Truck drivers providing direct assistance during declared regional emergencies now get up to 30 days of automatic relief from federal hours-of-service rules, double the 14-day window in place since 2023. FMCSA published the final rule on Oct. 5, and it took effect the same day.
The change reverses an October 2023 rule that cut the automatic exemption from 30 days to 14. FMCSA said the shorter window created administrative burdens tied to extension requests when disaster recovery ran past two weeks, and the longer period should reduce that paperwork.
Relief kicks in once a state governor, a governor’s authorized representative, or FMCSA declares a regional emergency. For a hurricane, flood, or wildfire recovery that runs three or four weeks, qualifying trucks can now stay on relief runs without anyone filing for an extension at day 14.
The exemption has firm limits. It covers only commercial motor vehicles providing direct assistance, and its aim is restoring essential services and supplies. It is not a blanket hours waiver for every truck operating in the affected region, so trucks in the region that are not directly assisting the response still run under normal rules. The relief applies to the HOS regulations under 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.5. And 30 days is a ceiling, not a guarantee: if the emergency declaration ends sooner, the exemption ends with it. FMCSA can extend relief beyond 30 days when a situation calls for it.
FMCSA reopened the question after petitions challenged the 14-day limit, and its January proposal drew 17 comments. Backing ranged from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to the Shippers Coalition and the transportation departments of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, which told FMCSA there was “no record of adverse safety effects” from emergency HOS relief. National Tank Truck Carriers stayed neutral. The lone objection came from an individual who wanted to keep 14 days so regulators would recheck more often whether relief was still needed. FMCSA turned that down, saying the short window had caused administrative problems of its own, and it also rejected a request for 90 days, saying recovery work rarely needs more than 30 days to restore essential services and supplies.
FMCSA expects annual extension requests to fall from about 50 to 25, and estimates that dropping those 25 filings saves carriers and the federal government about $1,429 a year combined. The agency frames it as a paperwork fix rather than a change in the rule’s economic impact.
If you book or haul relief freight, confirm the load counts as direct assistance before running under the exemption. Relief ends on day 30 or when the declaration ends, whichever comes first, unless FMCSA extends it.