An ELD policy should explain who does what. Cover account security, vehicle assignment, duty statuses, personal conveyance and yard moves, edits, certification, unidentified driving, malfunctions, supporting documents, retention, and escalation.
What this means for your fleet
Adapt the template below to your carrier’s operations and applicable rules, assign responsible roles, and have compliance counsel or a qualified reviewer approve it. The template is a starting point, not legal advice.
Copy-and-adapt ELD policy template
Scope: This policy applies to [drivers/vehicles/operations] under [cited rule or company requirement].
Accounts: Every driver uses a unique account; shared credentials are prohibited.
Daily use: Drivers select the assigned vehicle, record non-driving statuses accurately, annotate material corrections, review unidentified driving, and certify each 24-hour record.
Special categories: Personal conveyance and yard move may be used only under [carrier policy], for [eligible purposes/locations], with [required annotation].
Edits: Drivers accept or reject carrier-proposed edits; originals and edit history remain preserved.
Malfunctions: Drivers record the code, notify [responsible role] in writing within 24 hours of an ELD malfunction, follow any required reconstruction and manual-record procedures, and use the installed-device instructions. Apply FMCSA’s additional-reporting exception only when the event does not affect HOS and the ELD clears it itself. Continue following the carrier’s diagnostic-event instructions.
Retention: [role] retains RODS and supporting documents for the required period, protects privacy, and tests backup retrieval [frequency].
Acknowledgment: Driver name, policy version, training device/app version, demonstration date, trainer, exceptions, signature.
What to check
| Check | How to verify |
|---|---|
| 1. Define scope and rule owner | Retain the applicable operations and rule scope, named policy owner, current provisions, qualified approver, version, effective date, and review trigger. |
| 2. State driver and administrator responsibilities | Keep the signed responsibility matrix for drivers, administrators, dispatch, safety, support, record owners, escalation, and prohibited actions. |
| 3. Document exception approval | Save each exception category, eligibility facts, required annotation, approver, decision record, audit sample, and correction path. |
| 4. Set record retention and access | Retain the required record set, original/edit history, storage and separate backup, access roles, retention date, named retrieval test, and gaps. |
| 5. Control policy version and acknowledgments | Keep version history, change summary, approval, distribution list, driver acknowledgment, training version, missing acknowledgments, and follow-up. |
Common failure modes
- Copying a policy from another fleet.
- Allowing dispatch to direct false status changes.
- Leaving exceptions to verbal custom.
Limits and exceptions
Use this guide to plan your checks; it does not determine whether a legal exception applies, certify a record, or guarantee compliance, safety, savings, or audit results. Preserve original ELD records and edit history. Use the current rules to determine applicability and the manual for your installed device for operating instructions.
Sources and review date
Reviewed August 10, 2026. Check the latest rules and product information before changing your procedures or signing a contract.
- Editing, annotation, certification, and original-record preservation — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- Unidentified and unassigned driving-time workflow — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- ELD malfunction and data-diagnostic responsibilities — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- FMCSA ELD account requirements — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- FMCSA guidance on recording hours of service — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- FMCSA supporting-document requirements and pre-2000 engine guidance — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- 49 CFR Part 395: hours of service and ELD requirements — Office of the Federal Register and U.S. Government Publishing Office.
- Factor ELD products, plans, and support — Factor ELD.