An electronic logging device (ELD) is a device or technology that automatically records a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver’s driving time and aids in the accurate recording of the driver’s hours of service, replacing the need for paper records of duty status (RODS or “logs”). To be considered an ELD, the device must comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, particularly the technical specifications in Appendix A.

Federal regulations for ELDs were published December 16, 2015, with an effective date of February 16, 2016, and a compliance deadline of December 18, 2017. Under those rules, motor carriers and drivers may only use ELDs that are registered and self-certified with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and listed on the agency’s website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/devices.

• Drivers who meet certain criteria do not have to comply with the ELD mandate, which became law for most interstate CMV drivers as of December 18, 2017.
• Carriers in Canada must adhere to that nation’s own ELD regulations, which took effect June 12, 2021, though specific exemptions are in place.

Under federal rules, electronic logging devices (ELDs) became mandatory for most interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who are required to complete records of duty status (RODS or “logs”) as of December 18, 2017.

Who is exempt

The following drivers are exempt from the ELD mandate:

• Drivers who are exempt from needing logs. This includes, for example, drivers for a non-business, private motor carrier of passengers, drivers of certain utility service vehicles, and certain agricultural operations.
• Drivers who are required to use a standard paper log for no more than eight days within any 30-consecutive-day period. These drivers may continue to use paper logs when necessary in place of ELDs. This includes “intermittent” or “occasional” drivers and drivers eligible for a short-haul exception in 49 CFR Part 395.1(e) who do not need logs more than eight days out of 30. Once such a driver needs to use a regular log on nine or more days within any 30-day period, the driver must switch to an ELD.
• Drivers operating in a driveaway-towaway operation in which the vehicle being driven is part of the shipment being delivered or is a motorhome or a recreational vehicle trailer.
• Drivers of commercial motor vehicles rented for a contractual period of eight days or less, provided that the driver has, in the truck, a copy rental agreement and a copy of the Federal Register notice pertaining to the exemption.
• Drivers of vehicles manufactured before model year (MY) 2000 — when electronic control modules (ECMs) were not required — are exempt from ELDs while operating such vehicles. The MY is identified by the 10th position in the vehicle identification number (VIN) as shown on the vehicle registration. Motor carriers are allowed but not required to equip these older vehicles with ELDs.
  • If the MY of the vehicle per the VIN on the registration is 2000 or newer but the engine MY is 1999 or older, the driver is not required to use an ELD. The carrier must maintain paperwork supporting the engine MY at the main office if the driver is operating under this exception to the ELD requirement.

Using exceptions intermittently — Drivers who are eligible for an exception from the hours-of-service rules while operating a vehicle equipped with an ELD, such as the exceptions found in 390.3(f), 390.23, or 395.1, can use the exception. The driver would need to add a note to the ELD record to explain when the exception is being used.

ELD requirements in Canada

Canada’s ELD mandate took effect June 12, 2021, for all federally regulated carriers.

The hours-of-service regulation adopts by reference the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Technical Standard for Electronic Logging Devices Version 2.1, October 27, 2020, which includes technical operational standards and requirements for ELDs used in Canada.

A progressive enforcement period for ELDs started June 12, 2021, and runs through January 1, 2023.

Applicability

Exemptions from using ELDs in Canada apply to:

• Drivers who are driving under a permit or statutory exemption,
• Drivers of vehicles subject to rental agreements for a term of 30 days or less, and
• Commercial vehicles manufactured before the year 2000.
• Drivers operating within the 160-kilometre radius of the home terminal are not required to use an ELD as long as:
  • The driver returns to the home terminal each day to begin at least eight consecutive hours of off-duty time,
  • The carrier maintains accurate and legible records showing for each day the driver’s cycle and on-duty times, and
  • The carrier keeps those records and supporting documents for at least six months. If a driver no longer qualifies for this allowance, an ELD is required.

See Canada’s hours-of-service subject for more details on Canada’s ELD mandate and the hours-of-service requirements.

• Technical standards for ELDs are wide-ranging and thorough. The most essential stipulations are outlined in a table of activities and corresponding requirements.
• ELD systems include a tethered component (“black box”) attached to a vehicle’s ECM to compile engine-use data.

Electronic logging devices (ELDs) must meet the regulatory requirements in Appendix A to Subpart B of 49 CFR Part 395, Section 395.8, and Subpart B (395.20 to 395.38).

Device and systems

ELDs must meet the technical standards detailed in Appendix A. The use of the device and support system must meet the requirements in 395.8 and Subpart B (395.20 to 395.38). The appendix and regulations have extensive technical requirements. This table summarizes the key requirements:

Connection to the vehicle

Unlike logging software that may run on a standalone laptop, smartphone, or tablet, an ELD system has a tethered component, meaning a device — sometimes called a “black box” — attached to the vehicle’s ECM to automatically gather engine-use data. The overall system may include a smartphone or tablet that receives data from the black box, displays it for enforcement (via digital display or printout), and forwards it to the motor carrier for auditing and storage.

Data automatically recorded

Data recording — ELDs must automatically record the:

• Date,
• Time,
• Geographic location (accurate to a one-mile radius),
• Engine hours,
• Vehicle miles,
• Driver or user ID,
• Vehicle ID, and
• Motor carrier ID.

This required data must be recorded:

• At power-up and shutdown,
• At every change in duty status,
• At least every hour while the vehicle is moving,
• Whenever a driver logs in or out, and
• When the ELD detects or clears a malfunction or diagnostic event.

Some vehicle-related data points can be missing if the capture was required when the vehicle’s engine was not running. An example of this would be a driver doing a duty change between off-duty and on-duty when away from the vehicle or when the engine is off.

• Responsibility for management of ELD accounts falls on motor carriers, and “ghost driver” accounts with no driver assigned are a thing of the past.
• Operating an ELD-equipped vehicle without logging in creates an “unidentified driver” account that must be reviewed, assigned to a driver, or explained.

Carriers use devices and systems that are listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/devices to comply with the regulations.

Account creation

Motor carriers are required to manage their electronic logging device (ELD) accounts, including creating, deactivating, and updating accounts and ensuring that properly authenticated individuals have ELD accounts with appropriate rights. Each user must have a unique ELD username, and driver accounts must include each driver’s name, license number, and licensing state. If someone operates an ELD-equipped vehicle without logging in, the ELD data collected has to be stored in an “unidentified driver” account.

“Generic” or “ghost driver” accounts are no longer allowed. These are accounts that do not have an actual driver assigned to them. They were used in the past to address situations where an individual without a driver account had to drive a vehicle equipped with an electronic logging system. Examples include:

• Maintenance: Some carriers previously had one account shared by all maintenance and yard personnel. Whenever a vehicle was moved in the yard, the yard employee (mechanic or yard driver) would log into this account.
• Road test: This account was used by some carriers to road-test new drivers who had not yet been assigned a user name.
• Training: This account was used by trainers to instruct using the electronic logging system to new drivers.

Under current rules, the existence of such an account is a violation of the regulations. The reason for the change in the rules is that if drivers found out about these accounts, they could use them to hide driving time and exceed hours-of-service limits. Previously, the driver would use a personal login until a limit was reached. At that point, the driver would log out and then log in using one of the ghost driver accounts and keep driving. When this is done, it is considered a false log. That means if a driver is found using a ghost account, it is actually two violations: one for having such an account and one for false logs.

Unassigned driving time

If someone operates an ELD-equipped vehicle without logging in, the ELD data collected has to be stored in an “unidentified driver” account. When a driver logs into that ELD, the driver will be prompted to review any unassigned driving time stored on the device and must indicate whether that time belongs to that driver. Motor carriers have to make sure that unidentified driving records are reviewed and must assign the time to the correct driver or add notes to explain why the time is unassigned (why it cannot be assigned to a driver).

To avoid unassigned driving time, a carrier has these choices:

• Assign a driver account to all personnel who might move a vehicle. If a carrier is not willing to do this, unassigned driving time will be unavoidable.
• Have drivers use the special driving categories on the ELD. This way, they will not have to log out when the driving time needs to be on a different duty line, such as off-duty during personal use and on-duty during yard moves.
• Work with the drivers. Counsel and/or retrain drivers when they forget to log in, log out early, or are not logging in for movements for which they mistakenly believe login is not needed, such as personal use and yard moves.

Having maintenance and yard personnel submit information on vehicles used is something else carriers should consider. If this is done, it will cut the time spent investigating unassigned driving time. Once a mechanic or yard driver is known to have moved the vehicle, a “canned” comment can be added to the unassigned driving time the individual created. While this will not prevent unassigned driving time, it will make managing it much easier.

• Falsification of electronic logs definitely can occur, but carriers have multiple remedies that can be applied to counteract the most common methods of cheating.
• Unless requesting an extension from the FMCSA, a motor carrier must fix or replace a faulty ELD within eight days.

There’s a common belief that drivers cannot falsify their electronic logs. While it’s certainly harder to cheat on an electronic logging device (ELD) than a paper log, drivers can falsify electronic logs. The good news is that carriers can easily find falsification. Here are some of the most common e-log falsification methods, and how they can be found during in-house auditing:

Method: Logging out and continuing to drive, or not logging in to save hours for later in the day.

Solution: Review the unassigned driving time. When unassigned driving time is added to a driver’s day and the driver is over hours, the log was likely falsified.

Method: Misusing a special driving category (personal use and yard move).

Solution: Review all uses of the special driving categories and compare with the requirements. If a driver indicates personal use but was on a company assignment or working at the time, there is a problem. If the driver’s record shows yard use but the location records show the driver at a location other than a yard or moving down the road, the use was inappropriate. In either case, the result was a false log.

Method: Editing to “create” more hours.

Solution: Look for a specific pattern in the edits. For example, a driver (or supervisor) might go back to previous days and change correctly logged on-duty time to off-duty time. If that was done when the driver was close to a limit and continued to drive after the edit, that driver may have falsified the log.

Method: Logging everything off-duty.

Solution: Look for a pattern of logs with little or no on-duty time. Then compare known on-duty activities (inspections, fueling, loading, etc.) and supporting documents (receipts, bills of lading, roadside inspection reports, etc.) with the logs. If a driver logged off duty when that driver was actually on duty, that’s falsification.

Method: Using another driver’s login.

Solution: Look for driving time from any driver who was off for the day (or who was fired or quit). This should be obvious in the system. In many cases, the driver will be “operating” a vehicle that individual normally doesn’t drive.

The key here is to be looking. If a carrier is not auditing an electronic logging system and actively looking for these issues, that carrier may have a problem and not even know it. Many drivers know these techniques, and if these drivers are not stopped from using them, they will continue to do so until their employer is audited or investigated. The big problem is that investigators and auditors know these techniques — and how to spot them.

If a carrier is using ELDs, during an agency audit the investigator will ask that carrier to transfer the logs to the investigator.

As well as checking for missing information and compliance with the limits (if the carrier is using ELDs, this will be done automatically when the investigator receives the logs), the investigator will also investigate:

• The carrier’s unassigned driver account to verify the carrier is dealing with unassigned driving time correctly,
• The carrier’s edited logs to verify that drivers are not creating false logs through editing, and
• The use of special driving categories (personal use and yard moves).

To verify accuracy of ELD records, the auditor will ask for supporting documents that a carrier is known to have, such as trip and dispatch records, payroll records, and expense receipts (see 49 CFR Part 395.11). Using these documents, the investigator will check that on-duty time was logged correctly and that the log reflects the time and location on the supporting document.

Malfunction procedures

A motor carrier must repair or replace a malfunctioning ELD within eight days unless an extension is requested. If an extension is to be requested, it must be submitted to the local Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) office within five days of the malfunction. The process is detailed in the regulations in 395.3.

• Drivers must follow a specific process involving ELDs, manually entry of data and comments, and enter the comments requested by the officer when transferring records to an officer during a roadside inspection.
• During a roadside inspection, a driver must be able to display or print logs, along with using “telemetric” or local” methods to transmit data when requested.

Drivers have to manually input information when prompted by the electronic logging device (ELD) and required by the motor carrier, including any notes, a location description if necessary, and comments needed when transferring data to an enforcement officer. They also must input or verify the power unit number, trailer number(s), and shipping document number(s), as applicable.

Required use and submission

Drivers must log in and out at the appropriate time, make the required entries at the appropriate time, review their ELD records, edit and correct inaccuracies, and enter any missing information. The information a driver will need to enter includes vehicle numbers. The truck number may already be programmed into the device, but the driver will need to enter trailer numbers. Shipment information also must be entered.

Another required entry is if for some reason the ELD cannot locate its position automatically when necessary (such as during a manual duty change). When this happens, the device will ask the driver to manually enter the location (city and state, or a description of where the driver is and the nearest city and state).

The driver must certify the log after the last duty change of the day, and then submit the completed log within 13 days. Logging out at the end of the day is different than certifying and submitting, so drivers will need to become familiar with the process of certifying and submitting logs using the system their company provides.

Driver annotations (comments)

Drivers must add comments (called “annotations” in some systems) to the record for the day. There are several reasons for wanting to place comments into the record for the day. Common reasons for a driver comment include:

• Explaining why the driver went over hours (required);
• Explaining which exception was being used that allowed hours to be exceeded (required);
• Indicating the beginning of the use of a special driving category (required);
• Noting any vehicle inspections (optional or a company requirement at some carriers);
• Noting fueling (optional or a company requirement at some carriers - some carriers also require the driver to note the fuel vendor and number of gallons, and/or to upload the receipt);
• Providing a brief explanation of what the driver was doing during any on-duty time (optional or a company requirement at some carriers); and
• Asking “official” questions related to hours-of-service issues (recommended).

Another situation that would require a comment is if an error was made that led to driving time being incorrectly assigned to the driver. Automatically captured driving time cannot be changed, shortened, shifted, altered, or deleted. If a driver ended up with driving time that was logged incorrectly, the driver must add a comment explaining that the driving time is incorrect and providing the correct driving times.

Supporting documents

Under 49 CFR Parts 395.8(k)(1) and 395.11, motor carriers must retain all supporting documents at their principal places of business for six months from the date of receipt. Such documents include:

• Shipment paperwork,
• Dispatch records,
• Expense receipts,
• Fleet management and communication systems, and
• Payroll records the driver or carrier creates or comes to possess.

If the driver is/was using paper logs, toll receipts are also to be retained and presented as a supporting document.

These documents are used to verify the accuracy of drivers’ logs during an agency audit or a roadside inspection. They are used to verify:

• The location of the driver at specific times, and
• The driver logged on-duty time when required.

When asked for supporting documents for a specific driver during an audit, the carrier must present them. However, the carrier must only present eight supporting documents for a 24-hour period even if there are more than eight. The eight must include the first and last supporting documents created during the 24-hour period. Toll receipts retained because the driver was using paper logs cannot be counted among the eight, and they must always be presented.

During a roadside inspection, drivers must present any supporting documents they have in their possession.

Roadside inspections

Drivers must be able to display or print their logs during an inspection. Upon request, drivers must also transfer their ELD records electronically to the enforcement official for on-the-spot auditing, including logs for that day and the prior seven days. If the driver provides the display to the officer, the officer will then either ask the driver to display the current day and previous seven days, or ask for the device and the required user’s manual, instruction card, and malfunction code card.

If the officer requests the records, the driver must send them directly to the officer using either one of two “telemetric” methods (web service or email) or one of two “local” methods (Bluetooth or USB 2.0). The driver should tell the officer which method a device uses (telemetric or local). Then the officer will tell the driver which communication method to use to send records to the officer. Here is an example of how the discussion could go:

• Officer: “I want you to send me the logs,” or “I want your logs.”
• Driver: “OK. We use telemetrics to send them.”
• Officer: “All right, send them to me via email with this comment attached,” or “All right, send them to me via the web service with this comment attached.”

Edit process

If any edits are needed after an ELD record has been submitted, except automatically recorded drive time under the driver’s account, the driver has to make the edits through the ELD and then recertify the record. Changes or additions to a record must be explained.

After reviewing a driver’s submitted logs (but not before they have been submitted), the motor carrier can request edits to ensure accuracy. The driver must confirm or reject any proposed changes, make the appropriate edits, and recertify the record. No one may alter or erase the original information collected concerning a driver’s hours of service.

Editing of automatically captured driving time is not allowed under any circumstances. The programming in most ELDs and their support systems will not allow such edits. The only exceptions to this are:

• Driving time involving team drivers may be moved between the two drivers if a logout/login error was made, and
• Unassigned driving time may be assigned to the correct driver.

• When an ELD no longer works correctly, the driver must alert the carrier, immediately reconstruct the logs for the current day and previous seven days, use paper logs in the interim, and be able to provide records for the eight days when asked.
• Before a roadside inspection, any reconstructed records must be in the driver’s possession since they cannot be sent to enforcement officials by the carrier during the inspection.

If an electronic logging device (ELD) malfunctions, the driver must:

• Notify the motor carrier in writing (electronic communication is acceptable) within 24 hours unless the ELD system automatically notifies the carrier;
• Reconstruct logs for the current day and previous seven days;
• Continue to manually prepare paper logs until the ELD is fixed; and
• Provide the reconstructed records and a current and accurate paper log to enforcement upon request.

Once notified by the driver that a device is no longer functioning, the carrier has eight days to repair or replace it. If the device cannot be repaired or replaced within eight days, the carrier needs to request an extension through the local Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) office or through FMCSA’s extension request email (ELD-Extension@dot.gov) within five days of the malfunction. The process is detailed in 49 CFR Part 395.34.

To reconstruct the previous seven days, the driver can use:

• The display to show any logs the system can display and transfer,
• System printouts or PDFs of any of the previous days’ logs available in the system, or
• Blank logs the driver is required to carry.

If the ELD cannot display any records and the system cannot immediately provide printouts or PDFs of the previous seven days, the driver will need to use blank paper logs to reconstruct all previous seven days and the current day. This means that if the driver is using an ELD and has the minimum number of logs required (eight), the driver will have to use all the blank logs for that day and the previous seven days. As a result, the driver will need to locate additional logs by the next day if the device is not repaired or replaced.

This is why some carriers are choosing to have their drivers carry 10 to 30 blank logs, rather than the minimum of eight.

Should a roadside inspection occur, the driver must be able to present records for the current and previous seven days. The records can be a mix of electronic records, printouts, PDFs, and regular paper logs.

The driver cannot ask the company to send the previous seven days’ records to the officer during a roadside inspection. That driver must complete the reconstruction before the inspection begins and be in possession of the current day’s and previous seven days’ records during the inspection. Offering to send the officer the previous seven days’ records is not the same as possessing them.

While similar to a malfunction, a diagnostic event is different. If a device has suffered a “data diagnostic event” or “data inconsistency,” the driver should follow the manufacturer’s instructions on what must be done to deal with the event.