CFR Part 395
Title 49, Part 395 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which establishes the hours-of-service rules for commercial motor vehicle drivers including daily drive time limits, mandatory rest breaks, and the 60/70-hour weekly limits.
Written by Rajat GuptaRajat GuptaEditor
Rajat Gupta runs FleetOpsClub and writes its software reviews, comparisons and pricing pages. Every tool on the site is assessed against the vendor's own published documentation and pricing, and each pricing figure carries the date it was last verified so readers can judge how current it is. Where a vendor does not publish a price, the page says so rather than estimating one.
Last reviewed Aug 17, 2026Evaluating software in this category?
Compare eld compliance platforms with verified pricing, deployment details, and editorial verdicts.
Compare ELD Compliance software →Structure of 49 CFR Part 395
Part 395 is organized into subparts and individual sections that together define the complete hours-of-service framework. Section 395.1 defines applicability and exemptions. Section 395.2 provides definitions for terms like 'adverse driving conditions,' 'on-duty time,' 'sleeper berth,' and 'workday.' Section 395.3 sets the maximum driving time limits for property-carrying vehicles. Section 395.5 covers passenger-carrying vehicles. Section 395.8 governs driver records of duty status (RODS) — the logbook requirement. Section 395.15 covers automatic on-board recording devices (the predecessor to ELDs). Sections 395.20–395.38 establish the ELD mandate, including technical standards, driver instructions, and malfunction protocols. Understanding which section governs which situation is essential for responding to inspection violations.
Section 395.8: Records of Duty Status Requirements
Section 395.8(f) specifies every field a record of duty status must contain: date, total miles driven, CMV power unit numbers, driver's name, name of carrier, main office address, 24-hour period starting time, name of co-driver, total time in each duty status, total hours, and shipping document number or name and address of shipper and commodity. A 'form and manner' violation under 395.8(f)(1) is cited when any required field is missing or illegible. These violations carry a CSA severity weight of 2 — low individually, but they accumulate quickly across a fleet and can push the HOS BASIC percentile above intervention thresholds. ELDs pre-populate most required fields automatically, which is the primary operational argument for ELD adoption beyond pure compliance.
Section 395.3: The Driving Time Limits Reference Card
49 CFR 395.3 Property-Carrier Driving Limits
| Section | Rule | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 395.3(a)(1) | 10-Hour Off-Duty Reset | Driver must have 10 consecutive off-duty hours before driving |
| 395.3(a)(2) | 14-Hour On-Duty Window | Cannot drive after the 14th hour following start of on-duty time |
| 395.3(a)(3)(i) | 11-Hour Driving Limit | Maximum 11 hours of driving time within the 14-hour window |
| 395.3(a)(3)(ii) | 30-Minute Break | No driving after 8 cumulative hours without a 30-minute non-driving break |
| 395.3(b)(1) | 60-Hour/7-Day Limit | Cannot drive after reaching 60 on-duty hours in any 7 consecutive days |
| 395.3(b)(2) | 70-Hour/8-Day Limit | Cannot drive after reaching 70 on-duty hours in any 8 consecutive days |
| 395.3(c) | 34-Hour Restart | Resets 60/70-hour limit after 34+ consecutive off-duty hours |
Operational Scenario: Using Part 395 During a Roadside Inspection
How an officer reads an ELD log against Part 395
During a Level I inspection on I-40 in Oklahoma, a compliance officer reviews a driver's ELD log for the past 7 days. The officer is specifically checking: (1) whether the driver has had 10 consecutive off-duty hours before each driving period per 395.3(a)(1); (2) whether any driving period extends beyond 11 hours per 395.3(a)(3)(i); (3) whether the driver took a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative driving hours per 395.3(a)(3)(ii); and (4) whether cumulative on-duty time for the 7-day period exceeds 60 hours per 395.3(b)(1). If the ELD shows a 30-minute gap in driving at hour 8 but the status shows 'on-duty not driving' rather than 'off-duty' or 'sleeper berth,' the break does not satisfy the 395.3(a)(3)(ii) requirement. This is a common finding — drivers who use on-duty-not-driving status for meal breaks unknowingly invalidate their 30-minute break compliance.
- Print or download a copy of 49 CFR Part 395 from eCFR.gov and review it annually — FMCSA amends Part 395 periodically and changes take effect without broad notification to carriers
- Train dispatchers on the specific section citations used in violation notices — when a driver is cited under 395.3(a)(3)(ii), dispatchers need to understand what the 30-minute break rule actually requires vs. what the driver was doing
- Audit ELD duty-status entries for drivers who regularly log 'on-duty not driving' during meal breaks — if they're relying on those periods as 30-minute break compliance, they're exposed
- When building a HOS training program for drivers, use the actual CFR section numbers alongside plain-language explanations — drivers who understand the citation language are better equipped to contest errors during inspections
- Review Section 395.1(e) exemptions annually to confirm which, if any, apply to your operation — the short-haul exemption, adverse driving conditions extension, and oilfield exemptions each have specific conditions that must be documented
CFR Part 395 FAQ
Quick answers to the questions buyers usually ask once the category, software, or rollout details start getting more specific.
A
Part 395 applies to interstate commerce, defined as trade or transportation between states, between the U.S. and a foreign country, or between points in the same state but passing through another state or foreign country. Intrastate drivers may be subject to state HOS rules instead. Most states have adopted federal HOS rules for intrastate commerce, but some — notably California, Texas, and Florida — have different intrastate exemptions. Carriers operating entirely within one state should verify their state's specific applicability rules.
A
The current, legally authoritative text of 49 CFR Part 395 is published at eCFR.gov (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations), maintained by the National Archives. The eCFR is updated within days of rule changes taking effect. FMCSA's own website (fmcsa.dot.gov) also maintains a plain-language HOS guide, though the eCFR text governs in the event of any conflict.
Keep researching from here
Explore more fleet operations resources
Browse software profiles, comparisons, country-specific compliance guides, and buyer research to continue evaluating this term in context.
Category context
ELD Compliance
Return to the category hub once the guide has made the buying criteria clearer.
Research next
Open the software directory
Return to the directory when the guide has clarified what the team actually needs to evaluate next.
Open the comparison library
Use comparisons once the buyer guide or report has reduced the field enough for direct vendor tradeoff work.
Open the glossary
Use glossary terms when the content introduces category language that still needs clearer operational meaning.
Compare by country
Use country pages when this topic needs to account for a market outside the US.
Open research reports
Use research for category-wide perspective and stronger evaluation criteria before the next decision step.
Read more buyer guides
Use the blog when the team needs more practical buyer education before returning to software and comparison pages.