Lxt: I don't think you have ever met a real DOT inspection van. I'm not talking about a highway patrolman that decides to check you out. I'm talking about the guys in a special truck (or van) that exists for only one reason: to inspect your truck until they can find each and every conceivable broken regulation in or around your truck. Absolutely nothing goes unchecked, from the spare fuses, to pressure on each and every tire.
Along with everything that they inspect, they will ask to see the completed form that I enclosed above. Federal Regulations stipulate that this form is present and kept current in every truck with a DOT number on it.
Without it, you get a ticket, even if you pass every other aspect of the inspection.
A DOT audit is a completely different sort of visit. You apparently have no idea what is being referred to, because it is NOT a roadside stop of your truck.
DOT will send you a letter advising you that they are coming, and they will tell you when they are coming. Then they call you personally to advise you what records they will be asking to see, and then they come to your office like the IRS auditor. Give me this, give me that, let's look at these records...
They don't quit until every single piece of information has been confirmed for the last year. It took three days when they came to my office, and the guy never even looked at one truck, except to look outside and see where we parked them.