Compliance • ELDT.LIVE
Hours of Service for Property-Carrying Drivers: The 11, 14, 30, and 60/70-Hour Rules
The hours-of-service clocks measure different things. Learn how the 10-hour reset, 14-hour window, 11-hour driving limit, 30-minute interruption, weekly limit, and 34-hour restart work together.
One shift can involve several clocks
A property-carrying driver does not have one pool of legal hours. The federal framework applies an off-duty requirement before driving, a consecutive driving window, a limit on actual driving inside that window, a required interruption after cumulative driving, and a rolling multi-day on-duty limit. A driver must have room on every applicable clock before driving. Time available on one clock never cancels a limit reached on another.
Start with 10 consecutive hours off duty
Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver may not drive without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty. This qualifying period normally creates a new 14-hour driving window and restores the daily 11-hour driving allowance. A short meal, a few hours at home, or several separate breaks do not automatically satisfy the consecutive 10-hour requirement. Specialized sleeper-berth provisions can produce a different calculation, so a driver using them must follow that rule precisely.
The 14-hour window begins with on-duty work
After the qualifying rest period, the 14-consecutive-hour period begins when the driver comes on duty, not only when the truck starts moving. A 6:00 a.m. report time normally produces an 8:00 p.m. driving cutoff. Pre-trip inspection, loading, paperwork, waiting while still responsible for work, fueling, and other on-duty tasks can consume the window before the first mile is driven.
The 14-hour rule is a driving cutoff
Reaching the end of the 14-hour window prohibits additional driving; it does not necessarily prohibit every kind of non-driving work. A driver may sometimes perform lawful on-duty, not-driving tasks after the window closes, but that time remains on duty and affects the multi-day total. The practical dispatch question is not whether the driver can finish paperwork after hour 14. It is whether all CMV driving will end before the cutoff.
Ordinary breaks do not pause the window
The 14-hour period is consecutive. An off-duty meal, a nap, detention logged off duty when the driver is genuinely relieved, or a 30-minute interruption generally does not push the driving deadline later. FMCSA expressly states that the required 30-minute break counts against the 14-hour window. A qualifying split-sleeper pairing can exclude specified periods from the calculation, but that is a separate provision—not a reason to pause the clock for every break.
The 11-hour limit counts actual driving
Within the available 14-hour window, the driver may accumulate no more than 11 hours of driving time. Driving time means time at the controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation. Inspection, loading, fueling, and waiting may reduce the practical time left in the window without using the 11-hour driving allowance. Conversely, having unused time in the 14-hour window does not authorize a twelfth driving hour.
A simple shift example shows both limits
Suppose a driver comes on duty at 6:00 a.m. after 10 consecutive hours off. Two hours of inspection and loading are followed by eight hours of driving, a qualifying 30-minute interruption, and two more hours of driving. The driver has used 10 driving hours, but the 14-hour window closes at 8:00 p.m. If delays place the driver near that time, the unused eleventh driving hour cannot be carried beyond the window. Both clocks must still be open.
The 30-minute rule follows cumulative driving
Except for drivers who qualify for specified short-haul exceptions, driving is not permitted after more than eight cumulative hours of driving time without at least a consecutive 30-minute interruption in driving status. The trigger is driving time, not simply eight hours after coming on duty. A driver who drives three hours, performs two hours of on-duty loading, and then drives five more hours has accumulated eight driving hours and needs a qualifying interruption before more driving.
The interruption can use any non-driving status
The consecutive 30 minutes may be off duty, sleeper berth, on duty not driving, or a consecutive combination of those non-driving statuses. A properly logged fueling stop, loading period, inspection, or meal may satisfy the rule if no driving occurs for 30 consecutive minutes and the recorded status is accurate. A 20-minute stop followed later by a 10-minute stop does not combine into one consecutive interruption.
A break does not restore the daily driving allowance
The 30-minute interruption resets the eight-driving-hour measurement, but it does not create a new 11-hour allowance or a new 14-hour window. After eight hours of driving and a qualifying interruption, a driver commonly has only three driving hours remaining, subject to the earlier end of the 14-hour window. The next full daily allowance generally requires the applicable qualifying off-duty period.
On-duty time is broader than driving time
Section 395.2 includes inspection, servicing, loading, unloading, supervising cargo work, waiting while not relieved, attending a disabled vehicle, carrier work, and compensated work for a non-carrier within on-duty time. Those activities can affect the 14-hour and 60/70-hour calculations even when the wheels never move. Accurately distinguish driving, on-duty not driving, sleeper berth, and off duty rather than choosing the status that preserves the most hours.
The 60/70-hour limit is a rolling calculation
A driver may not drive after reaching 60 on-duty hours in seven consecutive days when the employing carrier does not operate CMVs every day of the week, or 70 on-duty hours in eight consecutive days when the carrier operates CMVs every day of the week. The carrier's operation determines which limit applies; the driver does not simply select the larger number. Because the period rolls forward, hours can drop out as an older day leaves the calculation.
Recalculate the multi-day total before each shift
Add all on-duty and driving time for the applicable seven- or eight-day period, including work for other employers. Compare the total with the carrier's selected cycle and account for the hours that will fall outside the window at the next 24-hour boundary. A driver may have a fresh daily 11-hour driving allowance after 10 hours off yet still be unable to drive because the 60/70-hour limit has been reached.
The 34-hour restart is an option, not a daily rule
An off-duty period of 34 or more consecutive hours may restart the applicable seven- or eight-day calculation under Section 395.3. A restart is not required whenever a driver approaches the limit; a driver may instead use recap hours as older on-duty time falls out of the rolling period. Dispatch plans should verify that the full 34 hours remain consecutive and that the driver is genuinely off duty throughout the intended restart.
An ELD displays data but does not replace judgment
An electronic logging device records driving automatically and helps calculate available time, but the driver remains responsible for correct duty-status entries, annotations, certifications, and compliance. Review the ELD at the start of the shift, after status changes, before accepting a dispatch, and well before a clock reaches zero. Resolve unidentified driving, missing carrier edits, wrong locations, and unassigned events through the lawful correction process rather than ignoring a favorable-looking summary.
Property and passenger rules are not interchangeable
This guide addresses property-carrying operations under Section 395.3. Passenger-carrying drivers have a different daily framework, including a 10-hour driving limit after eight consecutive hours off duty and a 15-hour on-duty limit described in Section 395.5. A driver changing jobs, vehicles, or loads should confirm which operation and exceptions apply instead of copying the clock logic from a freight route to a bus operation.
Exceptions must be verified before they are used
Short-haul operations, adverse driving conditions, qualifying sleeper-berth pairings, certain agricultural movements, emergency conditions, and other specialized operations can change recordkeeping or time calculations. Each exception has definitions and conditions. Do not activate an ELD mode or extend a dispatch merely because its label sounds relevant. Verify the regulatory criteria, carrier instructions, current facts, and required records before relying on it.
Build a clock check into trip planning
Before departure, identify the current 14-hour deadline, driving hours used, time since the last qualifying 30-minute interruption, available 60/70-hour time, expected recap, appointment time, realistic traffic, parking, fuel, inspection, and loading delays. Recheck after every major delay. If the trip no longer fits, notify dispatch while lawful options remain. A plan that reaches parking with only seconds available is not resilient to a missed turn, full lot, slow gate, or required safety stop.
Use a five-question compliance check
Before driving, ask: Did I complete the required qualifying rest? Is the 14-hour window still open? Do I have driving time left within the 11-hour limit? Has more than eight cumulative driving hours passed without a qualifying 30-minute interruption? Do I have time available under the correct 60/70-hour cycle? If any answer is uncertain, stop the calculation and verify it with the carrier's safety process. This guide reflects Title 49 eCFR displayed as current through November 2, 2026 and reviewed November 4, 2026; confirm current rules and operation-specific exceptions before dispatch.
Educational summaries help you prepare, but official FMCSA and state licensing sources remain the authority for current requirements.
Official sources
49 CFR 395.3 — Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles ↗49 CFR 395.2 — Definitions, including driving and on-duty time ↗49 CFR 395.8 — Driver's record of duty status ↗FMCSA — Summary of Hours of Service Regulations ↗FMCSA — Does the 30-minute break count against the 14-hour window? ↗ELDT.live independently creates and reviews its content. We do not present practice questions as official examination questions and do not guarantee a licensing result.