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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
Once an employee is randomly tested during a calendar year, is his/her name removed from the pool of names for the calendar year? FMCSA-D&A-382.305-Q06 Guidance that the names of drivers tested earlier in the year must be returned to the pool for each new selection
Question 11: Who is responsible for reimbursing the SAP for services rendered? Who is responsible for paying for follow-up testing recommended by the SAP? FMCSA-D&A-382.605-Q11 Drug & Alcohol Testing – Payment for SAP Services and Follow-up Testing
May a driver who is taking advantage of the 100-air-mile radius exemption in §395.1(e) be intermittently off-duty during the period away from the work-reporting location? FMCSA-HOS-395.1-Q20 Hours of Service Exceptions
Are lighting devices on mobile homes/house trailers required to be permanently mounted? FMCSA-VEH-393.25-Q01
How should an employer compute the number of random tests to be given to ensure that the appropriate testing rate is achieved given the fluctuations in driver populations and the high turnover rate of drivers? FMCSA-D&A-382.305-Q14 Guidance on how to account for fluctuations in driver population when computing the number of random tests to be given
If a driver is required by a motor carrier to carry a pager/beeper to receive notification to contact the motor carrier for a duty assignment, how should this time be recorded? FMCSA-HOS-395.2-Q06 Hours of Service Definitions
Are vacuum gauges required on the vacuum portion of vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes? FMCSA-VEH-393.51-Q03 Do vacuum-assisted hydraulic brake need a gauge on the vacuum portion?
The driver has logged one or more 13-hour driving periods while in Canada during the previous 7 days, but has complied with all the FMCSRs while operating in the U.S. Has the driver violated the 11-hour driving requirement in the U.S.? FMCSA-HOS-395.3-Q04 Hours of Service Maximum Driving Time
Question 1: If a DVIR does not indicate that certain defects have been repaired, and the motor carrier has not certified in writing that such repairs were considered unnecessary, may the driver refuse to operate the motor vehicle? FMCSA-VM-396.13-Q1.cm Prohibition to operate vehicle without certification of repairs
Can a CMV with tires marked “Not for Highway Use” meet the periodic inspection requirements? FMCSA-VM-396.17-Q07.cm