Hours of service basics for NC truck drivers: the 11, 14 and 70-hour rules

The short version

Most property-hauling CDL drivers in NC run on the federal clock: 10 hours off, then up to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window, with a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. [1]

Over the week, you stop driving at 60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 hours in 8 days if your carrier runs every day. A 34-hour break resets the count. [1]

North Carolina applies the federal rules to interstate trucks and to most in-state trucks of 26,001 pounds or more. Drivers who stay inside NC get different limits: 12 hours of driving and 16 hours on duty after 8 hours off. [14]

As of Oct. 5, 2026, automatic hours relief after a Governor's emergency declaration lasts up to 30 days, up from 14. It only covers loads giving direct help to the emergency. [9][10]

The State Highway Patrol enforces these rules in NC. Federal civil penalties for hours violations can reach $19,246 per violation for a carrier and $4,812 for a driver, as of October 2026. [15][16][19]

The daily limits: 10 off, 11 driving, 14 on the clock

Under 49 CFR 395.3, you can't start driving until you've had 10 straight hours off duty. Once you come on duty, a 14-hour window starts. [1]

Inside that window you can drive up to 11 hours total. After the 14th hour you can't drive again until you take another 10 hours off, even if you have driving hours left. [1]

Off-duty time inside the window, like a long lunch or a wait at a dock, does not stop the 14-hour clock. Only a qualifying sleeper berth split is left out of it. [1]

The 30-minute break is about driving time, not duty time. Once you've driven 8 hours without a 30-minute break from driving, you must take one before driving again. [1]

That break can be off duty, in the sleeper berth or on duty not driving, or a mix of these. Fueling or waiting to load for 30 minutes counts. Drivers using either short-haul exception don't need the break. [1][11]

The weekly limits and the 34-hour restart

If your carrier doesn't run trucks every day of the week, you can't drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 straight days. If it does, the limit is 70 hours in 8 days. [1]

The carrier picks the time of day each 24-hour period starts, and the 7 or 8 days roll forward from there. [1]

You can reset the count by taking 34 or more hours off in a row. The current rule has no requirement to include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods, and no limit of one restart a week. [1]

On-duty time is more than driving. It includes inspecting the truck, loading and unloading, waiting at a shipper unless you've been relieved, drug and alcohol tests, and any other paid work, even for a non-trucking job. [1]

Deadheading as a passenger at the carrier's direction counts as on duty, unless you get at least 10 hours off when you arrive. [1]

Splitting your 10 hours in the sleeper

You can split the 10 hours off into two periods. One must be at least 7 straight hours in the sleeper berth. The other must be at least 2 hours, off duty or in the sleeper, and together they must add up to at least 10. [1]

So a 7/3 or 8/2 split works, and so does 7.5/2.5. Neither qualifying period counts against your 14-hour window. [1][11]

The 11 and 14-hour limits are worked out again from the end of the first of the two rest periods. The driving before and after each period, added together, can't go past 11 hours. [1]

Up to 3 hours riding in the passenger seat of a moving truck, right before or after at least 7 hours in the sleeper, can count toward the 10 hours. That helps team drivers. [1]

FMCSA proposed two pilot programs in September 2025: one to pause the 14-hour window for 30 minutes to 3 hours, and one to loosen the 7-hour sleeper rule. As of October 2026 no launch notice has appeared, so neither is in effect. [6][7]

Bad weather, emergencies and the 2-hour extension

If you hit adverse driving conditions and can't safely finish the run within your limits, you may drive up to 2 extra hours. Since 2020 that also stretches the 14-hour window by up to 2 hours. [1][11]

Adverse conditions mean snow, ice, sleet, fog, other bad weather, or unusual road or traffic conditions. You or the carrier must not have known about them, or been able to know, before the trip or the last rest break. [1]

The test is what could have been known. Weather that was already in the forecast, or traffic that's routine at that hour, may not fit the definition. A sudden wreck that closes the road is the kind of surprise it describes. [1]

The extra time is only to finish the run or to reach a place that's safe for you and secure for the truck and cargo. [1]

Personal conveyance and yard moves

Personal conveyance is driving the truck while off duty for your own purposes. FMCSA's 2018 guidance allows it only when the carrier has relieved you of all work, and carriers may ban it or limit it. [12]

Allowed examples include driving from a motel or truck stop to a restaurant, commuting between the terminal and home, and going to the nearest reasonable safe place to rest after loading or unloading. [12]

Not allowed: skipping available rest spots to get closer to your next pickup, bobtailing to get another load, driving to a shop for maintenance, or driving after being put out of service for hours unless an officer directs it. [12]

If a shipper sends you off the lot and the nearest safe spot is full, FMCSA suggests noting that on your log when you go on to the next one. [12]

Moving a truck around a yard on private property is on duty, not driving. Your ELD can have a yard-move setting if the carrier turns it on. You must select it before the move and turn it off after. [1][13]

Logs and ELDs: what to carry and show

Carriers must use registered electronic logging devices. Paper logs are still allowed if you need logs on no more than 8 days in any 30, for some driveaway-towaway moves, or if the truck's engine is older than model year 2000 per the VIN. [1]

While on duty, you must have the current day and the previous 7 days of logs. You send logs and supporting documents, like bills of lading and fuel receipts, to the carrier within 13 days. [1]

Since July 22, 2026, you no longer need the ELD user's manual in the truck. You still need instructions for sending records to an officer, malfunction instructions, and at least 8 days of blank paper logs. [1][3]

If the ELD breaks, note it and tell the carrier in writing within 24 hours. Rebuild the current day and previous 7 days on paper unless you can pull them up, and keep paper logs until it's fixed. The carrier has 8 days to repair it. [1]

FMCSA said no on Sept. 30, 2026 to a trucker group's request to let drivers use paper logs instead of ELDs. [8]

NC's own rules for in-state drivers

14B NCAC 07C .0101 applies federal Parts 390 to 397, including the hours rules, to interstate trucks on NC highways. It also covers in-state carriers whose truck is rated or weighs 26,001 pounds or more, carries 16 or more people, or hauls placarded hazmat. [14]

For intrastate drivers, the rule sets different limits: no more than 12 hours of driving after 8 straight hours off, no driving after 16 hours on duty, and no driving after 70 hours in 7 days or 80 hours in 8. [14]

Whether you count as an intrastate driver is judged by your operations over the previous 7 days. [14]

The NC rule doesn't say anything about ELDs, the 30-minute break or the sleeper split for in-state drivers. Don't assume you're exempt from them. Ask your carrier or the Highway Patrol. [14]

Farm haulers have more room. NC treats planting and harvest season as all year, which matters for the federal farm exemption. Our guide to farm and local hauler exceptions covers that in detail. [15]

Penalties and out-of-service orders

Under 49 CFR 395.13, an officer can put you out of service for driving past your limits, or for not having a current log for today and the previous 7 days. [1]

If only today and yesterday are missing and the 6 days before are complete, you can bring the log current. After an out-of-service order, you must get the form to your carrier within 24 hours. [1]

Federal civil penalties, as of October 2026: up to $1,584 a day for logbook violations, capped at $15,846, and up to $15,846 for knowingly false logs. Other hours violations run up to $19,246 for a carrier and $4,812 for a driver. [19]

Driving more than 3 hours past the driving limit counts as an egregious violation and can draw the maximum penalty. [19]

In NC, fines for out-of-service violations are charged to the motor carrier. State law caps them at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's fine schedule in effect on the date of the violation. [14][17]

Emergency waivers: now up to 30 days

When a Governor declares a regional emergency, the federal hours limits are lifted for drivers giving direct help. A rule effective Oct. 5, 2026 sets that relief at the length of the emergency or 30 days, whichever is shorter. [9][10]

It had been 14 days since a 2023 rule. On Oct. 5, 2026, the online eCFR text still showed 14 days, because the change was published that same morning in the Federal Register. [9][10]

Ordinary freight isn't covered. Direct help ends when the truck hauls a non-relief load or is dispatched elsewhere. A driver who says they need rest must get at least 10 hours off before heading back. [10]

Gov. Stein waived state and federal hours limits for 14 days in Executive Order 26 (Sept. 27, 2025) and Executive Order 31 (Jan. 21, 2026). Both covered loads like fuel, food, water, livestock feed and utility repair work. [20][22]

Those orders required drivers to show papers proving a relief load when officers ask. As of Oct. 5, 2026, no NC hours waiver was in effect. [20][22][24]