INFORMATION BULLETIN
Contact: FMCSA.PublicAffairs@dot.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a final rule amending its emergency declaration regulations. The final rule revises the length of regulatory relief automatically triggered by a regional declaration of emergency, extending it from 14 days to 30 days.

This automatic regulatory relief is enacted when a regional emergency is formally declared by a State Governor, a Governor's authorized representative, or FMCSA. By extending the automatic exemption to 30 days, FMCSA expects to significantly reduce the administrative burdens of filing and processing extension requests that were created by the previous 14-day limitation. This update also reflects a commitment to give states greater control over disaster response and trusting state leaders to know what's best for their state in the wake of emergencies. 

Key details regarding the final rule include:

• Effective Date: The final rule goes into effect immediately on October 5, 2026.
• Relief Extension: The rule extends the length of automatic regulatory relief from 14 days to 30 days.
• Triggering Entities: This automatic relief is triggered following a regional emergency declaration issued by a State Governor, a Governor's authorized representative, or FMCSA.

For more information and to read the complete regulatory text, please see the Final Rule here.