Hours of service in the US and Canada (2026)
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Two countries, two rulebooks. A driver who runs only in the United States is under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules that apply to that operation. A driver in federally regulated Canadian operations is under the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, SOR/2005-313. Provincial rules, buses, oil-well service, short-haul, and other exemptions exist. If you are not sure which set applies, ask the carrier and read the official page. This is not legal advice and not a log.
The device that records the day is covered in ELD basics. The border packet is the cross-border checklist.
Where the words are
- United States, summary: FMCSA summary of hours-of-service regulations
- United States, regulation text for property-carrying drivers: 49 CFR 395.3
- Canada, overview: Transport Canada, Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations
- Canada, full text: SOR/2005-313
- A government comparison, not a substitute for either rule: FMCSA, differences in maximum duty time
The ceilings those pages print
Swipe this table sideways. The page stays put, and the first column stays visible.
| Topic | United States, property-carrying, 49 CFR 395.3 | Canada, federal, SOR/2005-313 |
|---|---|---|
| Off duty before a shift | 10 consecutive hours off duty | The daily limits below sit inside the cycle rules. Read s.12 and s.13 on the regulation page |
| Driving window | 11 hours of driving, inside a 14-hour window after coming on duty | 13 hours of driving and 14 hours on duty, s.12 |
| Break | 30 minutes after 8 hours of driving, with the exceptions the summary lists | Do not import the US break rule. Use the Canadian text |
| Longer cycle | 60 hours in 7 days if the carrier does not operate CMVs every day of the week, otherwise 70 hours in 8 days | Cycle 1 is 70 hours on duty in 7 days, s.26. Cycle 2 is 120 hours on duty in 14 days, or 70 hours without 24 consecutive hours off, s.27 |
| Day off inside the cycle | The 34-hour restart is in 395.3 | At least 24 consecutive hours off in the preceding 14 days, s.25 |
| Reset | 34 consecutive hours, as 395.3 describes | Cycle 1: at least 36 consecutive hours off. Cycle 2: at least 72 consecutive hours off. Both are s.28 |
Those Canadian figures are the federal commercial rules as printed in SOR/2005-313. They are not a provincial handbook, and they are not a promise that your permit says the same thing.
What stays in the regulation
This note does not add your on-duty lines or tell you that you are legal. It does not say which cycle a Canadian carrier has declared. Sleeper-berth splits stay in the regulation text: they are detailed, and the US and Canadian versions differ.
If a dispatcher and the regulation disagree, stop and sort it with the carrier. A website is not a defence.
How to read the ceilings without doing the arithmetic here
US property-carrying drivers and Canadian federal drivers are on different documents. The table already on this page is only the ceilings printed on those documents: the FMCSA summary of 49 CFR 395.3, and SOR/2005-313. Use it as a reading aid beside the official text. It is not a log, and it does not know your exemption, your cycle, or your remaining time.
When you open the official page, check three things before you trust a memory. Which country the truck is operating in right now. Which cycle a Canadian carrier has declared, because this page cannot see that declaration. And whether you are the kind of operation the summary even covers. Short-haul, passenger, and other operations were left out of the table on purpose. If you are in one of them, you are on a different page of the regulation.
Sleeper-berth splits stay in the regulation because the US and Canadian versions are detailed and they differ. Do not reconstruct a split from a forum post or from the handoff you used last month on the other side of the border. The team schedule note says the handoff is parked and that you do not split one clock between two people. It does not calculate the split for you.
The ELD records. It does not grant hours. The ELD page is the certified-list question, including the fact that a US certification is not automatically a Canadian one. Paper, when the rule allows it, lives in the folder with a pen.
A shipper's door time does not add hours. The appointment page says call when the gap is gone. If a dispatcher and the regulation disagree, stop and sort it with the carrier. A website is not a defence at a scale. Bookmark the official pages and read them when the numbers matter. The table above is the map of those pages, not a substitute.
| Question | Open |
|---|---|
| US property-carrying ceilings | The FMCSA summary of 395.3 |
| Canadian federal cycles | SOR/2005-313, sections the table cites |
| Which cycle you are on | The carrier, not this site |
| Splits | The regulation text for that country |
| A device | Transport Canada's list or the US materials, as the carrier requires |
Conclusion
US property-carrying drivers are on a 60/7 or 70/8 framework with an 11-hour drive limit inside 14 hours. Canada's federal cycles are 70 hours in 7 days, or 120 hours in 14 days, with the daily 13 and 14 on the regulation page. Everything finer than that belongs to the official text and the carrier.
FAQ
Can you tell me how many hours I have left today?
No. This is not a logbook and not a calculator for a legal day.
Is the Canadian rule 70 hours or 120?
Both exist. Cycle 1 is 70 hours on duty in 7 days. Cycle 2 is 120 hours on duty in 14 days, with the further limit in s.27 if you have not had 24 consecutive hours off. The carrier's cycle is not something this page can see.
Does the US 30-minute break apply in Canada?
Do not assume that. Read SOR/2005-313 for the Canadian day and 49 CFR 395.3 for the US day.