FMCSA says no ELD needed for livestock haulers until further notice

The Federal Motor Carier Safety Administration (FMCSA) quietly announced this week that livestock haulers are free to run on paper logs instead of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) until further notice.

Using an update made to the ELD section of the FMCSA’s website, the agency broke the news this week that Insect and Livestock Hauler are official exempt from ELD regulations.

The update reads:

Transporters of livestock and insects are not required to have an ELD. The statutory exemption will remain in place until further notice. Drivers do not need to carry any documentation regarding this exemption.

Since the ELD Mandate went into effect last December, the FMCSA has issued several short-term waivers designed to temporarily relieve livestock haulers from ELD regulations.

The new regulation coupled with the temporary waivers left many in the trucking community confused as to whether they needed to make the switch from paper logs and when they would be required to do so.

This week’s update is intended to provide livestock haulers and law enforcement officers with definitive answers about what is expected of them for now as lawmakers could spend months or even years trying to come up with a long term Hours of Service and ELD solution.