Electronic Logging Device Exemptions After the Paper Log Denial

On September 30, 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) denied a request to let truck drivers trade electronic logging devices (“ELDs”) for paper logs. The denial leaves the existing ELD exemptions in place and adds no new one. Those exemptions are narrow, and drivers who use them still keep paper records of their hours.

What Federal Regulators Denied on September 30

The Federation of Professional Truckers (“FOPT”) asked FMCSA for an exemption from the ELD rule. Drivers would have recorded their hours of service by hand instead. FMCSA published its denial in the Federal Register at 91 FR 61914, under Docket No. FMCSA-2025-1282. Administrator Derek D. Barrs signed it.

The request drew 901 public comments, and 890 of them were unique. FMCSA said most came from individuals who supported the exemption.

Two Reasons for the Denial

First, FMCSA said it had no power to grant this kind of request. Congress ordered the ELD rule in Section 32301(b) of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (“MAP-21”). The agency wrote that it “is therefore bound by this Congressional mandate and cannot grant a blanket exemption for any driver or carrier that wishes to be exempt.”

Second, FOPT did not show that the exemption would keep an equivalent level of safety. Federal exemption rules in 49 CFR Part 381 require that showing. FOPT offered to educate its members, have carriers run random internal audits, and drop drivers who broke hours limits. FMCSA noted that the request would cover all drivers who wanted it, not only FOPT members. FOPT did not explain how its safeguards would reach that larger group.

Drivers Who May Still Keep Paper Logs

The ELD rule has four built-in exceptions. Under 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(A), a motor carrier may have a driver record duty status by hand, instead of on an ELD, when the driver operates a commercial vehicle in one of these ways.

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR 395.8, current as of October 1, 2026.

FMCSA’s denial notice cites the first exception as 395.8(a)(1)(iii)(A)(1). The current Code of Federal Regulations numbers it 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(A)(1).

Short-Haul Drivers Without Duty Logs

Some drivers keep no record of duty status at all. Under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), a driver who stays within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location, and meets the rule’s other conditions, is exempt from section 395.8. The motor carrier must instead keep accurate time records for that driver for 6 months.

Paper Logs During a Device Malfunction

Paper also comes back when an ELD breaks down. Under 49 CFR 395.34, the driver must give the carrier written notice within 24 hours. The driver must rebuild the duty record on paper for the current 24 hours and the previous 7 days, unless those records are already in hand or can be pulled from the device. The driver keeps logging on paper until the device is fixed. The carrier must act to correct the malfunction within 8 days.

What an Electronic Log Records

An ELD records more than duty status. Under 49 CFR 395.26, it captures the date, time, location, engine hours, vehicle miles, and driver, vehicle, and carrier identifiers each time the driver changes duty status. It also makes an intermediate record at least once an hour while the truck is moving. Carriers must keep records of duty status and supporting documents for at least 6 months under 49 CFR 395.8(k).

The firm’s article on hours-of-service rules and ELD evidence covers how these records are used. Its article on revoked ELDs and the October 6 replacement deadline covers devices FMCSA has revoked. The Truck Talk episode on hours-of-service regulations covers the driving limits themselves.

Company-Specific Hours Exemptions

Some exemptions reach only one company. The same September 30 issue of the Federal Register carried a provisional renewal for Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC at its East Chicago, Indiana, plant. Our separate analysis of steel-plant trucking exemptions in Indiana covers the 16-hour duty window, the Dickey Road and Riley Road crossing limits, and what those boundaries mean after a truck accident.

Log Records in a Truck Accident Case

One practical inference follows from these rules. They decide which records exist after a truck accident. A driver on an ELD leaves device data and supporting documents. A driver under one of the four exceptions leaves paper logs. A qualifying short-haul driver may leave only the carrier’s time records. The firm’s trucking accident resource center collects its other articles on federal trucking rules.