ELD personal use and yard moves.

What the rule says

Section 395.28 is headed Special driving categories; other driving statuses. Paragraph (a) covers special driving categories. The eCFR text read on November 2, 2026, says:

(1) Motor carrier options. A motor carrier may configure an ELD to authorize a driver to indicate that the driver is operating a commercial motor vehicle under any of the following special driving categories: (i) Authorized personal use; and (ii) Yard moves. (2) Driver's responsibilities. A driver operating a commercial motor vehicle under one of the authorized categories listed in paragraph (a)(1) of this section: (i) Must select on the ELD the applicable special driving category before the start of the status and deselect when the indicated status ends; and (ii) When prompted by the ELD, annotate the driver's ELD record describing the driver's activity.

Who has to switch it on

The first sentence puts the choice with the motor carrier. A carrier may configure the ELD so that a driver can use the categories. The word may matters: nothing in the paragraph requires a carrier to offer either one. If the carrier has not configured the ELD to offer them, the driver has no ELD option to select.

The driver's three duties

Once a carrier has enabled a category, paragraph (a)(2) places three duties on the driver. Select the category on the ELD before the status starts. Deselect it when the status ends. Annotate the ELD record describing the activity when the ELD prompts for it. The first two are timing rules: select before, deselect at the end. A driver who forgets to deselect has left a record that shows the wrong status for the period afterward.

What this section does not define

Section 395.28(a) names the categories and sets the ELD steps. It does not define what authorized personal use is, how far it may be driven, or what a yard move is. The text read for this page does not include those definitions, and FMCSA guidance on personal conveyance was not read in preparing it. Do not infer a distance limit, a loaded-or-empty rule or a time limit from this page. Ask the carrier for its written policy and check FMCSA's published guidance for the current wording.

Other driving statuses

Paragraphs (b) and (c) of 395.28 handle two related cases. A motor carrier may configure an ELD to designate a driver as exempt from ELD use. And a driver operating under any exception under 390.3(f) or 395.1 who is not covered by paragraphs (a) or (b) must annotate the ELD record to explain the applicable exemption.

Worked example of the sequence

A carrier has enabled the personal use category. At the end of a shift, a driver intends to drive the truck from the terminal to a restaurant. Under 395.28(a)(2)(i), the driver selects authorized personal use on the ELD before the status starts. If the ELD prompts, the driver annotates the record to describe the activity. When the status ends, the driver deselects the category. Whether that trip actually qualifies as personal use is a separate question the rule text above does not answer.

Limits of this page

This page repeats what the rule says and does no more. Whether a particular trip, load or day complies is a question for the motor carrier, its compliance staff or counsel. This page does not compute anything, because the rule text read gives no numbers to compute with.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026. Rule text quoted from the eCFR, which was current through October 29, 2026.

• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.28, special driving categories; other driving statuses (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.1, scope of rules in this part (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.2, definitions (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)