11
Max driving hours after 10 off duty
14
Hour driving window (does not pause)
30
Min break before 8 hrs driving
60/70
On-duty hours in 7/8 days
The Four Limits at a Glance
The federal hours-of-service (HOS) rules for property-carrying commercial motor vehicles live in 49 CFR 395.3. They exist to limit driver fatigue, and they do it by running four separate clocks at the same time. A driver is compliant only when all four are satisfied. The most common cause of an HOS violation is not ignoring the rules — it is misunderstanding which clock is binding at a given moment, because the 11-hour driving limit and the 14-hour elapsed window are easy to confuse.
Importantly, FMCSA HOS limits are about driving, not just working. The 11-hour limit caps how long you can drive. The 14-hour window caps how late into your day you can drive. The 30-minute rule forces a break in your driving. And the 60/70-hour limit caps your cumulative on-duty time across a rolling week. Below, each clock is broken out with the exact regulatory citation.
1. The 11-Hour Driving Limit
Under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(i), a driver may drive a total of 11 hours after taking 10 consecutive hours off duty. This is a hard cap on actual driving time. Once a driver accumulates 11 hours behind the wheel, driving must stop — no matter how many hours of the 14-hour window remain. To reset the 11-hour limit, the driver must take another 10 consecutive hours off duty under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(1).
The 11-hour limit in one sentence
No more than 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty (49 CFR 395.3(a)(1) and (a)(3)(i)). Non-driving on-duty time does not count against the 11 — but it does count against the 14.
2. The 14-Hour Driving Window
Under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2), a driver may not drive after a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. This is the clock that trips up the most drivers, because it does not stop. The 14-hour window runs continuously from the minute the driver comes on duty. Meals, fueling, loading and unloading, traffic delays, and short breaks all burn the 14-hour clock even though they are not driving.
Practical example: a driver who comes on duty at 6:00 a.m. reaches the end of the 14-hour window at 8:00 p.m. and may not drive after that time — even if only 7 hours of driving were used. The remaining 4 hours of the 11-hour driving allowance are simply lost. The only ways to pause or extend the 14-hour window are the qualifying sleeper-berth split, the adverse driving conditions exception (49 CFR 395.1(b)(1)), or the once-per-week 16-hour short-haul exception (49 CFR 395.1(o)).
Most common HOS mistake
Treating the 14-hour window like the 11-hour limit. The 14-hour clock keeps running during off-duty breaks of less than a qualifying sleeper split. A long lunch does not buy back driving time at the end of the day.
3. The 30-Minute Break
Under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii), driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without at least a consecutive 30-minute interruption of driving status. The trigger is 8 hours of cumulative driving time, not 8 hours on duty. The 30 minutes does not have to be logged off duty — it can be off-duty, sleeper-berth, or on-duty-not-driving time, so long as the driver is not driving during that interval.
Drivers who qualify for either of the short-haul exceptions in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) or (e)(2) are not required to take the 30-minute break. For everyone else, the break must come before the driver crosses 8 hours of driving time. A driver who reaches 8 hours and 1 minute of driving without a qualifying break is in violation, even if they then stop.
Satisfies the 30-minute break
- 30 consecutive minutes off duty
- 30 consecutive minutes in the sleeper berth
- 30 consecutive minutes on duty but not driving (e.g., fueling, paperwork)
Does NOT satisfy it
- Two separate 15-minute stops (must be one consecutive 30-minute block)
- A break taken only after 8 hours of driving has already elapsed
- Any interval during which the driver is still driving
4. The 60/70-Hour On-Duty Limit
Under 49 CFR 395.3(b), a driver may not drive after accumulating too many on-duty hours across a rolling multi-day window. Which limit applies depends on the carrier’s operating schedule. A carrier that does not operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week uses the 60-hour/7-day limit. A carrier that operates every day of the week uses the 70-hour/8-day limit.
These are rolling totals, not calendar-week resets. Each day, the driver adds that day’s on-duty hours and drops the on-duty hours that fall outside the 7- or 8-day window. The clock counts all on-duty time — driving, loading, inspections, fueling, waiting — not just time behind the wheel. The 60/70-hour clock is the one most often reset using the optional 34-hour restart provision in 49 CFR 395.3(c).
| Limit | Citation | What it caps | How to reset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11-hour driving limit | 395.3(a)(3)(i) | Total driving time in a shift | 10 consecutive hours off duty |
| 14-hour window | 395.3(a)(2) | Elapsed time you may still drive | 10 consecutive hours off duty |
| 30-minute break | 395.3(a)(3)(ii) | Driving without a break (8 hrs driving) | One consecutive 30-minute interruption |
| 60/70-hour limit | 395.3(b) | On-duty time over 7 or 8 days | 34-hour restart (395.3(c)) or rolling drop-off |
How the Clocks Interact
The four limits are not alternatives — they all bind at once, and the most restrictive one wins at any given moment. A driver might hit the 14-hour window before using all 11 driving hours, or hit the 11-hour limit with hours left in the window, or be forced to stop because the 60/70-hour cumulative clock ran out before either daily clock did. Compliance means tracking all four simultaneously, which is exactly why the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate under 49 CFR 395.8 exists: the ELD records duty status and computes the clocks automatically.
But the ELD is only half the picture. When FMCSA audits HOS, investigators compare the logs against supporting documents — bills of lading, fuel receipts, dispatch records, toll receipts — to verify the duty status was recorded honestly (49 CFR 395.11). They also look for the annotations that justify any use of the adverse driving conditions exception or the 16-hour short-haul exception. The logs alone do not prove compliance; the records around the logs do.
Where FileFlo Fits
FileFlo is the records and proof layer, not an ELD. Your ELD records duty status and computes the 11, 14, 30-minute, and 60/70 clocks. FileFlo holds everything that proves those logs are accurate and that your exceptions were legitimate: the HOS supporting documents (49 CFR 395.11), the adverse-driving and 16-hour exception annotations, driver-qualification records, and the audit trail an investigator asks for during a compliance review.
When FMCSA requests six months of supporting documents, FileFlo lets you export an organized, audit-ready package instead of digging through a year of paperwork.
Key Takeaways
- Four clocks run at once. 11-hour driving, 14-hour window, 30-minute break, and 60/70-hour on-duty — the most restrictive one controls.
- The 14-hour window does not pause. Breaks shorter than a qualifying sleeper split keep the clock running; the unused driving time at the end of the day is lost.
- The 30-minute break triggers on driving time. It must come before 8 hours of cumulative driving, and any non-driving 30 minutes qualifies.
- 60/70 is a rolling total of all on-duty time. Which limit applies depends on whether the carrier runs every day of the week.
Hours of Service Rules: FAQ
Answers to common questions about the 11-hour, 14-hour, 30-minute, and 60/70-hour limits under 49 CFR 395.3.
Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying CMV driver is governed by four interlocking limits. First, the 11-hour driving limit: a driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Second, the 14-hour window: driving is not permitted after the 14th consecutive hour following the time the driver came on duty. Third, the 30-minute break: driving is not allowed if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without a consecutive 30-minute interruption of driving. Fourth, the 60/70-hour limit: a driver may not drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days, depending on the carrier's operating schedule.
They measure two different things and both apply at once. The 11-hour limit (49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(i)) caps the total time spent actually driving at 11 hours. The 14-hour window (49 CFR 395.3(a)(2)) caps the elapsed clock: once 14 consecutive hours have passed after coming on duty, the driver may not drive at all, even if fewer than 11 driving hours were used. The 14-hour clock does not stop for meals, fuel stops, loading, or short breaks. So a driver who comes on duty at 6 a.m. cannot drive after 8 p.m., regardless of how much off-duty time was taken in between (unless a qualifying split-sleeper or the adverse driving exception applies).
Under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii), a property-carrying driver may not drive if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed since the last off-duty (or sleeper-berth) period of at least 30 minutes. The trigger is 8 hours of driving time, not 8 hours on duty. The break must be a consecutive 30-minute interruption of driving status, but it does not have to be off duty. Time spent on duty not driving, off duty, or in the sleeper berth can all satisfy the break, as long as the driver is not driving for those 30 minutes. Drivers who qualify for the short-haul exceptions in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) or (2) are exempt from the 30-minute break.
Under 49 CFR 395.3(b), the limit that applies depends on whether the carrier operates every day of the week. A carrier that does NOT operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week uses the 60-hour/7-day rule: no driving after 60 on-duty hours in any 7 consecutive days. A carrier that DOES operate every day of the week uses the 70-hour/8-day rule: no driving after 70 on-duty hours in any 8 consecutive days. These are rolling totals, not weekly resets — each day, the driver adds the newest day and drops the oldest day outside the 7- or 8-day window. The clock counts all on-duty time, not just driving.
No. The 14-hour driving window in 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2) runs continuously from the moment the driver comes on duty and is not paused by off-duty time, meals, or breaks shorter than a qualifying sleeper-berth split. The only ways to extend or pause the 14-hour window are the qualifying sleeper-berth provision (which pairs two periods that together total at least 10 hours), the adverse driving conditions exception under 49 CFR 395.1(b)(1) (up to 2 additional hours), or the once-per-week 16-hour short-haul exception under 49 CFR 395.1(o). Absent one of those, once 14 consecutive hours pass, driving must stop until the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off duty.
The limits in 49 CFR 395.3 apply to drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Passenger-carrying drivers are governed by a separate set of limits in 49 CFR 395.5 (10-hour driving limit, 15-hour on-duty window, 60/70-hour limits). Certain operations are exempt or partially exempt, including drivers using the 150 air-mile short-haul exemption in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), agricultural operations during planting and harvest, and emergency relief operations. State intrastate HOS rules may differ. FileFlo holds the supporting documents and exception records that prove which rule set applies to each driver — it is not an ELD and does not record duty status.
Keep the Records That Prove Your Logs
Your ELD records the hours. FileFlo holds the supporting documents, exception annotations, and audit trail that prove those hours were recorded honestly — and lets you produce a complete, organized package the moment FMCSA asks. FileFlo is the compliance records layer, not an ELD.
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