FMCSA hours-of-service rules explained (property-carrying)

10-hour consecutive off-duty break

Property-carrying drivers must take 10 consecutive hours off duty before starting a new driving shift. This rest period can be spent off duty, in the sleeper berth, or a combination of both. It resets both the 11-hour driving clock and the 14-hour duty window.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.3(a)(1)

Example: Taking 10 hours off duty from 20:00 to 06:00 gives you a fresh 11-hour driving limit and 14-hour window.

11-hour driving limit

A driver may drive a maximum of 11 cumulative hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. All driving time logged across the shift counts toward this limit until a qualifying reset or split sleeper break occurs.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(i)

Example: Logging 6 hours driving, 2 hours on-duty loading, and 5 hours driving reaches the 11-hour driving limit.

14-hour window

No driving is permitted beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. The 14-hour window is a consecutive clock that cannot be paused by off-duty breaks, except by a qualifying split-sleeper period.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2)

Example: If you come on duty at 06:00, you cannot drive after 20:00 that day, regardless of how many hours you took off during the day.

30-minute break requirement

Driving is not permitted if more than 8 consecutive hours have passed since the end of the driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes, or an on-duty not-driving period of at least 30 minutes. Since the September 2020 revision, any 30-minute non-driving status qualifies.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)

Example: After driving 5 hours and working on-duty 3 hours, you must take at least 30 consecutive minutes of non-driving time before driving again.

60/70-hour limit and 34-hour restart

Drivers may not drive after being on duty for 60 hours in 7 consecutive days (if the carrier does not operate every day) or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days (if operating every day). A restart of 34 or more consecutive hours off duty resets the running count to zero.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.3(b)–(c)

Example: Under the 70-hour rule, on day 9 your available driving hours equal 70 minus your total on-duty hours over days 2 through 8.

Sleeper berth split provision

Drivers may split the required 10-hour off-duty period into two qualifying periods: one of at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, and another of at least 2 consecutive hours (off duty or sleeper). Together the two periods must total at least 10 hours. When the second period ends, the 14-hour calculation restarts from the end of the first period, and neither period counts against the 14-hour window.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1)(ii)

Example: A 7-hour sleeper period paired with a 3-hour off-duty period (7/3) or an 8-hour sleeper period paired with a 2-hour break (8/2) are both valid splits.

Adverse driving conditions

If unexpected adverse driving conditions are encountered — such as snow, sleet, fog, or unusual traffic delays that could not reasonably have been known before driving — the driver may extend both the 11-hour driving limit and the 14-hour window by up to 2 hours.

Citation: 49 CFR 395.1(b)

Example: Unforeseen blizzard conditions allow driving up to 13 hours within a 16-hour window to reach a safe place or complete the run.

What this site doesn't cover

This site covers property-carrying interstate drivers under 49 CFR Part 395. It does not cover passenger-carrying (bus) rules, the 150 air-mile short-haul exemption, the 16-hour short-haul exception, personal conveyance, yard moves, team-driver passenger-seat time, or Canadian and intrastate rules.

FMCSA Example 14 timeline