49 CFR §395.11
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (a)Effective date. This section takes effect December 18, 2017.
- (b)Submission of supporting documents to motor carrier. Except drivers for a private motor carrier of passengers (nonbusiness), a driver must submit to the driver's employer the driver's supporting documents within 13 days of either the 24-hour period to which the documents pertain or the day the document comes into the driver's possession, whichever is later.
- (c)Supporting document retention.
- (1)Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, a motor carrier must retain each supporting document generated or received in the normal course of business in the following categories for each of its drivers for every 24-hour period to verify on-duty not driving time in accordance with § 395.8(k):
- (i)Each bill of lading, itinerary, schedule, or equivalent document that indicates the origin and destination of each trip;
- (ii)Each dispatch record, trip record, or equivalent document;
- (iii)Each expense receipt related to any on-duty not driving time;
- (iv)Each electronic mobile communication record, reflecting communications transmitted through a fleet management system; and
- (v)Each payroll record, settlement sheet, or equivalent document that indicates payment to a driver.
- (2)
- (i)A supporting document must include each of the following data elements:
- (A)On the document or on another document that enables the carrier to link the document to the driver, the driver's name or personal identification number (PIN) or a unit (vehicle) number if the unit number can be associated with the driver operating the unit;
- (B)The date, which must be the date at the location where the date is recorded;
- (C)The location, which must include the name of the nearest city, town, or village to enable Federal, State, or local enforcement personnel to quickly determine a vehicle's location on a standard map or road atlas; and
- (D)Subject to paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, the time, which must be convertible to the local time at the location where it is recorded.
- (ii)If a driver has fewer than eight supporting documents containing the four data elements under paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section for a 24-hour period, a document containing the data elements under paragraphs (c)(2)(i)(A) through (C) of this section is considered a supporting document for purposes of paragraph (d) of this section.
- (i)A supporting document must include each of the following data elements:
- (1)Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, a motor carrier must retain each supporting document generated or received in the normal course of business in the following categories for each of its drivers for every 24-hour period to verify on-duty not driving time in accordance with § 395.8(k):
- (d)Maximum number of supporting documents.
- (1)Subject to paragraphs (d)(3) and (4) of this section, a motor carrier need not retain more than eight supporting documents for an individual driver's 24-hour period under paragraph (c) of this section.
- (2)In applying the limit on the number of documents required under paragraph (d)(1) of this section, each electronic mobile communication record applicable to an individual driver's 24-hour period shall be counted as a single document.
- (3)If a motor carrier has more than eight supporting documents for a driver's 24 hour period, the motor carrier must retain the supporting documents containing the earliest and the latest time indications among the eight supporting documents retained.
- (4)In addition to other supporting documents required under this section, and notwithstanding the maximum number of documents under paragraph (d)(1) of this section, a motor carrier that requires a driver to complete a paper record of duty status under § 395.8(a)(1)(iii) must maintain toll receipts for any period when the driver kept paper records of duty status.
- (e)Link to driver's record of duty status. A motor carrier must retain supporting documents in such a manner that they may be effectively matched to the corresponding driver's record of duty status.
- (f)Prohibition of destruction. No motor carrier or driver may obscure, deface, destroy, mutilate, or alter existing information contained in a supporting document.
- (g)Supporting documents at roadside.
- (1)Upon request during a roadside inspection, a driver must make available to an authorized Federal, State, or local official for the official's review any supporting document in the driver's possession.
- (2)A driver need not produce a supporting document under paragraph (g)(1) of this section in a format other than the format in which the driver possesses it.
- (h)Self-compliance systems.
- (1)FMCSA may authorize on a case-by-case basis motor carrier self-compliance systems.
- (2)Requests for use of a supporting document self-compliance system may be submitted to FMCSA under the procedures described in 49 CFR part 381, subpart C (Procedures for Applying for Exemptions).
- (3)FMCSA will consider requests concerning types of supporting documents retained by a motor carrier under § 395.8(k)(1) and the method by which a driver retains a copy of the record of duty status for the previous 7 days and makes it available for inspection while on duty in accordance with § 395.8.