Documents Use Cases and Structure

Updated July 31, 2026 19:48

Documents are organized according to categories for trip, vehicle, asset, and other documents. While all document categories share a common approach to creation, editing, and organizing, each document category has a unique purpose and some unique features. It's important that organizations use the right category to accomplish their objectives.

Overview

Document categories and their purpose

The Documents hub hosts four categories of documents, each with a specific purpose and some unique characteristics:

Trip documents: Trip documents help fleets gather information and paperwork from drivers tied to specific trips, deliveries, or jobs. Fuel Receipts, a unique type of trip document, integrate data on fuel purchases into the Fuel hub for reporting and analysis.
Vehicle documents: Vehicle documents allow fleets to share key compliance documents about each vehicle (e.g., registrations or permits) with drivers via the Driver App. They also help to track and manage document expiration and renewal.
Asset documents: Asset documents allow fleets to share key compliance documents about each asset (e.g., trailers, dollies, and other equipment) with drivers via the Driver App. They also help to track and manage document expiration and renewal.
Other documents: Other documents can be created and customized by each fleet to flexibly gather information from drivers or fleet users.

Other areas of the Fleet Dashboard and Driver App have purpose-built templates and workflows for other common objectives:

Driver qualification documents: Driver qualifications are located in the Workforce hub and include templates, tracking, and alerts to ensure driver documentation is up to date.
Maintenance documents: Service history provides a complete record of services performed on a vehicle or asset, allowing fleets to review what work was completed, when it was performed, and which work order or issue it was associated with, including documents and receipts.
Dispatch documents: Dispatches allow an organization to set routes and stops for drivers using Motive’s own software or an integrated Transportation Management and can document and collect signatures directly in the app, streamlining paperwork on the go.
Pre and post trip inspections: Inspections enable drivers to easily complete required pre-trip and post-trip inspections (DVIRs) using the Driver App. While Vehicle Documents are focused on annual inspections, DVIRs are focused on daily inspections.

Common architecture shared by all document categories

Each category in documents relies on a common architecture and set of features:

Templates: Templates are used to define what information is to be supplied in a document, including structured fields, images, attachments, and signatures. Motive provides common templates for core activities. Organizations may configure the Motive templates to suit their needs and create completely custom templates using a comprehensive form builder.
Document creation: A document is created when a template is filled out and submitted by a driver on the Driver App or a fleet user using the Fleet Dashboard.
AI document creation: Some templates provided by Motive are integrated with Artificial Intelligence so that a picture or attachment can be uploaded, the information specified by the template is automatically extracted, and the document is created. This can be done for a single document or as a bulk upload for many documents.
Management: After a document is created, it is organized according to its category, template type, and other metadata in the documents hub of the Fleet Dashboard. Fleet users may sort and filter to view, edit, archive, and delete a document and its attachments.
Sharing: Trip and Other documents can be shared with drivers or groups of drivers in the Driver App. They can also be shared externally by email. Vehicle documents are shared with vehicles and are accessible in the Driver App to drivers when they are connected to the vehicle. Asset documents are shared with assets and are accessible in the Driver App to drivers when they are connected to the asset.
Permissions: Fleet user permissions cover access to documents and the creation and management of templates. Fleet users can only view documents submitted by drivers in groups they have access to. The availability of each template in the Driver App can be set per driver, per group, and organization-wide.
Alerts: Alerts can be set for Document Upload, Vehicle Document Expiration, and Asset Document Expiration (coming soon).
Application Program Interface (API): The Motive Developer Hub provides endpoints for many document operations, including document creation, viewing, editing, and deletion.

Trip documents

Trip documents help fleets gather information and paperwork from drivers tied to specific trips, deliveries, or jobs. These documents support compliance, billing, IFTA reporting, and maintaining accurate trip records.

AI-powered trip document templates: Motive provides templates for the most common trip documents that use AI-powered information extraction to save time for drivers and fleet users. Over time, Motive will power more templates with AI extraction.

Fuel receipts: The fuel receipt template gathers price, quantity, and jurisdiction data that is critical for IFTA reporting. Additionally, the fuel receipt template has some unique characteristics:
- Information from these receipts integrates automatically to the fuel purchases and IFTA summary tabs in the Fuel hub and the IFTA report that is downloadable and exportable.
- If the fuel receipt template is duplicated by the fleet in order to customize its contents, then it will no longer be integrated to the Fuel Hub or reports; therefore, it is not recommended to make changes to this form.
Bill of lading: Store bills of lading to simplify proof of shipment and billing.

Standard trip document templates: Motive provides other common trip document templates that are filled out manually.

Accident photo: Document accidents for insurance claims and compliance.
Citation: Record citations to centralize compliance documentation and track resolution.
Scale ticket: Upload scale tickets for weight verification.

Common trip document templates customized by organizations: Organizations use the template builder to create or modify custom forms for all manner of trip document needs

Proof of delivery: Images and documentation of deliveries
Packing list: Images and documentation of a packing list
Lumper receipts: Images and documentation of lumper receipts
Manifest: Images and documentation of a manifest
Invoice: Images and documentation of invoices
Signed delivery: Images and signatures of delivery forms
Signed pickup: Images and signatures of delivery forms

Vehicle documents

Vehicle documents allow fleets to share key vehicle compliance information about each vehicle (e.g., registrations or permits) with drivers via the Driver App. The vehicle document tab and vehicle document expiration alerts also help the fleet to track and manage document expiration and renewal. Vehicle documents are associated with individual or multiple vehicles in the fleet and are displayed in the vehicle profile in Fleet view, in addition to the Documents Hub. Keeping vehicle documents up to date in Motive helps prove legality, safety, and compliance during roadside inspections.

Drivers can view assigned vehicle documents in the Motive Driver App when connected to the vehicle. The Driver App will cache and store vehicle documents when in high-connectivity areas so that drivers can access vehicle documents even if they are in a low-connectivity area. Drivers can view assigned vehicle documents and will be alerted when those documents are nearing expiration in the Motive Driver App when connected to the vehicle. Drivers are currently not able to upload a vehicle document through the Driver App.

AI-powered vehicle document templates: Motive provides templates for the most common vehicle documents that use AI-powered information extraction to save time for fleet users. These templates are intended to be used for a single document that covers a single vehicle (though multiple vehicles may be associated with a single document when editing). Fleet users can upload vehicle documents individually or use bulk upload to process many single-document files at once with AI. Over time, Motive will power more templates with AI extraction.

Apportioned Cab Card: the registration document issued to a commercial vehicle under the International Registration Plan (IRP) that lists the specific jurisdictions and weight limits for which the vehicle is authorized to operate.
Commercial Vehicle Registration: the standard registration document issued by a government agency that identifies a specific vehicle, its owner, and the authorized weight limits or operating conditions required for legal commercial use on public roads
Insurance Identification Card: the document provided by an insurance carrier that serves as official proof that a specific vehicle has the minimum liability coverage required by law to operate on public roads.
Annual Inspection Report: the document verifying that a commercial motor vehicle has passed a comprehensive yearly safety examination conducted by a qualified inspector to ensure compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) standards.
Permit: A single, standard template for permits is provided. This template is meant to be used with many different types of permits.

Standard vehicle document templates: Non-AI powered vehicle document templates are provided to fleets so that single fleet-wide or regional documents can be simply uploaded and shared with a large number of vehicles. Fleets may customize these templates with more or different information from the standard, AI-powered templates. Further, these templates are provided for fleets to use in case their documents differ from the defined AI-powered vehicle document templates.

Vehicle registration: A fleet-wide registration is best uploaded using this template.
Vehicle annual inspection: This template can be customized to handle a variety of inspection types.
Vehicle insurance: Fleet-wide or multi-vehicle liability, supplemental, or other insurance documentation can be uploaded using this template.

Asset documents

Asset documents allow fleets to share key compliance information about trailers, dollies, and other assets with drivers via the Driver App. Asset Gateways are not required to use asset documents. The asset document tab and asset document expiration alerts (coming soon) help the fleet track and manage document expiration and renewal. Asset documents are associated with individual assets or multiple assets and are displayed in the Documents Hub. Keeping asset documents up to date in Motive helps prove legality, safety, and compliance during roadside inspections.

Drivers can view assigned asset documents in the Motive Driver App if the Driver App setting to “Allow drivers to view asset documents” is enabled and the driver has selected the asset. Drivers using logs or timecards for time tracking can manually select and unselect assets from a picklist on the Driver App home screen to access asset documents. Additionally, asset documents will be available to drivers that have added an asset on their log form, completed a pre-trip asset inspection, and when drivers are connected to a vehicle that is statically paired to an asset (e.g., a reefer) or is dynamically paired to an asset with an Asset Gateway in a travel group. The Driver App will cache and store asset documents for access in low-connectivity areas. Asset documents are removed when the driver manually leaves the asset, when a travel group is broken, when the driver logs out of the Driver App, when 24 hours have passed since the asset was selected, or when the fleet deactivates the asset. Documents persist for a short period after disconnection so drivers can still reference them, for example, during a DOT inspection right after dropping a trailer.

AI-powered asset document templates: Motive provides templates for the most common asset documents that use AI-powered information extraction to save time for fleet users. Fleet users can upload asset documents individually or use bulk upload to process many single-document files at once with AI. Over time, Motive will power more templates with AI extraction.

Asset Registration: the registration document issued by a government agency that identifies a specific asset, its owner, and the authorized operating conditions required for legal use.
Asset Insurance: the document provided by an insurance carrier that serves as official proof that a specific asset has the minimum liability coverage required by law.
Asset Annual Inspection: the document verifying that an asset has passed a comprehensive yearly safety examination conducted by a qualified inspector to ensure compliance with FMCSA standards.
Asset Permit: A single, standard template for permits covering many different types of permits (e.g., hazmat, overweight, alcohol transport).

Custom asset document templates: Fleet admins can create and customize asset document templates using the template builder with configurable fields and required items. Custom templates do not have AI extraction.

FAQs

Can drivers upload documents from the Motive Driver App?

Yes. Drivers can upload, view, and sign Trip and Other documents directly from the app. Vehicle documents can only be viewed by drivers while they are connected to the vehicle; they cannot be uploaded by drivers. Asset documents can only be viewed by drivers while they have selected an asset; they cannot be uploaded by drivers.

What happens if a vehicle or asset document expires?

Fleet managers can set expiration alerts so updated files can be uploaded (available now for vehicle documents, coming soon for asset documents). The expiration status of a document is noted for a driver in the Driver App and the vehicle/asset documents summary tab.

Will customizing a fuel receipt template affect IFTA reports?

Yes. Customizing the template breaks the link to IFTA reporting. Use the default template to maintain integration.

Who can see vehicle documents in the app?

Drivers can view vehicle documents when they are connected to the vehicle.

Can I store company policies for all drivers to view?

Yes. Upload company policies under Other documents and share them with your team.

Can a vehicle document be assigned to multiple vehicles, such as a fleetwide insurance card?

Yes. A document can be assigned to multiple vehicles. AI-capture will not process this fleet-wide association automatically, but the association can be made manually as the document is reviewed and saved.

Can I store documents for trailers and other assets?

Yes. The Asset documents category allows you to upload, organize, and track documents associated with any asset in your fleet, such as trailers, dollies, or other equipment. AI-powered templates are available for the most common asset compliance documents.

I uploaded asset documents. Why can't a driver see them?

If you uploaded asset documents but a driver still can't view them in the Driver App, check the following:

Confirm the driver is on Driver App version v106 or higher.
Confirm the Allow drivers to view asset documents setting is enabled in Driver App settings.
Confirm a document is available for that specific asset, folders are only shown when documents exist.
Confirm the driver has selected or is connected to the correct asset in the Driver App.

If any of these are not true, the driver will not be able to see the document.

Why did asset documents disappear from a driver's device?

Asset documents are removed when the driver manually leaves the asset, when a travel group is broken, when the driver logs out of the Driver App, when 24 hours have passed since the asset was selected, or when the fleet deactivates the asset. Documents persist for a short period after disconnection so drivers can still reference them, for example, during a DOT inspection right after dropping a trailer.

Can drivers see asset document templates in the Driver App?

No. Asset document templates never appear in a driver's template selection list. Drivers can only view completed asset documents that have been associated with their selected or connected assets.

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