A plain-English breakdown of current FMCSA hours-of-service rules for property-carrying CDL drivers — the 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour window, 30-minute break, 60/70-hour limits, 34-hour restart, sleeper berth split, short-haul exception, and more.
return ( Overview: Why HOS Rules Exist Hours-of-service (HOS) regulations exist to prevent fatigue-related crashes.
Governed by 49 CFR Part 395 , these rules set maximum driving and on-duty times for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
Violations are among the most common driver-related out-of-service conditions at roadside inspections and carry significant CSA score impact.
The current HOS rules for property-carrying drivers (which includes most owner-operators pulling freight) were last substantially updated in September 2020.
The Core HOS Rules 11-Hour Driving Limit You may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
This is the fundamental driving limit.
Once you have used 11 hours of driving time, you must take another 10 consecutive hours off duty before you can drive again.
Important: only actual driving time counts against the 11 hours.
Time spent loading, unloading, fueling, doing paperwork, or waiting at a shipper/receiver is on-duty not driving time — it does not eat into your 11, but it does eat into your 14 (see below).
14-Hour Driving Window You may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
This is a window, not a cumulative limit — it starts ticking the moment you go on duty and does not stop for off-duty time during the day (with the exception of the sleeper berth split provision).
Example: You come on duty at 6:00 AM.
Your 14-hour window closes at 8:00 PM.
Even if you only drove 5 hours and spent the rest of the day loading and waiting, you cannot drive after 8:00 PM.
The 14-hour window is the rule that catches most new owner-operators off guard.
Detention time at shippers and receivers burns through your window even though you are not driving.
Plan your day to minimize non-driving on-duty time.
30-Minute Break Requirement You must take a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes before driving if 8 hours have passed since your last off-duty or sleeper berth period of at least 30 minutes.
Under the 2020 rule change, this break can be satisfied by any off-duty or sleeper berth time of 30 minutes or more — and it can also be satisfied by on-duty not driving time (such as loading/unloading, fueling, or doing a pre-trip inspection).
This is more flexible than the pre-2020 rule, which required the break to be off-duty only.
Now, if you spend 30 minutes fueling and doing a walk-around at a truck stop, that satisfies the break requirement even if you logged it as on-duty not driving.
60/70-Hour Limit There are two versions of this rule, and the one that applies depends on your carrier's operating schedule: 60 hours in 7 consecutive days — If your carrier does not operate every day of the week.
70 hours in 8 consecutive days — If your carrier operates every day of the week (most common for owner-operators).
Each day, the oldest day in the 7 or 8-day window drops of.
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