance, not legal advice. Verify directly with the carrier and your cargo policy before tendering.
Authority
- Common authority
- Not applicable
- Contract authority
- Active
Safety & BASIC scorecard
BASIC safety measures
Unsafe driving
No alert
measure 3.73
Hours of service
No alert
measure 0.16
Driver fitness
No alert
measure 0
Controlled substance
No alert
measure 0
Vehicle maintenance
No alert
measure 9.81
Under the FAST Act, FMCSA publishes an absolute per-category measure (not a 0–100 percentile) for these five BASICs — the alert flag, not the raw number, is the risk signal. The Crash Indicator and Hazmat Compliance BASICs are statutorily withheld from public view.
Last 24 months
0
Fatalities
1
Injuries
2
Crashes
32
Inspections
7
OOS inspections
10
OOS violations
Insurance
- BIPD on file
- $1,000,000
- Cargo insurance
- No
- Bond on file
- No
Fleet
- Power units
- 34
- Total drivers
- 30
- Years in business
- 33
- Hazmat authority
- No
Crash risk
- Preventable crashes (24 mo)
- 2 of 2 total crash(es)
- Recordable crash rate
- Not available
- Driver OOS rate
- 0%
- Vehicle OOS rate
- 50%Above national
The official Crash Indicator BASIC is withheld from public SMS under the FAST Act — these derived signals stand in for it; their absence is not a clean record.
Compliance & history
- Reincarnation / chameleon
- No prior revoked authority
- Involuntary revocations
- 35 times last 2025-08-05
- Physical address
- No address flags
- Federal OOS / safety action
- None on file
- MCS-150 self-report
- 2026-02-24
- Insurance lapse history
- No lapses on record
- Last compliance review
- 2010-01-07 · C
Inspection history (all-time)
50
Inspections
12
OOS inspections
103
Violations
18
OOS violations
1
Post-accident
Record spans 2023-06-01 → 2026-05-14.
Crash history (last 24 months)
2024-10-01
NE
Tow-away
2024-06-18
MN
1 injuredTow-away
Violation pattern (all-time, by area)
| Area (49 CFR part) | Violations | Out of service | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|
Vehicle parts & maintenance 393
|
48 | 18 | 2026-02-25 |
Unsafe driving 392
|
32 | 0 | 2026-04-27 |
Hours of service 395
|
5 | 0 | 2026-02-25 |
Vehicle inspection & repair 396
|
2 | 2 | 2025-08-08 |
Recent violations (last 24 months, worst first)
| Date | Category | Violation | OOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-21 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding work/construction zone | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Vehicle Maintenance | Loose or unfastened tiedown | — |
| 2026-02-25 | Hours-of-Service Compliance | Portable ELD not mounted in a fixed position and visible to driver | — |
| 2025-12-24 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2025-11-18 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 15 or more miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2025-09-19 | Vehicle Maintenance | Cargo - Insufficient tiedowns (w/o headerboard/blocking) for article(s) of cargo 5 feet or less and more than 1100 lbs | OOS |
| 2025-09-19 | Vehicle Maintenance | Washers - Inoperative washing system. | — |
| 2025-09-17 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Air reservoir separated from its original attachment points or moving more than 1 inch | OOS |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Backup lamp missing | — |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Reflex reflector(s) obscured | — |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - License plate lamp inoperative | — |
| 2025-08-08 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Side marker lamp(s) inoperative | — |
| 2025-07-02 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2025-07-01 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2025-06-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Turn signal - Any inoperative on the rearmost vehicle. | OOS |
| 2025-06-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Hazard warning signal(s) inoperative | — |
| 2025-06-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Hose/tubing damage into the outer reinforcement ply. | OOS |
| 2025-06-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Missing or inadequate Nonmetallic tubing spring guard | — |
| 2025-06-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - ABS malfunction lamp defective on trailers manufactured on or after March 1 1998 | — |
| 2025-04-30 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2025-03-23 | Hours-of-Service Compliance | False report of drivers record of duty status | — |
| 2025-03-23 | Vehicle Maintenance | Brake connections with leaks or constrictions | — |
| 2025-03-23 | Vehicle Maintenance | Loose or unfastened tiedown | — |
| 2025-03-23 | Vehicle Maintenance | Side retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflector requirements for vehicles manufactured after December 1993 | — |
| 2025-03-20 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 6-10 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
| 2024-12-11 | Vehicle Maintenance | Inoperable Required Lamp | — |
| 2024-10-15 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2024-10-15 | Vehicle Maintenance | Brake Out of Adjustment - Roto Clamp (Short & Long) DD-3 or Bolt | — |
| 2024-10-15 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - CMV manufactured on or after 10/20/1994 has an automatic airbrake adjustment system that fails to compensate | — |
| 2024-06-27 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2024-06-27 | Vehicle Maintenance | Conspicuity Systems - Trailers rear impact guard retro reflective sheeting inadequate on vehicle manufactured on or afte | — |
| 2024-06-20 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Turn signal - Any inoperative on the rearmost vehicle. | OOS |
| 2024-06-20 | Vehicle Maintenance | Brake Out of Adjustment - Roto Clamp (Short & Long) DD-3 or Bolt | — |
| 2024-06-20 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - CMV manufactured on or after 10/20/1994 has an automatic airbrake adjustment system that fails to compensate | — |
| 2024-06-20 | Vehicle Maintenance | Brake - Defective brake(s) are equal to or greater than 20% of the service brakes on the vehicle/combination | OOS |
Recent inspections (with violations, newest first)
Showing the 25 most-recent inspections that had violations. Clean inspections aren't listed here — they're counted in the all-time inspection totals above.
2026-04-27 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSR | — | — |
2026-04-21 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSWZ | — | — |
2026-04-09 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEWA1 | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLIRP | — | — |
2026-04-06 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSR | — | — |
2026-02-25 3 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 104F3 | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 22G | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 8F05 | — | — |
2025-12-24 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS3 | — | — |
2025-12-15 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLED | — | — |
2025-12-15 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2RG | — | — |
2025-11-18 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS4 | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSR | — | — |
2025-08-08 6 viols· 2 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9B-LRR | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LLPL | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LSML | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 11A1-LBL | — | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3A1-BARS | OOS | — |
2025-07-02 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS3 | — | — |
2025-07-01 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS3 | — | — |
2025-06-11 6 viols· 2 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 55E-B | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LHWS | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45C-BSG | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45C-BSG | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45B2-BHTD | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LTSI | OOS | — |
2025-04-30 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS3 | — | — |
2025-04-30 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSR | — | — |
2025-03-23 4 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 11S | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45D | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 104F3 | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 8E | — | — |
2025-03-20 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLS2 | — | — |
2024-12-11 3 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEWA1 | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2RG | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9 | — | — |
2024-10-22 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEWA1 | — | — |
2024-10-15 3 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47E | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 53B-B | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
2024-06-27 2 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75(a)(3) | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 11(b) | — | — |
2024-06-20 18 viols· 2 OOSPost-accident
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 53B-B | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 203C-CBP | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 11A1-LFTSM | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 209B-STWLOOS | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LTSI | OOS | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLL | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 207A-SAPPAS | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 11A1-LHLM | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45D-BAAL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 83G | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47E | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47E | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47E | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47E | — | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3A1-BOS | OOS | — |
2024-03-10 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
2024-01-10 7 viols· 3 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 55(d)(3) | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45(d) | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 130 | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 130 | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75(a)(1) | OOS | — |
2023-12-28 2 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 207(f) | OOS | — |
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