This free 2026 Hours of Service cheat sheet summarizes the main federal limits for drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles under 49 CFR Part 395. It is designed as a desk and visor reference for dispatchers, safety managers and drivers.
The sheet does not cover every exception and does not apply the passenger-carrier limits. A driver should use the current rule, ELD instructions and carrier policy for the actual trip.
Rules on the one-page reference
- 11-hour driving limit after 10 consecutive hours off duty
- 14-hour driving window
- 30-minute interruption after 8 cumulative hours of driving
- 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days
- 34-hour restart
- 7/3 and 8/2 split-sleeper pairings
- Adverse-driving-conditions extension
- 150-air-mile short-haul conditions
Three clocks, three different questions
The 11-hour limit controls driving time. The 14-hour rule controls when driving may occur after the duty period starts. The 60/70-hour limit controls driving after accumulated on-duty time across the multi-day period. A driver can have time left on one clock and still be prohibited from driving by another.
The 30-minute break follows driving time
The break is required after eight cumulative hours of driving without at least a 30-minute interruption. A qualifying interruption can be off duty, sleeper berth, on duty not driving or a consecutive combination. That does not mean every on-duty pause extends the 14-hour window.
Split sleeper needs a valid pair
For a property-carrying driver, one qualifying period must include at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth. The other must be at least two hours off duty, in the sleeper berth or a combination. Together they must total at least ten hours. The order can vary, but both periods and the recalculated driving windows must work.
A driver should not rely only on an ELD’s green clock. Confirm the duty statuses, edits and the pair the system used. A later qualifying period can change the relevant calculation point, and an incorrectly recorded break can create a violation even when the driver was physically resting.
Short-haul does not mean no records
A driver using the 150-air-mile short-haul exception must meet every condition, including the radius, return to the normal work-reporting location and release within the allowed period. The carrier must keep the required time record. When a condition is missed, the driver needs the record of duty status required for that day.
Use supporting documents to check the log
Dispatch, fuel, toll, payroll, bills of lading and location records can reveal work or movement missing from the ELD. A carrier should review unidentified driving, rejected edits, personal-conveyance use, yard moves and recurring form-and-manner errors. Fix the operating cause rather than repeatedly editing the same pattern after the fact.
2026 pilots are not a general rule change
FMCSA is testing additional sleeper and split-duty options with limited approved participants in 2026. Drivers outside an approved pilot must follow the generally applicable Part 395 rules. Do not treat a pilot announcement as authority to use a 6/4, 5/5 or duty-pause option.
Passenger limits are different
Passenger-carrying drivers generally use a 10-hour driving limit after eight consecutive hours off and a 15-hour on-duty limit, with different sleeper provisions. Do not issue the property-carrier sheet to a passenger operation as if the limits were interchangeable.
For program support, see ELD and Hours of Service compliance services and outsourced safety director services.
Official references
Use FMCSA’s Hours of Service summary, current HOS page and the current text of 49 CFR 395.3.
Last reviewed August 18, 2026. General information only, not legal advice.
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