FMCSA Drops In-Cab ELD Manual, Driver Self-Reporting and Some Inspection Paperwork Rules
Three final rules published in June 2026 trimmed paperwork requirements for drivers and carriers, with all three taking effect July 22, 2026.
In June 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finalized three rules that remove or narrow paperwork requirements for truck drivers and motor carriers. The rules were published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2026, and took effect July 22, 2026.
All three began as proposals published May 30, 2025, as part of the administration's push to cut regulations it considers burdensome. Overdrive reported that FMCSA proposed 18 such changes in May 2025 and had finalized 12 of them in February 2026, bringing the total to 15 with the June rules.
ELD operator's manual no longer required in the cab
The first rule removes the requirement in 49 CFR 395.22(h) that a copy of the electronic logging device user's manual be kept in each commercial motor vehicle. FMCSA said there is "no readily apparent benefit" to keeping the manual onboard given that ELDs have been in use since December 2019.
The agency received 24 comments: 18 in support, four opposed and two out of scope. Supporters said many ELDs already have an electronic manual built in. Opponents said drivers and officers often do not know how to find the electronic version. FMCSA responded that it keeps a copy of every registered device's manual, available to the public on its ELD website, and that drivers are already required to show they can operate the device when an officer asks. Carriers may still choose to keep a manual in the truck.
FMCSA said more than 3,000 drivers were found in violation of the manual requirement in 2024. Carriers must still make sure drivers have an instruction sheet describing the device's data transfer methods and step-by-step instructions for producing and transferring hours-of-service records to an officer.
CDL holders no longer self-report out-of-state convictions
The second rule removes the federal requirement in 49 CFR 383.31 that CDL holders notify their home state licensing agency when convicted of certain traffic violations in another state. FMCSA said state licensing agencies have exchanged those convictions exclusively electronically since 2024, making driver self-reports redundant. The requirement to notify employers remains.
A pupil transportation group, NAPT, said some states still rely on self-reporting. FMCSA declined to compile a list of those states and said nothing in the rule "absolves a CDL holder from having to comply with a State requirement if that requirement exists."
Inspection forms returned only when a state asks
The third rule, which responds to a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, changes 49 CFR 396.9(d)(3)(ii). Carriers and intermodal equipment providers must now return a signed roadside inspection report to the issuing state agency only if that agency requests it. FMCSA said not all states want the forms returned. Carriers must still keep a copy for 12 months at their principal place of business or where the vehicle is housed.
FMCSA said it could not put a dollar figure on the savings from either the manual or inspection-form rules.
What it means for drivers and fleets
From July 22, 2026, a missing paper ELD manual is no longer a federal violation, but drivers still must know how to run the device and transfer logs at roadside. Fleets should confirm that the required data-transfer instruction sheet stays in every truck.
Drivers convicted outside their home state should check whether that state still requires a self-report, and must still tell their employer. Safety departments should check which states request returned inspection reports, keep filing those, and keep a copy of every report.