Long-running compliance publisher and service provider offering DOT driver qualification, drug and alcohol program management, permits, fuel tax, ELDs, training and audit consulting for fleets.
Services
Who it serves
Overview
J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. is a Wisconsin company that sells safety, regulatory compliance and training products and services. Transportation is one of its core areas, alongside workplace safety, environmental and human resources compliance. The company says its purpose is to help employers keep workplaces, job sites and highways safe, and it cites more than 70 years of regulatory compliance experience.
For trucking companies, J. J. Keller works on two levels. It publishes forms, manuals, logbooks and training content that carriers use to run their own compliance programs, and it also sells managed services in which its staff take over recurring compliance tasks such as driver qualification files, drug and alcohol program administration and fuel tax reporting. The company also sells fleet technology, including ELDs, electronic vehicle inspection reports and camera systems, under its Encompass platform and related products.
Compare with other Compliance providers: Foley, Fleetworthy and Compliance Navigation Specialists (CNS), or see all Compliance.
Services
J. J. Keller's fleet and transportation services page groups its work into managed services and consulting. Managed services listed there include driver qualification (DQ) file management, which covers driver applicant management and the upkeep of each driver's file; DOT drug and alcohol testing program management, which covers Clearinghouse tasks, random pool management, document auditing and third party administrator (TPA) services; MVR monitoring; and hours of service management, which consolidates ELD logs, paper logs and time sheets and flags gaps.
On the vehicle and authority side, the company lists temporary trip permits (including oversize and overweight, fuel and mileage permits), a Vehicle Tax and Licensing service that covers IFTA, IRP, HVUT and UCR, Form 2290 e-filing, vehicle title and registration, a CSA Performance Suite and a DOT Authority service. Its permits site describes help with USDOT and MC number setup, UCR filing, the biennial MCS-150 update, BOC-3 process agent filings, PHMSA hazardous materials registration and ongoing monitoring of a carrier's authority. Its 2290 e-filing runs through a product called 2290online, which the company says is an IRS authorized e-file provider.
Consulting and training round out the offer: DOT audits and assessments, ongoing DOT compliance guidance, fleet staff training, on-site Safe and Smart driver training, entry-level driver training content and hazmat training.
Who it is for
The range of services suits carriers of nearly any size. Small fleets and owner-operators can buy forms, logbooks, permits or a single filing. Mid-size and large fleets that want to hand off whole programs, such as DQ files or drug and alcohol administration, can use the managed services. Hazmat carriers have dedicated training and registration help. Freight brokers will find less here that is specific to brokerage, although the authority and filing services apply to any FMCSA registrant.
The company says it serves more than 500,000 companies, so expect a large organization with many product lines rather than a boutique consultancy.
How working with them works
Most products can be ordered directly from J. J. Keller's online store, while managed services and consulting start with a conversation with the company's experts. The fleet services page sends each service to its own information page, and the authority monitoring page directs buyers to contact the company or call for details. The company says it has more than 600 compliance experts in managed services and more than 75 consultants and trainers.
Pricing for most services is not published on the pages reviewed. The permits page mentions discount codes and describes authority monitoring as a monthly fee without listing an amount, so ask for a written quote.
Questions to ask before you sign
Which filings will J. J. Keller submit for you, and which must you still file yourself on FMCSA's own systems? For example, confirm who submits your MCS-150 biennial update, who handles your UCR registration and who controls your FMCSA login. J. J. Keller is a private company, not a government agency, and you remain responsible for your own compliance even when you outsource tasks.
What does each service cost, and what is the government fee versus the service fee? Ask for an itemized quote that separates state or federal fees (UCR, IRP, IFTA, permit fees, 2290 tax) from J. J. Keller's own charges, and ask whether pricing is per driver, per vehicle or per filing.
For drug and alcohol program management, will J. J. Keller act as your consortium or TPA in the FMCSA Clearinghouse, and what steps do you still need to complete yourself, such as registering as an employer and designating the TPA?
If you get a DOT compliance review or new entrant audit, what support is included? Ask whether consultants will help assemble records and attend or advise during the audit, and whether that is part of the managed service or billed separately.
How are records stored, and can you export your DQ files and testing records if you leave? What are the contract length and cancellation terms?
Company background
J. J. Keller traces its start to 1953, when John J. (Jack) Keller opened what the company describes as a one-man consulting firm for motor carriers in Neenah, Wisconsin. A 2013 Heavy Duty Trucking article describes the founding operation as covering regulatory consulting, warehousing and insurance underwriting, and calls the company privately owned. That article put headcount at more than 1,200 associates working mostly at four locations in Neenah and Appleton, Wisconsin.
Today the company says it has more than 100 editors and consultants tracking regulations and that it helps clients meet requirements from DOT, OSHA, DOL, EPA and more than 300 other agencies. It manufactures many of its printed products at a facility in Neenah.
Sources
Information compiled from public sources. Last verified November 2026. Confirm details directly with the company.
