ELD Electronic
Logging Devices

Records from the engine installer, engine dealer, or engine manufacturer that confirm the engine year and the date when the engine was replaced.

The inspector will cite the driver for failing to have a required electronic record of duty status (RODS), and will place the driver out of service (OOS) for 10 hours (8 hours for a passenger carrier), in accordance with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) North American Standard Out-of-Service (OOS) Criteria. At the end of the OOS period, the driver is allowed to complete the current trip to his or her final destination using paper logs. If the driver is stopped again prior to the final destination, the driver will be asked to provide the safety official a copy of the inspection report and evidence (e.g., bill of lading) proving he/she is continuing the original trip. After reaching the final destination, if the driver is dispatched without obtaining a compliant ELD, he/she will again be subject to the OOS procedures. However, a driver may return with an empty commercial motor vehicle (CMV) to his/her principal place of business or home terminal, as indicated on the roadside inspection report.

When a vehicle is registered, the model year should follow the criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Generally, the model year is determined by reviewing the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the vehicle registration. If the model year is pre-2000 based on the VIN, an ELD is not required.

However, there may be instances when the model year reflected on the vehicle registration is not the same as the engine model year, most commonly when a vehicle is rebuilt using a "glider kit" or when an engine is swapped from one vehicle to another. Vehicles with engines predating model year 2000 are also accepted and are not required to have an ELD, even if the VIN reported on the registration indicates that the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is a later model year. While the driver is not required to possess documentation that confirms the vehicle engine model year, 49 CFR part 379 Appendix A requires motor carriers to maintain all documentation on motor and engine changes at the principal place of business.

• A motor carrier driver operating a rental truck with a rental agreement that exceeds 8 days must comply with the ELD rule unless another ELD exemption applies.
• If a property-carrying truck is rented for 8 days or less, as indicated in the rental agreement, drivers are not required to use an ELD. To meet this exemption, the driver and motor carrier must maintain the following:
  • A copy of Federal Register Notice (FRN) 82 FR 47306, "Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemptions; Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA)" dated Oct. 11, 2017 or an equivalent signed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) exemption document. This document must be provided to safety officials on request.
  • A copy of the rental agreement. The rental agreement must clearly identify the parties to the agreement, the vehicle, and the dates of the rental period.
  • Copies of the driver's record of duty status (RODS) for the current 24-hour period and the prior 7 days, if RODS are required on those days.

Under 49 CFR 395.11, motor carriers must retain up to 8 supporting documents for every 24-hour period that a driver is on duty.

If a motor carrier retains more than 8 supporting documents for a driver’s 24-hour period, the motor carrier must maintain the supporting document that has the earliest time indication as well as the one with the latest time indication. Drivers must submit their supporting documents to the motor carrier no later than 13 days after receiving them.

Under 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1), motor carriers must retain RODS and supporting documents for six months from the date of receipt.

Supporting documents required in the normal course of business are important to verify a driver's records of duty status (RODS). They consist of 5 categories, described in 49 CFR 395.11(c):

• Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules, or equivalent documents that indicate the origin and destination of each trip;
• Dispatch records, trip records, or equivalent documents;
• Expense receipts related to any on-duty not-driving time;
• Electronic mobile communication records, reflecting communications transmitted through a fleet management system; and
• Payroll records, settlement sheets, or equivalent documents that indicate what and how a driver was paid.

If a driver keeps paper RODS under §  395.8(a)(1)(iii), the carrier must also retain toll receipts. For drivers using paper RODS, toll receipts do not count toward the eight-document cap.

Two categories of supporting documents—electronic mobile communications and payroll records—are not documents a driver would have to physically retain. These types of documents may be part of a larger record that the carrier retains electronically or physically at the dispatch location or principal place of business. Under 49 CFR 395.11(d)(2), all information in an electronic mobile communication record will be counted as one document per duty day.

No. Documents acquired throughout the day are to verify drivers' compliance with the hours of service regulations. 49 CFR 395.11 contains more specific information on the requirements for supporting documents.

Under 49 CFR 395.11(c)(2)(i), a supporting document must contain the following elements:

• Driver name or carrier-assigned identification number, either on the document or on another document enabling the carrier to link the document to the driver. The vehicle unit number can also be used if it can be linked to the driver;
• Date;
• Location (including name of nearest city, town, or village); and
• Time

However, under §  395.11(c)(2)(ii), if a driver has fewer than 8 supporting documents containing these four data elements for a 24-hour period, a document containing all of the elements except time is considered a supporting document.

Under 49 CFR 395.11(c)(2)(ii), if a driver has fewer than 8 documents for a 24-hour period that include all 4 elements identified in §  395.11(2)(i)–link to driver, date, location, and time–a document that contains all of the elements except “time” is considered a supporting document.

Under 49 CFR 395.11(d)(3), if a motor carrier has more than 8 supporting documents for a 24-hour period, the motor carrier must retain the supporting documents containing the earliest and latest time indications and 6 other supporting documents. If the motor carrier has fewer than 8 documents, the motor carrier must keep each document.

Under 49 CFR 395.11(g), upon request during a roadside inspection, a driver must provide any supporting document in the driver's possession for an authorized safety official's review. A driver need not produce the supporting document in a format other than that in which the driver possesses it.

Yes, vehicles operated by the Canadian Armed Forces in the U.S. are not subject to the FMCSRs.

U.S. Federal, State and local enforcement personnel should not conduct driver/vehicle inspections on vehicles operated by Canadian Armed Forces provided:

• The driver possesses an appropriate military personal identity card issued by Canada,
• The driver possesses an individual or collective movement order,
• The vehicle carries a registration number, and
• The vehicle contains the distinctive nationality mark of Canada.

Note that the exemption described above applies only to Canadian Armed Forces and not to contractor drivers or vehicles used by the Canadian Armed Forces.

Authorized safety officials may inspect and copy motor carrier records and request any records needed to perform their duties.