FMCSA rescinds ELD operator's manual carriage requirement in CMVs
Motor carrier compliance teams must ensure every driver carries the ELD instruction sheet; the in-vehicle paper-manual requirement is removed.
Change
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amended 49 CFR part 395 to remove 49 CFR 395.22(h)(1), ending the requirement that a paper ELD operator's manual be kept in each commercial motor vehicle, effective on publication.
Why it matters
The compliance boundary shifts from mandatory carriage of a paper ELD manual to ensuring drivers hold an instruction sheet detailing the device's data-transfer mechanisms and step-by-step procedures for producing and transferring HOS records during inspections. The redesignated 49 CFR 395.22(h) instruction-sheet obligation survives the removal. Drivers remain bound under 49 CFR 395.24(d) to demonstrate ELD operation on request, and motor carriers retain responsibility to verify that capability for enforcement inspections.
Implications
- — Motor carrier compliance teams must ensure every driver holds the instruction sheet describing ELD data-transfer mechanisms and step-by-step HOS transfer instructions under the redesignated 49 CFR 395.22(h) — absence can be cited during an enforcement inspection.
- — Driver training and safety managers must confirm drivers can demonstrate ELD operation and produce and transfer HOS records on request under 49 CFR 395.24(d) — drivers unable to demonstrate operation can be cited.
Who is affected
- — Motor carrier compliance teams responsible for ELD and HOS records
- — Commercial motor vehicle drivers required to operate ELDs
What to watch
- — 22 July 2026: deadline for petitions for reconsideration of the final rule to the FMCSA Administrator.