ELD Rules for Truck Drivers: Canada vs USA Explained (2026)

If you run between Canada and the US, your logbook lives in a little screen on the dash. Both countries make most long-haul drivers record hours of service on an electronic logging device (ELD), but the rules aren’t identical. Canada and the US certify devices differently, give carriers different repair deadlines, and want you to carry a different number of blank paper logs. Here’s what the ELD rules actually say on each side of the border, in plain language, and the habits that keep you out of trouble at a scale or roadside inspection.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links marked “paid link” go to Amazon.ca.

This is general information, not legal advice. It covers the federal rules: the FMCSA rules in the US and the federal Hours of Service Regulations in Canada. Provinces can have their own rules for trucks that never leave the province, and your carrier’s policy may be stricter. When in doubt, the regulation and your carrier win.

What an ELD does

An ELD connects to the truck’s engine and records driving time automatically. The FMCSA describes it as a device that “synchronizes with a vehicle engine to automatically record driving time” (FMCSA ELD page). Canada’s definition is close: a device or technology that automatically records a driver’s driving time, helps record the rest of the record of duty status, and is certified by an accredited certification body (Canada’s Hours of Service Regulations, section 2).

The ELD doesn’t change the hours themselves. The FMCSA says plainly that the ELD rule doesn’t change the basic hours of service rules or exceptions. If you want the actual driving limits side by side, like 11 vs 13 hours of driving and the 14-hour vs 16-hour window, read my guide to hours of service rules in Canada vs the USA.

Under US rules, the device automatically records the date, time, location, engine hours, vehicle miles and the driver, vehicle and carrier identification. You pick your duty status (off duty, sleeper berth, driving or on-duty not driving) and type in things like annotations, the trailer number and the shipping document number (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, sections 395.24 and 395.26).

Who has to use one

In the US, a carrier whose drivers must keep a record of duty status has to use an ELD, a rule that has applied since December 18, 2017 (49 CFR 395.8). Drivers can keep paper logs instead in a few cases:

• they only need a record of duty status on 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period,
• they’re in a driveaway-towaway operation where the vehicle being driven is the shipment, or the vehicle being moved is a motor home or RV trailer, or
• the truck was built before model year 2000, as shown by the VIN on the registration.

Short-haul drivers who stay within 150 air miles (172.6 statute miles) of their normal work reporting location, and are released within 14 hours, don’t need a log at all, as long as the carrier keeps time records (49 CFR 395.1(e)). Go past that on more than 8 days in 30 and the ELD comes back.

In Canada, the federal ELD requirement came into force on June 12, 2021, and enforcement began on January 1, 2023 (Transport Canada news release). It covers federally regulated carriers, which means trucks crossing provincial or national borders, and Transport Canada says it applies to US-based carriers running in Canada too (Transport Canada ELD page). Under section 77 of the Canada’s Hours of Service Regulations, the exceptions are trucks:

• operated under a permit,
• operated by a carrier that has an exemption issued under the Act,
• rented for 30 days or less, as long as it isn’t an extended or renewed rental of the same truck, or
• built before model year 2000.

Canada also has a local exception. A driver who stays within 160 km of the home terminal and returns there each day to start at least 8 hours off duty doesn’t need an ELD or a daily log, as long as the carrier keeps records of the cycle and on-duty times for 6 months.

Your device has to be on the right list

This is where the two countries differ the most, and where cross-border drivers get caught.

• US: carriers may only use an ELD on the FMCSA’s registered ELD list (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, section 395.22). Providers register their own devices.
• Canada: the device has to be certified by a third-party certification body accredited by the Minister of Transport, and it has to appear on Transport Canada’s list of certified ELDs.

Being on one list doesn’t put you on the other. If you cross the border, ask your provider to show you the device on both lists, and check that the version on your tablet or phone matches the certified one. Transport Canada’s list shows separate entries for Android and iOS versions of some apps.

Devices also get pulled. In 2026 the FMCSA removed batches of ELDs from its registered list in May and July, among other dates, and posts every removal on its ELD news page and revoked devices list. When that happens, the FMCSA notices say carriers get up to 60 days to switch to a registered device, using paper logs or logging software in the meantime. After that deadline, a driver still on the revoked device can be cited for having no record of duty status and put out of service. Transport Canada’s list also shows certifications marked as revoked. Checking both lists every few months takes 2 minutes and can save you a shutdown.

What you need in the cab

Both countries make your carrier put an ELD information packet in the truck. The contents are close, but the paper log supply is different:

Required in the truck	US (49 CFR 395.22)	Canada (SOR/2005-313, s. 77)
Instructions for sending your logs to an officer	Yes	Yes
Instructions for what to do if the ELD malfunctions	Yes	Yes
User’s manual	Not listed	Yes
Blank paper logs	Enough for at least 8 days	Enough for at least 15 days

A portable ELD, like an app on a phone or tablet, also has to be mounted in a fixed position while you drive and be visible from the normal driving position. That’s in both the US rule (section 395.22) and the Canadian rule (section 77). A solid mount like the iOttie Easy One Touch 6 (paid link) keeps a phone-based ELD where it belongs, and a hard case like the Officemate Portable Clipboard Storage Case (paid link) keeps the instruction sheets and your 15 days of blank logs together, so you’re not digging behind the seat when an officer asks.

When the ELD breaks down

A malfunction isn’t a reason to stop logging. Here’s what each side expects:

	US	Canada
Tell the carrier	In writing, within 24 hours	As soon as the truck is parked
What you record	Rebuild the current day and the previous 7 days on paper (unless you already have them or can get them from the ELD), then keep paper logs until it’s fixed	Record the malfunction code, the date and time you noticed it, and when you told the carrier, then keep recording the code on each day’s log until it’s fixed
Carrier’s repair deadline	8 days from discovery or your notice, whichever comes first (extensions possible)	14 days, or when you get back to the home terminal from a planned trip if that’s later

Sources: 49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, section 395.34, and the Canada’s Hours of Service Regulations, sections 78 and 81. In Canada the carrier also has to keep a register of every malfunction code, with the drivers who used the truck until it was fixed.

At a roadside inspection

• US: you must be able to produce and transfer your hours of service records from the ELD when an officer asks, following your carrier’s instruction sheet (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, section 395.24). You have to have the current day and the previous 7 days available (49 CFR 395.8).
• Canada: an inspector can ask for the current day and the previous 14 days, plus supporting documents for the current trip. You can show the screen or a printout, and if asked, transfer the records by the method the inspector picks, as long as your ELD supports it (Canada’s Hours of Service Regulations, section 98).

Practise the transfer once in a truck stop parking lot. Fumbling through menus with an officer at the window is the worst time to learn where the button is.

Edits, unassigned driving and certifying your logs

In the US you have to review your records, fix mistakes, fill in anything missing and certify each 24-hour period by selecting “Agree” on the ELD. Every edit needs an annotation. Your carrier can suggest edits, but only after you’ve submitted the logs, and they only take effect if you accept them and recertify (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B, section 395.30). When you log in, the ELD will show any driving recorded while nobody was logged in, called unidentified driving, and you have to either accept it or say it isn’t yours (section 395.32).

Both countries ban tampering. US rules forbid disabling, jamming or reprogramming an ELD so it doesn’t record accurately, and Canada’s regulations have their own tampering section. Using two ELDs at once for the same period is banned in Canada too.

Habits that save you trouble

• Log in before the wheels turn, and log out when you hand the truck over.
• Annotate yard moves and personal conveyance at the time, not three days later. Under US rules these are optional categories your carrier has to turn on for you.
• Certify your logs every day, so a missed one doesn’t pile up.
• Check your device on the FMCSA and Transport Canada lists a few times a year.
• Keep the information packet and blank logs in the truck, and refill the logs after you use them.
• Screenshot or note any malfunction code and the time you told dispatch.

Your ELD also tells you a lot about your business. The hours you sit at docks show up as on-duty time, and that’s the evidence behind a detention pay claim. Before you accept a load, the load calculator can tell you whether it pays for the hours it’ll eat, and all the calculators are on the tools page. The gear I keep in the cab is on Tools I use.

Drive safe, and keep that log clean.

Amar, driver since 2018 and founder of Haul Saints

Sources: 49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B (ELD rules: 395.22, 395.24, 395.26, 395.30, 395.32, 395.34) · 49 CFR 395.8 (who must use an ELD, paper log exceptions) · 49 CFR 395.1(e) (short-haul exception) · FMCSA, Electronic Logging Devices · FMCSA ELD news and revoked device notices · Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, SOR/2005-313, sections 2, 77, 78, 81 and 98 · Transport Canada, ELDs for commercial drivers and motor carriers · Transport Canada, list of certified ELDs · Transport Canada news release, July 2023