It’s almost like feeling out of sorts, heading to your doctor’s office, and learning that your long-time family physician has retired. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires most interstate motor carriers to have electronic logging devices (ELDs), in their trucks. Truck drivers, in turn, become accustomed to the particular ELD make and model in their cabs.

Now they learn that FMCSA has revoked their ELD. What should fleets and drivers do?

ELDs record a driver’s hours of service and display, transfer, or print out that information for roadside enforcement. FMCSA maintains a long list of technical standards any ELD must meet. In the United States, ELD providers can self-certify that their devices meet the FMCSA technical standards. When FMCSA learns that a device does not meet those standards, it revokes that ELD make and model. Revocation also occurs if the ELD provider goes out of business or its provider registration information changes without updating FMCSA.

When FMCSA revokes an ELD, it sends out a notice alerting motor carriers and truck drivers to:

  • Discontinue using the revoked ELDs and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
  • Replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the Registered Devices list within 60 days.

On Dec. 1, 2023, FMCSA revoked ten ELDS.

Motor carriers must replace these revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the registered devices list by Jan. 30, 2024. One of the ELDs that was revoked was soon reinstated to the registered device list while another was reinstated a little later.

At times, an ELD provider makes adjustments to meet the FMCSA technical standards or updates its own provider registration, and FMCSA reinstates that ELD. But the trucking regulator advises motor carriers to replace revoked ELDs as soon as practical. See the FMCSA’s list of revoked devices.

Operating into Canada? The ELD rules there are different. In Canada, an accredited independent organization must first approve an ELD before that country will accept its use on the road. See the approved ELD list on the Transport Canada website.

It can be uncomfortable to find a new doctor on short notice. An ELD? Look at the FMCSA registered devices list to find a new ELD or to see if it still accepts your current ELD.

The PrePass blog and podcasts are published as a public service of PrePass®, the most reliable and technologically advanced weigh station bypass and integrated electronic trucking toll payment platform in North America. PrePass also includes INFORM™ Safety and INFORM™ Tolling software for improving truck safety scores and lowering toll costs.