Regulation library · FMCSR+
The rules of the road for every CMV fleet in America.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR Parts 350–399) govern commercial motor vehicle operations: who can drive, how long they can drive, how vehicles are maintained, and how carriers prove all of it when the auditor calls.
Key sections at a glance
Part 391
Driver Qualification
Part 395
Hours of Service & ELDs
Part 396
Inspection & Maintenance
Part 382
Drug & Alcohol Testing
Part 383
Commercial Driver's Licenses
Part 393
Parts & Accessories
What the FMCSR covers
The FMCSR's core parts map to the lifecycle of a motor carrier operation: Part 382 (drug and alcohol testing, including the Clearinghouse), Part 383 (commercial driver's licenses), Part 391 (driver qualification — applications, medical certification, and the DQ file), Part 392 (driving rules), Part 393 (parts and accessories necessary for safe operation), Part 395 (hours of service and ELDs), and Part 396 (inspection, repair, and maintenance).
Generally, the regulations apply to vehicles over 10,000 lbs GVWR/GCWR used in interstate commerce, vehicles designed to carry passengers, and any vehicle hauling placardable hazmat — with CDL and drug-testing requirements attaching at 26,001 lbs. Many states adopt the FMCSR for intrastate operations too, so "we don't cross state lines" is rarely the exemption people hope it is.
Where carriers get caught
FMCSA's compliance reviews and roadside inspections concentrate on a predictable set of failures: incomplete driver qualification files, hours-of-service violations and ELD data gaps, missed drug-and-alcohol program requirements, and vehicles with out-of-service defects that maintenance files should have caught. Each maps to a specific part of the FMCSR, and each carries CSA score consequences that follow the carrier into insurance renewals and customer audits.
For safety directors managing both a fleet and a workplace, the FMCSR sits alongside OSHA obligations — a warehouse with trucks answers to 1910 inside the dock doors and Part 395 beyond them. RegLogic keeps both libraries in one place.
FMCSR+ in RegLogic
RegLogic's FMCSR+ library presents the motor carrier regulations in color-coded outline formatting with plain-language search — "how many hours can a driver work after 8 days?" lands on the 60/70-hour rules in §395.3 — plus interpretive guidance attached in context. Same-day updates matter here: hours-of-service rules have been amended repeatedly, and quoting the prior version in a driver handbook is an expensive mistake.
Read FMCSR — searchable, color-coded, always current — in RegLogic.
Start HereFAQ
Common questions
Who must follow the FMCSR?
Generally, operators of commercial motor vehicles over 10,000 lbs in interstate commerce, passenger-carrying vehicles above threshold capacities, and any vehicle transporting placardable hazardous materials. Many states apply the same rules intrastate.
What goes in a driver qualification file?
Part 391 requires the employment application, motor vehicle records, road test or equivalent, medical examiner's certificate, and annual review documentation, among other items — maintained for each driver and producible in an audit.
Do local fleets need ELDs?
ELD requirements under Part 395 attach to drivers required to keep records of duty status. Short-haul exceptions exist (including the 150 air-mile radius rules), but they have specific conditions that are easy to fall out of on any given day.
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