Hours-of-Service Rules Explained: 11, 14, 70 and Short-Haul

Hours-of-service rules limit how long drivers of commercial motor vehicles can drive and work. They apply to drivers of vehicles that meet FMCSA’s commercial motor vehicle tests, which for property carriers generally means a weight rating or weight of 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce. This summary follows FMCSA’s summary of hours of service regulations and 49 CFR 395, checked on October 31, 2026. Passenger-carrying drivers have different limits: 10 hours of driving after 8 consecutive hours off duty, and no driving after 15 hours on duty.

What is the 11-hour driving limit?

A property-carrying driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty (49 CFR 395.3).

What is the 14-hour limit?

A driver may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. FMCSA notes that off-duty time doesn’t extend the 14-hour period, so a long lunch inside the window still uses the clock.

When is the 30-minute break required?

Drivers must take a 30-minute break when they have driven for 8 cumulative hours without at least a 30-minute interruption. FMCSA says the break may be satisfied by any non-driving period of 30 consecutive minutes: on-duty not driving, off duty, sleeper berth, or a combination taken consecutively.

What are the 60- and 70-hour limits?

A driver may not drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days. A driver may restart a 7- or 8-day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.

How does the sleeper berth split work?

FMCSA says drivers may split the required 10-hour off-duty period as long as one off-duty period is at least 2 hours long and the other involves at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, with the pairing adding up to at least 10 hours. Used together, neither period counts against the 14-hour window. Most small fleets running vans and pickups don’t have sleeper berths, so this rarely applies to them.

What if the weather turns bad?

FMCSA says drivers may extend the 11-hour driving limit and the 14-hour window by up to 2 hours when adverse driving conditions are encountered. The regulation defines adverse driving conditions; read 49 CFR 395.1 before you rely on it.

What is the short-haul exception?

For many small fleets, this is the rule that matters most. FMCSA says a driver is exempt from records of duty status and ELDs (49 CFR 395.8 and 395.11) when the driver:

• operates within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location (the regulation equates this with 172.6 statute miles); and
• doesn’t exceed a maximum duty period of 14 hours, reporting and returning to the normal work reporting location within 14 consecutive hours.

Under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), the motor carrier keeps accurate time records for 6 months, including the time the driver reports for duty each day, the time released and the total hours on duty. The driving limits still apply to short-haul drivers. What changes is the paperwork. See who needs an ELD for days when a driver goes outside the exception.

Why do these limits exist?

IIHS says truck driver fatigue is a known crash risk, and covers fatigue and hours of service on its large trucks research page. The limits are a federal rule; how you schedule routes to stay inside them is up to you.