FMCSA Denies Request to Let Drivers Choose Paper Logs Over ELDs
A lot of drivers hoped the paper log would come back as an option. FMCSA has now said no to the exemption request that would have done it.
What it is
On September 30, 2026, FMCSA published a notice of final disposition in the Federal Register: Electronic Logging Device Requirements: Application for Exemption; Federation of Professional Truckers. It is document number 2026-20043 (91 FR 61914), docket FMCSA-2025-1282. The notice is a denial. There is no effective date or comment deadline because nothing is being changed.
The Federation of Professional Truckers (FOPT) asked for an exemption that would let professional drivers record their records of duty status (RODS) manually instead of using an ELD. FMCSA's original notice on the request ran February 9, 2026 (91 FR 5800).
For background, 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) requires drivers who must keep RODS to use an ELD. Paper logs are already allowed in limited cases. Under 395.8(a)(1)(iii)(A)(1), a carrier may let a driver record manually if the driver needs to complete a record of duty status on not more than 8 days within any 30-day period.
What changes for drivers
Nothing. The rules stay as they were: ELD for drivers who need one, with the existing exceptions.
FMCSA received 901 public comments, 890 of them unique. The notice says most commenters were individuals who supported the exemption, citing driver flexibility and lower costs, with some raising truck parking. Opposing comments came from groups including the Truck Safety Coalition, Institute for Safer Trucking, and Road Safe America. FMCSA gave two main reasons for denying the request.
First, the agency says Congress required ELDs. It cites Section 32301(b) of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act, part of MAP-21, which it says mandated regulations requiring ELDs in CMVs operated by drivers who must keep RODS. The notice states FMCSA "is therefore bound by this Congressional mandate and cannot grant a blanket exemption for any driver or carrier that wishes to be exempt."
Second, even apart from that, FMCSA said the application did not show the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than what the regulations achieve. FOPT proposed education for members, random carrier audits, and exclusion for drivers who violate hours-of-service limits. But FOPT proposed that the exemption apply to all drivers who wanted it, not just members, and the notice says FOPT did not explain how those safeguards would apply to an unknown group of drivers or how violators would be excluded.
What to do about it
Keep running the way you have been. If you are already using the 8-in-30 paper log allowance, that provision in 395.8 is unchanged by this notice. Check the text of the regulation for how it applies to your operation.
If you have views on ELD rules, the docket for this decision is at regulations.gov. The comments there give a good picture of how drivers, carriers, and safety groups see the issue.
If you are still working toward your CDL, our CDL practice tests are a good way to check where you stand.