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FMCSA's Interstate Truck Driver's Guide to Hours of Service
Twenty-seven illustrated pages with worked log examples, published by the agency that writes the rule. The best downloadable primer on hours that exists.
- Author
- Relay Dispatch Desk
- Published
- 18 Aug 2026
- Verified
- 15 Aug 2026
- Re-checked
- annually
Key takeaways
- Twenty-seven pages, written for drivers rather than for lawyers, with worked log examples.
- It covers the 11-hour, 14-hour, 30-minute and 60/70-hour limits and the sleeper-berth provision in one document.
- Records of duty status are submitted to the carrier within 13 days, and eight days of records stay with the driver.
- It is a federal work and therefore free to copy — we link the agency's own file so you always get the current one.
Who it is for
Anyone who has read the summary page and still is not sure how the fourteen-hour window interacts with a split. The guide works through the limits with drawn log examples, which is the part the regulation text cannot do.
What is inside
- The four limits, with a worked example of each on a graph grid.
- The sleeper-berth provision, including how the two periods are paired.
- Adverse driving conditions and the short-haul exception.
- Record-keeping: what goes to the carrier, when, and what stays with you.
Sources
- FMCSA · Interstate Truck Driver's Guide to Hours of Service (April 2022) · accessed 15 Aug 2026
- FMCSA · Summary of Hours of Service Regulations · accessed 15 Aug 2026
Re-verified annually. Educational summary — the regulation controls. Not legal advice.
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