Motor carriers must retain ELD RODS and supporting documents for six months and keep a backup of ELD records on a device separate from the device storing the originals. Retention is a records workflow, not merely a driver-app setting.
What this means for your fleet
Define the system of record, export format, separate backup device or system, access roles, legal-hold process, and a monthly restoration test. Keep the original record and the audit trail for edits rather than exporting only a polished report.
Retention minimums to build into the workflow
Motor carriers must retain ELD records of duty status and applicable supporting documents for six months. FMCSA also requires a backup copy of ELD records on a device separate from the device holding the originals, with storage that protects driver privacy. A monthly restore test should prove that the fleet can retrieve the original record, edits, annotations, certification, and related supporting documents for a requested driver and date.
What to check
Use these checks before changing a log, policy, device, integration, or buying decision.
| Check | How to verify |
|---|---|
| 1. Confirm the six-month retention rule | Cite the current provision, identify each required RODS and supporting-document set, and record the calculated destruction date. |
| 2. Preserve original and edited records | Export an original record plus edits, annotations, certifications, and audit history; verify that none are flattened or lost. |
| 3. Maintain a separate-device backup | Record the primary and separate backup locations, access owners, encryption or protection controls, and successful copy date. |
| 4. Test retrieval by date and driver | Retrieve a named driver's exact date range and supporting documents; save timing, record count, gaps, and open/read result. |
| 5. Control deletion and legal holds | Keep the deletion schedule, active legal or audit holds, approver, attempted deletion result, and exception log. |
Common failure modes
- Relying on one vendor account.
- Keeping screenshots instead of exportable records.
- Deleting edit history.
Limits and exceptions
This guide does not decide a fact-specific legal exception, certify a record, or guarantee a compliance, safety, cost, or audit outcome. Keep the original ELD record and any edit history. Use the current official rule for applicability and the exact installed-device manual for screen-by-screen actions.
Sources, review date, and limits
Reviewed August 10, 2026. Each source supports only the point described beside it. Rules and product details can change; recheck dynamic facts before changing a fleet workflow or signing a contract.
- Editing, annotation, certification, and original-record preservation — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- Official supporting-documents FAQ covering categories, quantity rules, six-month retention, and pre-2000 engine evidence — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- Current 49 CFR Part 395 text covering HOS limits, exceptions, RODS, supporting documents, ELD duties, and technical requirements — Office of the Federal Register and U.S. Government Publishing Office.
- Current first-party product, plan, feature, and support representations; dynamic facts require release-date recheck — Factor ELD.
Review the exact operation
Bring the driver, vehicle, trip, jurisdiction, current official rule, and original ELD record for a qualified determination. Factor ELD can demonstrate its current product; rule applicability remains a fleet compliance decision.