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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
What is a motor carrier or driver required to do if they use two electronic logging devices (ELDs) that are not interoperable during a 7-day period? FMCSA-ELD-395-Q078(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
When a driver manually enters records into an electronic logging device (ELD) how must the ELD “Event Record Origin” be set? FMCSA-ELD-395-Q046(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
What is the responsibility of the carrier and driver pertaining to electronic logging device (ELD) diagnostic events or malfunctions that do not interfere with the accurate recording of hours of service? What would the documentation requirements be in... FMCSA-ELD-395-Q047(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
Under section 4.6.1.2 of 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, Appendix A, the engine synchronization compliance monitoring requires the electronic logging device (ELD) to record an engine synchronization diagnostics event when it cannot acquire values for the ELD FMCSA-ELD-395-Q048(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
Is the electronic logging device (ELD) required to retrieve the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) position from the device connected to the port, or can this be retrieved by using a smartphone or tablet? FMCSA-ELD-395-Q079(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
What is a manufacturer required to do when required data is not available from the electronic control module (ECM)? FMCSA-ELD-395-Q057(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
Can an electronic logging device (ELD) provider pass the one-minute boot time rule by requiring the driver to power on the device (or an app) prior to starting the engine? FMCSA-ELD-395-Q055(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
Is it permissible to allow the electronic logging device (ELD) to power up, boot, and accept driver logins before the engine is powered?  FMCSA-ELD-395-Q056(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
ELD Functions FAQs FMCSA-ELD-Functions-FAQs(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance
If the required electronic logging device (ELD) data from the electronic control module (ECM) is private and requires an agreement with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to obtain said data, are ELD providers required to enter an agreement with... FMCSA-ELD-395-Q058(2022-03-10) ELD Guidance