What are HOS Supporting Documents?

HOS Supporting Documents are the documents that drivers “create” through their normal course of operations that can be used to verify a driver’s HOS (Hours of Service) records.

These are really important because FMCSA regulations require trucking companies to keep these so that investigators can verify a driver’s HOS records of duty status (RODS) during a DOT Compliance Review or a New Entrant Safety Audit.

Inspectors will also review current HOS supporting documents during roadside inspections of drivers and trucks.

HOS Supporting Documents are often misunderstood, mistreated and are sometimes just missing!

Spoiler Alert: The FMCSA really wants fleet owners to keep these so that YOU will verify your drivers RODS….to make sure that they’re coloring inside the lines on their fancy electronic coloring books!

HOS Supporting Documents: 5 Categories

Supporting Documents consist of five categories, described in 49 CFR 395.11(c):

Shipping Documents:

Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules, or equivalent documents that indicate the origin and destination of each trip;

Trip Documents:

Dispatch records, trip records, or equivalent documents;

You could also count documents related to the use of the adverse driving conditions exception in this category as well.

Expense Related Documents:

Expense receipts related to any on-duty not-driving time;

This is especially important for helping to document the use of the personal conveyance exception.

Communication Related Documents:

Electronic mobile communication records, reflecting communications transmitted through a fleet management system;

Driver Pay Documents:

Payroll records, settlement sheets, or equivalent documents that indicate what and how a driver was paid.

We help you manage your HOS supporting documents and monitor ELD compliance as part of our comprehensive trucking compliance services!

Info Included In HOS Supporting Documents

Supporting documents must contain the following elements:

• Driver name or carrier-assigned identification number, either on the document or on another document
• enabling the carrier to link the document to the driver. The vehicle unit number can also be used if it can be linked to the driver;
• Date;
• Location (including name of nearest city, town, or village); and
• Time.

How To Manage HOS Supporting Documents

Every fleet owner or trucking safety manager must effectively handle a driver’s supporting documents in order to ensure that each driver’s HOS records are accurate.

Drivers must submit their RODS and supporting documents to the motor carrier no later than 13 days after completing each trip.

Also, trucking companies must retain up to 8 supporting documents for every 24-hour period that a driver is on duty.

We recommend a driver keep one envelope for each trip and simply keep all of that trip’s supporting documents together in that single envelope. This so-called “One Envelope Method” is simple, yet effective. If you didn’t want to do it for each trip, you could simply have one envelope per week.

Pro Tip: Drivers who are using the HOS short haul exception don’t have to retain supporting documents as they are exempt from doing so.

Failure to retain these HOS supporting documents (or keep them somewhat organized) always makes things harder on everyone during audit time.

The worst part is, these FMCSA 395.8 violations could cause you to receive multiple Log Falsification violations…which costs up to $3,000 EACH during a DOT audit!

Even worse, failure here could cause you to wind up having a conditional safety rating! If that does happen, we can help fix your conditional DOT rating. But, prevention is much easier than the cure!

So, try to avoid all of costs, hassle and issues and make sure that you keep track of these as closely as possible!

Want to learn more about HOS Supporting Documents and the role that they play in DOT compliance and fleet safety? Check out the FMCSA’s ELD FAQ page here!

About My Safety Manager

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Our specialized safety management solutions help deliver results—safe drivers out on the road who are staying compliant with regulations.

We work with you to create customized solutions that meet your unique needs, taking what’s typically far too much work off your plate so you have more time to grow your business!