What are Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS) Codes?

October 22, 2021

VMRS code

Get Started With Samsara

Check Our Prices

Key Takeaways

VMRS codes provide a standard, universal language to help all parties involved in truck maintenance communicate. They allow everyone within fleet maintenance operations to completely understand a vehicle’s repair history and what happened during the repair. Learn how to read these codes and how they work within fleet management.

What are vehicle maintenance reporting standards (VMRS) codes?

VMRS stands for Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards. VMRS codes are numeric codes that provide a standard,  universal language to help all parties involved in truck maintenance communicate. Those involved may include fleets, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), service providers, maintenance personnel and repair shops. VMRS codes help establish record-keeping practices for equipment maintenance.

VMRS was developed in 1970 by the American Trucking Association (ATA). VRMS codes are maintained by the ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) and are updated regularly. The codes describe causes, fixes, components, systems, equipment, types of work and more on a wide range of maintenance work. The codes also cover various vehicle and equipment elements from trucks, tractor units, trailers, forklifts, utility vehicles and more. In its most recent version, VMRS can accommodate up to 1,000 different vehicle systems.

How do you read VMRS codes?

The VMRS coding system is relatively easy to learn. Due to the VMRS’ logical structure, fleet managers can choose to stay high-level or drill down to the component and parts level if needed.

At the highest level, VMRS codes are organized by categories called code keys. There are 64 active VMRS code keys that cover all sides of the industry, but typically only a handful will be relevant to an organization. Some of the most common keys for fleets include 

  • Code key 14: Reason for repair

  • Code key 18: Technician failure codes (the reason a part has failed)

  • Code key 33: Component code

  • Code key 34: Manufacturers

VMRS codes are made up of nine digits, grouped in threes like this: 000-000-000. The first three digits are a system code. The second or middle set of digits describe the assembly. Finally, the last three digits identify the component or parts.

Managers can look up VMRS codes by looking them up in spreadsheets licensed from the TMC. They are also included in most maintenance software programs or available for integration into systems.

How do VMRS codes work with fleet management?

Eventually, all vehicles and equipment will need maintenance. VMRS codes allow everyone within fleet maintenance operations to completely understand a vehicle’s repair history and what happened during the repair—without the need for extensive reports and write-ups.

Here’s how VMRS codes are commonly used in the trucking industry:

Preventive maintenance

VMRS codes are foundational to many preventive maintenance programs. Managers and technicians often use VMRS codes to guide maintenance processes by standardizing work orders and scheduling language into a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

Without VMRS codes, getting issues resolved in repair shops was complicated by miscommunication. For example, when a technician fixes a power window, there are multiple ways they could note this in a report. But with VMRS codes, they can Now, tracking results allows fleet managers to monitor the fleet’s progress over time when every component and labor uses a common language.

Optimized performance while reducing costs

With regular fleet maintenance, managers can analyze VMRS data to gain insight into performance. For instance, managers can view data and diagnose if an issue is a symptom of a larger problem. By identifying root causes of issues, they can take action to prevent a breakdown, which saves on time and reduces maintenance costs.

Inspections and reporting compliance

Like building a maintenance program with a common language, managers can use VMRS codes to build templates for inspections and reporting. This helps streamline inspections and maintaining records, helping fleets with reporting and staying in compliance.

Stay in touch

Sign up to learn more about Samsara.

Picture of trucks in line at warehouse