Compliance
Registered is not the same as compliant
An electronic logging device has to appear on the FMCSA’s registered list, and devices do get removed from it when they fail to meet the specification. A revoked device stops being compliant while still sitting on your dash working exactly as it did yesterday, and the violation is yours rather than the vendor’s.
At a typical $480 a year the subscription is $0.0040 a mile, or about 0.3% of your cost per mile. It is a small line and it is a fixed one, which means it costs you more per mile the fewer miles you run.
Who does not need one
The exemptions are narrower than the internet suggests, and the short-haul one is the only broadly useful one. Read them against how you actually run rather than how you occasionally run.
Short-haul, within 150 air miles
If you start and end at the same place inside 14 hours and stay within 150 air miles, you can run paper time records instead. This is the exemption most local and regional work falls under.
Eight days in any thirty
Drivers who keep records of duty status on eight days or fewer in a rolling thirty do not need an ELD, which covers genuinely occasional driving.
Engines older than model year 2000
The rule keys off the engine model year, not the truck's. It is why pre-2000 glider kits and older iron are still run by owner-operators who want nothing to do with it.
Driveaway and towaway
Where the vehicle being driven is itself the commodity being delivered.
Four things to check before you sign
Registered, not just compliant
The FMCSA keeps a list of self-certified registered devices and removes ones that fail. Devices do get pulled off it, and a revoked device stops being compliant while still sitting on your dash. Check the list before you buy and again if you hear anything.
Transfer method
It must be able to hand data to an officer the way the rule specifies. A device that cannot transfer during a roadside is a violation regardless of how well it logs.
What happens when it fails
You are allowed to run paper for a limited period while a malfunctioning device is repaired or replaced, and you are required to notice and record the malfunction. Know that procedure before you need it.
Contract length and hardware lock
The subscription is the real cost, and some are multi-year with hardware that is useless on another service. This is the part that turns a cheap device into an expensive one.
No ELD partner yet
We do not currently have an ELD relationship, so there is nothing to click. When there is it will be marked as a paid referral and listed on the disclosure page. Check any device against the FMCSA registered list yourself before buying, whoever recommends it and whoever is paid for the recommendation.