IFTA changes electronic records, no longer the same as IRP
Changes to the electronic recordkeeping requirements of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) affect records produced by vehicle tracking systems, including electronic logging devices (ELDs) and global positioning systems (GPS).
IFTA has revised the requirements for electronic records to tightly define what data elements are required and what formats are acceptable.
Minimum pings required
The changes affect distance records produced by a vehicle tracking system that utilizes latitudes and longitudes, such as an ELD or GPS. Under the new requirements, a record must be created and maintained at a minimum every 10 minutes when the vehicle’s engine is on.
This action is even more stringent than recent changes for electronic records under the International Registration Plan (IRP), which require minimum record creation rate of every 15 minutes while the engine is on.
Details of the new required elements for both programs
Distance records produced by a vehicle tracking system that utilizes latitudes and longitudes must be created and maintained at a minimum:
- Every 10 minutes when the vehicle’s engine is on for IFTA, and
- Every 15 minutes when the vehicle’s engine is on for IRP.
Records must contain the following data elements:
- The date and time of each system reading;
- The latitude and longitude to include a minimum of 4 decimal places (0.0001) of each system reading;
- The odometer reading from the engine control module (ECM) of each system reading. If no ECM odometer is available a beginning and ending dashboard odometer or hubodometer for the trip will be acceptable; and
- The vehicle identification number or vehicle unit number.
Mirroring changes under IRP, IFTA specifies that data must be accessible in an electronic spreadsheet format such as XLS, XLSX, CSV, or delimited text file. Formats from a vehicle tracking system that provides a static image such as PDF, JPEG, PNG, or Word are not acceptable.
The effective date for the changes – January 1, 2024 – also aligns with changes recently finalized by IRP.
When to flip your system
On January 1, 2024, any carrier operating with IRP plates or IFTA decals must adhere to the new rules in place on that day. Records for travel activity before, on, or after that date must meet the standards in place during the time of that travel activity.
Through December 31, 2023 | Beginning January 1, 2024 |
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Records produced wholly or partly by a vehicle-tracking system, including a system based on a GPS, must include: 1. Original GPS or other location data for the vehicle to which the records pertain; 2. Date and time of each GPS or other system reading; 3. Location of each GPS or other system reading; 4. Beginning and ending reading from the odometer, hubodometer, engine control module (ECM), or any similar device for the period to which the records pertain; 5. Calculated distance between each GPS or other system reading; 6. Route of the vehicle’s travel; 7. Total distance traveled by the vehicle; 8. Distance traveled in each jurisdiction; and 9. Vehicle identification number or vehicle unit number. | When the vehicle’s engine is on, the vehicle-tracking system that utilizes latitudes and longitudes must create and maintain a record at a minimum of:
Records must contain the following elements: 1. Vehicle identification number or vehicle unit number, 2. Date and time of each system reading, 3. Latitude and longitude to include a minimum of 4 decimal places (0.0001) of each system reading, and 4. Odometer reading from the ECM of each system reading. If no ECM odometer is available, a beginning and ending dashboard odometer or hubometer for the trip is acceptable. The data must be accessible in an electronic spreadsheet format such as XLS, XLSX, CSV, or Delimited text file. |