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Regulatory Guidance

Welcome to the FMCSA Guidance Portal. This web portal is a searchable, indexed database that contains and links to all guidance documents in effect from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract.

To comment on any guidance document, or to request issuance, reconsideration, modification, or rescission of any guidance document, please identify the guidance document in your request and send it to: FMCSAguidance@dot.gov. NOTE: The FMCSAguidance mailbox is not intended to serve as a mailbox for general inquiries. For inquiries that go beyond the limited purpose of the FMCSAguidance mailbox, please call FMCSA's Information Line (800-832-5660) or visit FMCSA's "Contact Us" page to send your inquiry to the appropriate mailbox.

Subject Agency Identifier Topic Issued Date
Can a Canada/Mexico-domiciled motor carrier’s driver manually enter the vehicle identification number (VIN) for the power unit if the ELD is unable to automatically retrieve the VIN from the engine? FMCSA-HOS-ELD-TECH-395-FAQ73(2018-03-05)-CORR1 ELD requirements for foreign-domiciled motor carriers
How does the “8 days within a 30-day period” ELD Exemption apply to Canada/Mexico domiciled motor carrier’s drivers when they are operating in the United States? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ006 Cross Border Transportation ELDs
ELD FAQ 72: Canada & Mexico FAQ – Canada- US – Q2 FMCSA-HOS-ELD-395-FAQ72 ELD requirements for foreign-domiciled motor carriers
Does the 100 air-mile radius exception apply to cross-border operations? FMCSA-BOR-ELD-395-FAQ007 Cross Border Transportation ELDs
When operating in the United States, should a Canadian commercial driver continue to operate under the Canadian HOS regulations? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ001 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements
Do Canada and the United States have similar HOS regulations regarding 30-minute break periods? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ009 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements
Must a driver from Canada have a record of duty status available for inspection when operating a CMV in the United States? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ003 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements
What are the requirements for driver to have in their possession in the CMV copies of their records of duty status when driving in Mexico and the United States? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ006 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements-key differences
Are there HOS regulations in the United States or Mexico that allow a driver to reset a maximum duty time period? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ007 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements
For drivers transporting property, are there differences between Canadian and U.S. HOS regulations for driving after on-duty time? FMCSA-BOR-HOS-395-FAQ008 Cross-border hours-of-service requirements