Regulations

FMCSA denies paper-log exemption, cites congressional ELD mandate

The Federation of Professional Truckers' petition drew 901 public comments; the agency says MAP-21 bars blanket exemptions and FOPT failed to show safety equivalence.

By CDLWire · Published September 29, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026, 7:13 AM CT

Summarized from Overdrive.

A semi truck cab dashboard with a paper logbook beside a glowing electronic logging device screen

FMCSA has denied the Federation of Professional Truckers' petition to let drivers run on paper logs instead of electronic logging devices, closing a request that drew more than 900 public comments — most of them in support. The denial came in a Federal Register notice filed September 29, scheduled for publication September 30.

Two grounds sank the petition. First, FMCSA says the congressional MAP-21 highway bill requires ELDs for interstate commercial vehicles, and the agency "cannot grant a blanket exemption for any driver or carrier that wishes to be exempt." Second, FOPT never showed the exemption would be as safe as the existing rule: it promised member education, random internal carrier audits, and removal of violators — but proposed the exemption cover any driver who wanted in, not just its members. "FOPT does not explain how its proposed safety countermeasures would apply to an unknown population of drivers or how violators would be excluded from the exemption program," the agency said.

Opponents who filed against the petition included the American Trucking Associations, the Truck Safety Coalition, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Parents Against Tired Truckers, the Institute for Safer Trucking, Road Safe America, and the Buchanan Law Firm. ATA argued that ELD compliance changes nothing about hours-of-service rules, calling route planning within the existing rules "the responsibility of fleets and drivers" regardless of how hours are recorded.

Why it matters

The paper-log dream is dead at the federal level for now: the agency is saying the statute itself bars the exemption, which no future petition can work around. If you were counting on this one, plan on the ELD.

Source: Overdrive, Sept. 29, 2026.
Image: AI-generated illustration

Update — September 30, 2026, 7:13 AM CT.

Why FMCSA said no — the details: The agency's denial rests on two grounds, according to a TruckSafe analysis of the Federal Register decision. First, the ELD mandate is a congressional directive — Section 32301(b) of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act, part of the MAP-21 highway bill — so FMCSA says it cannot grant a blanket opt-out to any driver who simply wants one. Second, FOPT failed the safety-equivalency test: its proposed safeguards (member education, random internal audits, excluding violators) could not cover an unknown and potentially unlimited population of non-member drivers, since the exemption would have applied to all drivers who wanted it, not just FOPT members. FMCSA received 901 public comments (890 unique); most individual commenters supported the exemption, while the Truck Safety Coalition, the American Trucking Associations, the Institute for Safer Trucking and Road Safe America opposed it. The limited short-haul exception still stands: drivers who need records of duty status on no more than 8 days in any 30-day period may still use paper logs.