Hours of Service Rules: Complete HOS Guide for Truck Drivers (2026)

The frustrating part is that most HOS violations are not caused by drivers intentionally cheating their logs. They happen because the rules are genuinely complicated. Seven distinct limits interact with each other. Exceptions change the math depending on your route, your load, the weather, and whether you crossed a state line. The 2020 final rule changed four major provisions, and those changes are still catching drivers who learned the old rules and never fully absorbed the updates.

This is the reference guide for every HOS rule currently in effect. I am covering all seven limits, the 2020 rule changes that still apply in 2026, the short-haul exception, sleeper berth splits, adverse driving, Canadian vs US differences, and the penalties for getting it wrong. If you drive a CMV or manage drivers who do, bookmark this page.

What are the FMCSA hours of service rules?

HOS rules apply to any driver operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce who is required to hold a commercial driver's license (CDL). That covers vehicles over 10,001 lbs GVWR, vehicles designed to transport 16 or more passengers, and vehicles hauling hazardous materials requiring a placard. Intrastate drivers follow state-level HOS rules, though most states have adopted the federal standard.

Who must follow federal HOS regulations?

Federal HOS regulations apply to drivers of commercial motor vehicles operating in interstate commerce. Specifically, that means drivers of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,001 lbs or more, drivers of vehicles designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, and drivers transporting hazardous materials in quantities requiring placards under 49 CFR Part 172.

There are notable exemptions. Drivers operating within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location who meet the short-haul criteria are exempt from keeping records of duty status, though they must still follow the driving and on-duty time limits. Farm vehicle drivers operating within 150 air miles of the farm are exempt. So are drivers of vehicles used for oil well servicing (with modified limits) and certain utility service vehicles during emergencies.

HOS rules for property-carrying vs passenger-carrying drivers

The FMCSA maintains two separate HOS rule sets depending on what the vehicle carries. Property-carrying drivers (the majority of trucking) follow the more commonly cited limits: 11 hours driving, 14-hour window, 60/70-hour cycle. Passenger-carrying drivers — think motorcoach, charter bus, transit — follow stricter limits: 10 hours driving, 15-hour on-duty window, and a 60/70-hour cycle. The difference matters because applying the wrong rule set to your ELD will generate false compliance readings and flag violations that should not exist.

All 7 HOS rules explained with current limits

There are seven core HOS provisions that govern how long a property-carrying CMV driver can drive, work, and rest. These rules interact — violating one often triggers a cascading violation of another. Understanding them individually matters, but understanding how they overlap is what keeps drivers compliant. Here is each rule as it stands in 2026 under [49 CFR 395.3](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-A/section-395.3).

11-hour driving limit

A driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. This is the most fundamental HOS limit. Once you have used 11 hours of driving time, you cannot drive again until you take another 10 consecutive hours off duty (or use a qualifying sleeper berth split). Driving means operating a CMV on a public road — yard moves under personal conveyance do not count against this limit.

The 11-hour clock is cumulative, not continuous. If you drive 4 hours, stop for fuel and a meal for 2 hours (on-duty not driving), then drive another 4 hours, you have used 8 hours of driving time. You have 3 hours of driving left. That 2-hour stop did not reset your driving clock — only 10 consecutive hours off duty or a valid sleeper berth split resets it.

14-hour on-duty window

A driver may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. This is the window, not a cumulative counter. Once 14 hours have passed since you came on duty, you cannot drive — regardless of how much driving time you have left on your 11-hour clock. Off-duty time during the 14-hour window does not pause or extend it, with one exception: the adverse driving conditions provision.

This is the rule that catches the most experienced drivers. A driver who starts at 6:00 AM hits the 14-hour wall at 8:00 PM no matter what happened during the day. Took a 3-hour nap at a rest area? The window kept running. Had a 2-hour delay at a shipper's dock? Still running. The only ways to extend it are through the adverse driving conditions exception (adds up to 2 hours) or a qualifying sleeper berth split.

30-minute rest break requirement

A driver must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving time, before driving again. Since the [2020 HOS final rule](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/hours-service-final-rule), this break can be satisfied by any period of at least 30 consecutive minutes spent in off-duty, sleeper berth, or on-duty not driving status. Before 2020, the break had to be off-duty or sleeper berth only — the change to include on-duty not driving was one of the most practical updates in the final rule.

The 8-hour clock is cumulative driving time since your last off-duty or sleeper berth period of at least 30 minutes. Loading a trailer for 45 minutes satisfies this break. Fueling for 30 minutes satisfies it. Sitting in a shipper's dock for an hour satisfies it. The key change from 2020 is that these on-duty not-driving activities now qualify, which eliminated a major pain point for drivers who were forced to go off-duty at locations where they were still working.

60-hour/7-day and 70-hour/8-day limits

A driver may not drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days (for carriers that do not operate every day of the week) or 70 hours on duty in 8 consecutive days (for carriers that operate every day). This is the weekly cycle limit. It is a rolling window — each day, the oldest day drops off and the current day is added. The cycle limit counts all on-duty time, not just driving.

Which cycle you use depends on your carrier's operating schedule, not the individual driver's schedule. If the carrier operates 7 days a week, all drivers use the 70/8 cycle. If the carrier only operates Monday through Saturday, drivers use the 60/7 cycle. Most long-haul carriers use the 70/8 cycle. The cycle limit is one reason drivers who spend excessive time at shippers' docks burn through available hours without turning a wheel.

34-hour restart provision

A driver may restart a 60/7 or 70/8 cycle by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. After a valid 34-hour restart, the driver's available on-duty hours reset to the full 60 or 70. There are no additional restrictions on the 34-hour restart as of 2026 — the suspended requirements for two 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM periods and the once-per-week limit from 2013 were permanently removed in the [2020 final rule](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/hours-service-final-rule).

The 34-hour restart is optional. No driver is required to take one. It exists as a tool to reset cycle hours when a driver is running low. Some carriers build their schedules around regular weekend restarts. Others avoid them because taking 34 hours off when you have 15 available cycle hours remaining is not always the most efficient use of time.

Sleeper berth provision — split sleeper rules

The sleeper berth provision allows a driver to split the required 10-hour off-duty period into two periods, provided one period is at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, and the other period is at least 2 consecutive hours either off-duty or in the sleeper berth. Together the two periods must total at least 10 hours. Neither period counts against the 14-hour window.

Before the 2020 final rule, the split had to be 8/2 — at least 8 hours in the sleeper berth and at least 2 hours off-duty or in the sleeper. The current 7/3 split gives drivers more flexibility. A driver can take 7 hours in the sleeper, complete a short run, then take a 3-hour break to complete the split. The practical impact is significant: drivers can better align rest periods with shipper schedules and traffic patterns. The key rule to remember is that driving time before and after each split period is calculated separately — pairing time works in your favor only if you understand how the recalculation functions.

Adverse driving conditions exception

When a driver encounters adverse driving conditions that were not known or could not reasonably be known before the trip began, the driver may extend the 11-hour driving limit and the 14-hour window by up to 2 additional hours. This means a maximum of 13 hours of driving within a 16-hour window under adverse conditions. The 2020 final rule expanded this exception to include the 14-hour window — previously, it only extended driving time.

Adverse driving conditions means snow, ice, sleet, fog, or other adverse weather, or unusual road and traffic conditions including highway closures, that were not known to the driver or carrier before departure. Planned construction zones do not qualify. Neither does predictable rush-hour traffic. The conditions must be genuinely unexpected. Drivers should note adverse conditions in their ELD logs and be prepared to explain the circumstances during an inspection.

HOS rules comparison table: every limit in one place

This table summarizes all current HOS rules for property-carrying CMV drivers under 49 CFR 395.3, including the changes from the 2020 final rule that remain in effect as of 2026.

What changed in the 2020 HOS final rule — and what still applies in 2026

The FMCSA published its [HOS final rule](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/hours-service-final-rule) on June 1, 2020, with an effective date of September 29, 2020. The rule made four significant changes to HOS regulations. All four remain in effect as of 2026 with no modifications. Understanding these changes matters because many training materials, cheat sheets, and even some ELD configurations still reference the pre-2020 rules.

Short-haul exception expanded to 150 air miles

This change brought thousands of additional drivers under the short-haul umbrella. Local delivery drivers, construction material haulers, and regional pickup-and-delivery operations that previously fell just outside the 100-mile radius now qualify. The 14-hour window extension also eliminated a common problem where short-haul drivers would exceed the old 12-hour limit due to traffic or shipper delays and suddenly need an ELD for that single day.

Adverse driving conditions now adds 2 hours to driving and window

Before 2020, the adverse driving conditions exception only extended the 11-hour driving limit by 2 hours. It did not touch the 14-hour window. That created a bizarre situation: a driver could legally drive for 13 hours due to a snowstorm, but the 14-hour window still applied, meaning the extra driving time was effectively unusable unless the driver had started early enough. The 2020 rule fixed this by extending both the driving limit and the 14-hour window by 2 hours, allowing up to 13 hours of driving within a 16-hour window.

30-minute break changed to on-duty not driving

The pre-2020 rule required the 30-minute break to be taken in off-duty or sleeper berth status. That meant a driver who spent 40 minutes at a dock loading freight — clearly not driving, clearly resting from driving — did not satisfy the break requirement. The 2020 rule changed this to allow on-duty not driving time to count. A driver fueling the truck, waiting at a shipper, doing a vehicle inspection, or any other non-driving work activity of at least 30 consecutive minutes now satisfies the break.

Sleeper berth split now allows 7/3 splits

The previous sleeper berth provision required an 8/2 split — at least 8 hours in the sleeper berth and at least 2 hours off-duty or in the sleeper. The 2020 rule changed the minimum sleeper berth period to 7 hours, creating a 7/3 split option. The complementary period increased to at least 3 hours (previously 2). Both periods together must still total at least 10 hours. This gives team drivers and relay operations more scheduling flexibility, particularly on runs where a 7-hour sleep period is more practical than 8.

Short-haul exemption: when you do not need an ELD

The short-haul exemption under [49 CFR 395.1(e)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-A/section-395.1) is the most commonly used HOS exception in the industry. It exempts qualifying drivers from the ELD mandate and from maintaining records of duty status entirely. For small fleets doing local work, this exemption means the difference between buying ELD hardware for every truck and not buying it at all.

Short-haul eligibility requirements under 49 CFR 395.1(e)

To qualify for the short-haul exemption, a driver must meet all of the following conditions: operate within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location, return to that reporting location and be released from duty within 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty, have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty between shifts, and not exceed the 60/70-hour cycle limits. The carrier must maintain and retain accurate time records showing the driver's start time, end time, and total on-duty hours for each day — typically a simple time card system.

What happens when a short-haul driver exceeds the 150-mile radius

If a short-haul driver exceeds the 150 air-mile radius or the 14-hour on-duty window on any given day, the driver loses the short-haul exemption for that day and must maintain a full RODS record. Under the current rule, they are not required to have an ELD for occasional overages — the FMCSA provides a limited exception where if a driver does not exceed the short-haul limits more than 8 days in any 30-day period, they remain exempt from the ELD mandate.

This 8-day provision is critical for local fleets. A driver who normally runs a 120-mile radius but occasionally makes a 160-mile delivery does not need an ELD as long as those long days stay under 8 per month. Carriers should track these overages carefully — exceeding 8 days in a 30-day period triggers the full ELD requirement retroactively, and an inspector can audit the records.

HOS violation penalties and enforcement in 2026

HOS violations are among the most heavily penalized infractions in FMCSA enforcement. According to the [FMCSA penalty schedule](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/fines-and-penalties), individual violations can carry fines from $1,000 to $16,000 depending on the severity and the carrier's violation history. Pattern violations — repeated offenses or evidence of systemic non-compliance — trigger the higher end of the penalty range.

FMCSA fine amounts per violation type

The FMCSA assesses HOS fines based on the type and severity of the violation. Driving beyond the 11-hour limit or the 14-hour window typically carries fines of $1,200 to $3,000 for a first offense. Falsification of records — a separate and more serious violation — can reach $16,000 per instance. Carriers found to have knowingly allowed or required drivers to violate HOS rules face penalties up to $16,000 per violation as well. According to [FMCSA enforcement data](https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/), the average HOS-related fine in compliance reviews has been trending upward, with the agency prioritizing egregious and pattern violations.

How HOS violations affect your CSA score

Every HOS violation recorded during a roadside inspection feeds into the carrier's CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) score under the HOS Compliance BASIC. According to the [FMCSA SMS methodology](https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/About/Measure), violations are weighted by severity and time — recent violations count more heavily than older ones, and the weighting decays over 24 months before the violation drops off entirely.

Out-of-service orders and what they cost your operation

When an inspector finds an HOS violation during a roadside inspection, the driver can be placed out of service under [49 CFR 395.13](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-A/section-395.13). A driver placed out of service for an HOS violation must remain off duty until they have accumulated enough off-duty time to be back in compliance — typically 10 consecutive hours. The truck sits wherever the inspection occurred.

The direct cost of an out-of-service order is not just the fine. It is the revenue lost from a truck parked at a weigh station or inspection site for 10+ hours. For a truck generating $600-800 per day in revenue, a single out-of-service event costs roughly half a day's income plus the violation fine, plus the dispatcher scrambling to cover the load. According to the [CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance)](https://www.cvsa.org/), approximately 5% of drivers inspected during International Roadcheck events are placed out of service, with HOS violations as one of the top reasons.

Canadian HOS rules vs US HOS rules — key differences

Canadian hours of service rules are governed by [Transport Canada's Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313)](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2005-313/), and they differ from US FMCSA rules in several important ways. Cross-border carriers must understand both rule sets because the applicable rules change when the truck crosses the border.

Canada daily driving and on-duty limits

Canadian rules allow 13 hours of driving time within a 14-hour on-duty window — 2 more driving hours than the US limit but the same 14-hour window. Canadian drivers must take at least 8 consecutive hours off duty in each 24-hour period (compared to 10 hours in the US). Canada also requires that off-duty time include at least 2 hours that are not part of the mandatory 8-hour block — meaning a Canadian driver needs at least 10 hours total off duty per day, but only 8 need to be consecutive.

Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 under Canadian federal regulations

Canada uses a different cycle structure than the US 60/7 and 70/8 system. Cycle 1 allows 70 hours on duty in 7 days. Cycle 2 allows 120 hours on duty in 14 days. A driver can switch between cycles only after taking at least 36 consecutive hours off duty (Cycle 1 reset) or 72 consecutive hours off duty (Cycle 2 reset). The Cycle 2 option has no US equivalent — it allows significantly more on-duty time over a two-week period but requires a longer mandatory reset.

Cross-border carriers — which rules apply when

For carriers operating across the US-Canada border, the general rule is that the HOS regulations of the country where the driver is currently operating apply. A Canadian driver entering the US must comply with FMCSA HOS rules while on US soil. A US driver entering Canada must comply with Transport Canada rules while in Canada. The transition point is the border crossing.

How ELD devices enforce HOS compliance automatically

Electronic logging devices under the [FMCSA ELD mandate (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-395/subpart-B) automatically record driving time when the vehicle is in motion. The ELD connects to the engine's ECM (engine control module) and tracks vehicle speed, miles driven, and engine hours. When the vehicle exceeds 5 mph, the ELD automatically switches the driver to driving status. This eliminates the ability to drive without recording the time — the core purpose of the mandate.

Automatic duty status recording and violation alerts

According to the [FMCSA's ELD fact sheet](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/driver-quick-reference-guide), ELDs must also flag unidentified driving time — periods when the vehicle moved but no driver was logged in. These unidentified driving records appear on the carrier's reports and must be assigned to a driver within 13 days, or they become compliance red flags during audits.

Why drivers still get HOS violations with an ELD installed

An ELD records driving time — it does not prevent a driver from driving in violation. If a driver is approaching the 11-hour limit and keeps driving, the ELD will record the violation and flag it. The driver still drove illegally. The most common ELD-era HOS violations include: driving past the 11-hour limit because the driver ignored the warning, failing to take the 30-minute break (the ELD records it but does not force the truck to stop), unassigned driving miles that no driver claims, and incorrect duty status selections — marking on-duty not driving when actually driving at low speeds.

Carriers that rely on ELD warnings without building a compliance culture still accumulate violations. The technology is a tool, not a solution. According to an [ATRI (American Transportation Research Institute) study](https://truckingresearch.org/), HOS violations did decrease after full ELD mandate enforcement in 2019, but they did not disappear — they shifted from falsification violations to operational violations like exceeding driving limits and missing break requirements.

Frequently asked questions about hours of service rules