ELD exemptions: who doesn't need an ELD (short-haul, 8 days in 30, driveaway, pre-2000 trucks)

The four exemptions, one by one

• Short-haul (150 air miles). Drivers who meet every condition of 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) are exempt from logs (395.8) and supporting documents (395.11). No logs means no ELD. Still required: your carrier keeps time records for 6 months.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period. If you need a log on "not more than 8 days within any 30-day period," the rule says a "motor carrier may require a driver to record the driver's duty status manually" instead of using an ELD.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab) Still required: a paper log, in duplicate, on the federal graph grid, for each day you need one.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• Driveaway-towaway. Paper logs are allowed when the vehicle you're driving is part of the shipment, or when the vehicle being moved is a motorhome or RV trailer.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab) Still required: paper logs.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab) FMCSA's FAQ says hauling mobile or modular homes doesn't qualify.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• Trucks made before model year 2000. Paper logs are allowed for a truck "manufactured before model year 2000, as reflected in the vehicle identification number as shown on the vehicle's registration."^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab) Still required: paper logs.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's guidance (ELD FAQ17) says drivers in the last three groups "are still bound by the RODS requirements in 49 CFR 395 and must prepare RODS when required."^[4] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQ17: Who is exempt from the ELD rule? (opens in a new tab)
• A truck with an ELD: FMCSA's FAQ says you can drive one and still use your exemption. The carrier can set the ELD to show the exemption, or you can record it with an annotation.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• Other exceptions: FMCSA's FAQ says carriers operating under a 395.1 exemption, like the agricultural exemption, "are not subject to part 395, including the ELD rule while they are operating under the terms of the exemption."^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• Rentals: an FMCSA exemption lets drivers of property-carrying trucks rented for 8 days or less skip the ELD through Oct. 12, 2027.^[9] Source: FMCSA: TRALA ELD exemption renewal, 87 FR 55887 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab)

Short-haul exception in detail

All of these have to be true on a given day.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)

• You stay within a 150 air-mile radius (172.6 statute miles) of your normal work reporting location.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• You return to that location and are released within 14 consecutive hours.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab) (Driver-salespersons are excepted from this return-and-release condition.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab))
• You get at least 10 consecutive hours off between each 14-hour shift (8 hours for passenger carriers).^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• Your carrier keeps time records for 6 months: when you came on duty, total on-duty hours, when you were released, and the total for the previous 7 days for new or intermittent drivers.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• These limits date from FMCSA's 2020 hours-of-service rule, effective Sept. 29, 2020. It changed 100 air miles to 150 and 12 hours to 14.^[7] Source: FMCSA: Hours of Service of Drivers final rule, 85 FR 33396 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's older guidance, like its 1997 Question 20 below, still says "100 air-mile."^[6] Source: FMCSA guidance, 49 CFR 395.8 Question 20: Failing to meet the short-haul exception (opens in a new tab)
• Non-CDL short-haul: drivers of property trucks that don't need a CDL have a separate exception. You stay within 150 air miles, return to your reporting location every day, and don't drive after the 14th hour on duty on 5 days in any 7, or after the 16th hour on 2 days in any 7. Your carrier keeps the same 6-month time records.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• Check whether a stop is inside the radius with our air-mile radius tool.

If you go past 150 air miles or 14 hours:

• You lose the exception for that day. FMCSA's guidance (395.8 Question 20) says the log "must cover the entire day," back to when you reported for duty. You need a log only "for the day he/she does not qualify," not for the previous 7 days.^[6] Source: FMCSA guidance, 49 CFR 395.8 Question 20: Failing to meet the short-haul exception (opens in a new tab)
• That log can be on paper if you need logs on 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period. Past that, you need an ELD.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's FAQ says the 30 days are "any 30-day period," not a calendar month. Its example is June 15 to July 14.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)

Pre-2000 engines: how the model year is judged

• The rule's test is the VIN. The exception covers a CMV "manufactured before model year 2000, as reflected in the vehicle identification number as shown on the vehicle's registration."^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's guidance says the same: "If the model year is pre-2000 based on the VIN, an ELD is not required."^[3] Source: FMCSA guidance: When does the pre-2000 model year exception apply? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ020(2026-10-02) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's guidance also accepts the engine year. If a truck was rebuilt from a glider kit or had an engine swapped in, and the engine is older than model year 2000, no ELD is required, even if the VIN shows a later year.^[3] Source: FMCSA guidance: When does the pre-2000 model year exception apply? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ020(2026-10-02) (opens in a new tab)
• Paperwork: FMCSA's guidance, revised Oct. 2, 2026, says the motor carrier should keep all records of motor and engine changes at its principal place of business.^[3] Source: FMCSA guidance: When does the pre-2000 model year exception apply? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ020(2026-10-02) (opens in a new tab) It doesn't tell drivers to carry them.
• It works the other way too. FMCSA's FAQ says a truck with a 2000 or newer model year on its registration is covered by the ELD rule even if it was built without an engine control module. In that case it needs an ELD that doesn't rely on the ECM.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• The guidance itself says it "is not legally binding in its own right."^[3] Source: FMCSA guidance: When does the pre-2000 model year exception apply? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ020(2026-10-02) (opens in a new tab)

Carrier-specific exemptions FMCSA has granted (or denied)

Carriers and groups can apply to FMCSA for their own exemption. Recent decisions:

• Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA): granted. Drivers of property trucks rented for 8 days or less don't need an ELD, through Oct. 12, 2027.^[9] Source: FMCSA: TRALA ELD exemption renewal, 87 FR 55887 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab)
• FMCSA's FAQ lists what to keep under the TRALA exemption: a copy of the exemption notice, the rental agreement, and logs for the current day and the prior 7 days if required.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• Federation of Professional Truckers: denied Sept. 30, 2026. The group asked to let drivers choose paper logs instead of an ELD. FMCSA found it "would not achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than," the level without the exemption.^[10] Source: FMCSA: Federation of Professional Truckers ELD exemption denied, 91 FR 61914 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab) See our rule page on the FOPT application and the news story, regulators reject push to let drivers keep paper logs.
• Project GAP (Diamond Excursions Ladies Edition): denied July 17, 2026. It asked for CDL and ELD exemptions.^[11] Source: FMCSA: Project GAP CDL and ELD exemptions denied, 91 FR 44955 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab) Our rule page: Project GAP application.
• The original 2015 ELD rule and its supporting-document rules are on our ELD rule page.

What inspectors check

• If you're on an ELD: the carrier must make sure you have an "ELD information packet" on board. It holds an instruction sheet on producing and transferring your records to an officer, an instruction sheet on malfunction reporting and recordkeeping, and enough blank paper log grids for "a minimum of 8 days."^[8] Source: FMCSA: Rescinding the ELD operator's manual requirement, 91 FR 37050 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab)
• You no longer need the ELD user's manual in the truck. FMCSA dropped that requirement effective July 22, 2026.^[8] Source: FMCSA: Rescinding the ELD operator's manual requirement, 91 FR 37050 (Federal Register) (opens in a new tab) Our rule page: rescinding the ELD manual requirement.
• If you're on paper logs: the rule says you keep a copy of each log "for the previous 7 consecutive days," in your possession and "available for inspection while on duty," along with today's.^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• 8-days-in-30 drivers: FMCSA's FAQ says "authorized safety officials may inspect and copy motor carrier records and request any records needed to perform their duties."^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)
• Short-haul drivers: the carrier "maintains and retains" the time records, so there's no log in the truck.^[2] Source: 49 CFR 395.1(e): Short-haul operations (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• If a short-haul driver doesn't qualify on a given day, FMCSA's guidance says they need a log for that whole day.^[6] Source: FMCSA guidance, 49 CFR 395.8 Question 20: Failing to meet the short-haul exception (opens in a new tab)
• Pre-2000 claim: the rule ties the exception to the model year in the VIN "as shown on the vehicle's registration."^[1] Source: 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status (eCFR) (opens in a new tab)
• For a newer VIN with an older engine, FMCSA's guidance says the carrier should keep the engine-change records.^[3] Source: FMCSA guidance: When does the pre-2000 model year exception apply? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ020(2026-10-02) (opens in a new tab)
• Rentals under the TRALA exemption: FMCSA's FAQ says the exemption document must be given to safety officials on request.^[5] Source: FMCSA ELD FAQs: ELD exceptions and exemptions (opens in a new tab)