HOS Records for the New Entrant Safety Audit: Logs, ELD Data and Supporting Documents

In the New Entrant Safety Audit, one Part 395 rule is on the automatic-failure list (49 CFR 385.321), and the rest of Part 395 is scored in the audit's Operational factor. Here is what each record must show, how long to keep it, and how to check your files first.

How HOS records count in the audit

The auditor looks at Part 395 two ways. First, automatic failure item 13: failing to require a driver to make a record of duty status (§ 395.8(a)). It only triggers an automatic failure when the violation shows up in 51% or more of the records examined. See the full auto-fail list.

Second, the scoring in Appendix A to Part 385. Parts 392 and 395 form Factor 3, “Operational.” Each instance of an acute violation scores 1.5 points and each critical violation 1 point. Three or more points means inadequate controls for that factor, and inadequate controls in three or more factors fails the audit. The Part 395 recordkeeping rules on the acute and critical list (Appendix B to Part 385, section VII):

The hours limits themselves (11-hour, 14-hour, 30-minute break, 60/70-hour, § 395.3) are also critical rules on that list, and your logs are how the auditor checks them.

Records of duty status (§ 395.8)

Every motor carrier subject to Part 395 must require each driver it uses to record duty status for each 24-hour period (§ 395.8(a)(1)). The default method is an ELD. Paper logs on the § 395.8 graph grid are allowed instead only when the driver:

• Needs a record of duty status on not more than 8 days in any 30-day period;
• Drives in a driveaway-towaway operation where the vehicle driven is part of the shipment, or the vehicle transported is a motor home or recreation vehicle trailer; or
• Drives a vehicle manufactured before model year 2000, as shown by the VIN on the registration (§ 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(A)).

Each log uses the four duty statuses: off duty, sleeper berth, driving and on-duty not driving (§ 395.8(b)), with the city and state at each change of duty status (§ 395.8(c)). The driver must submit each record to the carrier within 13 days (§ 395.8(a)(2)(ii)). The driver keeps the previous 7 consecutive days available while on duty (§ 395.8(k)(2)). For a first-time or intermittent driver, get a signed statement of on-duty time for the preceding 7 days (§ 395.8(j)(2)).

False logs. No driver or motor carrier may make a false report in connection with a duty status (§ 395.8(e)(1)). Supporting documents are kept to verify the log (§ 395.11(c)(1)), so a fuel receipt or delivery time that doesn't fit the log is the kind of mismatch that gets cited.

ELD rules the auditor can check (§§ 395.20–395.38)

Part 395, subpart B puts duties on the carrier, not just the device:

• Registered device. Use only an ELD on FMCSA's registered ELDs list (§ 395.22(a)).
• Accounts. Each driver gets a unique username, not a license or Social Security number, and logs in as themselves (§ 395.22(c), (e)).
• In-cab packet. Each truck carries an instruction sheet for transferring records to an officer, an instruction sheet for malfunctions, and blank graph-grid logs for at least 8 days (§ 395.22(h)).
• Backup and production. Keep a back-up copy of ELD records for 6 months on a separate device (§ 395.22(i)(1)), and produce ELD records electronically when an authorized safety official asks (§ 395.22(j)).
• Edits. Drivers certify each 24-hour record. Carrier-proposed edits need the driver's confirmation, and coercing a false certification is prohibited (§ 395.30(b)–(e)).
• Original data. Never alter or erase the original HOS information or its source data (§ 395.30(f)). That is the acute item on the table above.
• Unidentified driving. Review the “Unidentified Driver” records: annotate them or assign them to the right driver. Keep them for each ELD for 6 months and make them available during an audit (§ 395.32(c)).
• Malfunctions. The driver gives written notice within 24 hours and switches to paper logs, reconstructing the current day and previous 7 days. The carrier must correct the malfunction within 8 days of discovery or the driver's notice, whichever comes first (§ 395.34(a), (d)(1)).

Supporting documents (§ 395.11)

Drivers must submit supporting documents to the carrier within 13 days (§ 395.11(b)). For each driver and each 24-hour period, keep the documents generated or received in the normal course of business in these categories (§ 395.11(c)(1)):

1. Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules or equivalent documents showing the origin and destination of each trip.
2. Dispatch records, trip records or equivalent documents.
3. Expense receipts related to on-duty not driving time, such as fuel receipts.
4. Electronic mobile communication records sent through a fleet management system.
5. Payroll records, settlement sheets or equivalent documents showing payment to the driver.

Each document needs the driver's name or ID (or a unit number tied to the driver), the date, the location (nearest city, town or village) and the time (§ 395.11(c)(2)). You need not keep more than eight per driver per 24-hour period, but if you have more than eight, keep the ones with the earliest and latest times (§ 395.11(d)). File them so they can be matched to the driver's log (§ 395.11(e)), and never alter or destroy one (§ 395.11(f)).

Short-haul drivers and time records (§ 395.1(e))

A driver is exempt from §§ 395.8 and 395.11 under the 150 air-mile short-haul exception only if every condition is met: the driver stays within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location, returns there and is released within 14 consecutive hours, and (for property carriers) has at least 10 consecutive hours off between each 14 hours on duty (§ 395.1(e)(1)).

The exemption isn't “no records.” The carrier must keep accurate and true time records for 6 months showing the time the driver reported for duty, total on-duty hours, the release time, and, for drivers used for the first time or intermittently, the total time for the preceding 7 days (§ 395.1(e)(1)(iv)). A daily timecard covers it. On days a driver goes outside the exception, a log is required for that day.

Owner-operators: you are the driver and the carrier

Under your own USDOT number, the carrier duties in Part 395 are yours too. Part 395 has no one-truck exception for logs or supporting documents:

• Your ELD account, in-cab packet, backup and unidentified driving review are your job (§§ 395.22, 395.32).
• Your own fuel receipts, bills of lading and settlement sheets are supporting documents to keep and file by date (§ 395.11(c)).
• Your own logs and documents stay on file for 6 months (§ 395.8(k)(1)).

Good practice, not required by the rule: export your ELD data monthly to a folder you control.

How long to keep HOS records

For every other record's calendar, see first 12 months records.

A one-hour HOS check before the audit

1. List every driver from the past 6 months, including you, and their method: ELD, paper log or short-haul time record.
2. Export ELD records for each driver for the period the notice asks for, and confirm each day is certified.
3. Open the unidentified driving report for each ELD. Annotate or assign every entry.
4. Spot-check a few days per driver: do the fuel receipts, bills of lading and dispatch times fit the log?
5. Confirm each truck has the in-cab packet.
6. Save each driver's logs and supporting documents into one folder by date for the upload. The new entrant audit checklist covers the other areas, and the DQ file checklist covers each driver's file.

Found a gap? Fix the system going forward and keep records honest. Never edit a past log to make it fit or recreate a supporting document; that turns a gap into a false-report problem. The 7-Day Audit-Ready System ($67) includes the HOS/ELD records checklist. Already failed on HOS items? Your corrective action plan must show the fix and the control that prevents a repeat; start with our corrective action plan guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is a missing log an automatic failure of the new entrant audit?

Failing to require a driver to make a record of duty status (49 CFR 395.8(a)) is one of the 16 automatic failures in 49 CFR 385.321, but only when the violation is found in 51% or more of the records examined. Below that threshold, it still counts against you in the audit scoring under Appendix A to Part 385.

How long do I keep ELD records and supporting documents?

At least 6 months from the date of receipt (49 CFR 395.8(k)(1)). You must also keep a back-up copy of ELD records for 6 months on a separate device (395.22(i)(1)) and keep unidentified driving records for each ELD for at least 6 months (395.32(c)(2)).

What counts as a supporting document?

Documents generated or received in the normal course of business in five categories: bills of lading or itineraries showing origin and destination, dispatch or trip records, expense receipts related to on-duty not driving time, fleet management system communication records, and payroll or settlement records (49 CFR 395.11(c)(1)). You need not keep more than eight per driver per 24-hour period (395.11(d)(1)).

Do short-haul drivers need logs?

A driver who meets every condition of the 150 air-mile short-haul exception is exempt from 395.8 and 395.11, but the carrier must keep accurate time records for 6 months showing when the driver reported for duty, total on-duty hours, release time, and, for first-time or intermittent drivers, the preceding 7 days' total time (49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)(iv)).

Primary sources

• eCFR Title 49 (current text)
• FMCSA: New Entrant Safety Assurance Program
• FMCSA New Entrant Web System (NEWS) Help Center

Regulation text checked against eCFR Title 49 as of October 15, 2026.