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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
When a driver fails to meet the provisions of the 100 air-mile radius exemption (section 395.1(e)), is the driver required to have copies of his/her records of duty status for the previous seven days? Must the driver prepare daily records of duty status f FMCSA-HOS-395.8-Q20 RODS and the 100 air-mile radius exemption
What documents satisfy the requirement to show a shipping document number on a record of duty status as found in §395.8(d)(11)? FMCSA-HOS-395.8-Q14 Hours of Service Records of Duty Status
May a sleeper berth be used for a period of less than 2 hours’ duration? FMCSA-HOS-395.2-Q07 Hours of Service Definitions
Can military time be used on the grid portion of the driver’s record of duty status? FMCSA-HOS-395.8-Q17 Hours of Service Records of Duty Status
Must non transportation-related work for a motor carrier be recorded as on-duty time? FMCSA-HOS-395.2-Q11 Hours of Service Definitions
What is the carrier’s liability when its drivers falsify records of duty status? FMCSA-HOS-395.8-Q21 liability for false records
May specially trained drivers of specially constructed oil well servicing vehicles cumulate the 8 consecutive hoby combining off-duty time or sleeper-berth time at a natural gas or oil well site with off duty while en route to or from the well? FMCSA-HOS-395.1-Q11 Hours of Service Exceptions
May time spent in sleeping facilities being transported as cargo (e.g., boats, campers, travel trailers) be recorded as sleeper berth time? FMCSA-HOS-395.1-Q24 Hours of Service Exceptions
How must a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver operating a non-CMV at the direction of a motor carrier record this time? FMCSA-HOS-395.2-Q14 Regulations
Is a driver (United States or foreign) required to maintain a record of duty status (log book) in a foreign country before entering the U.S.? FMCSA-HOS-395.8-Q25 RODS requirement in foreign country prior to entering the US