What to Do If Your ELD Is Revoked: FMCSA’s Registered List, the 60-Day Rule and a 2026 ELD Checklist

Tuesday, October 6, 2026, is the last day for carriers to replace five electronic logging devices that FMCSA removed from its registered list in August. It is the latest in a long run of removals: the agency’s deputy administrator said last week that nearly 100 devices have come off the registry since the start of 2025, and that FMCSA is working on a rule to end the system that lets ELD makers certify their own products. For a carrier, a revoked device means logs that no longer count and a driver who can be placed out of service. This guide explains how to check your device, what to do if it is revoked, and how to choose a replacement that is less likely to put you in the same position again.

Why ELDs Keep Getting Revoked

Under the 2015 ELD rule, FMCSA does not test or approve devices. Manufacturers register a product and self-certify that it meets the technical specifications in 49 CFR Part 395. The registered list is therefore a list of devices whose makers say they comply, not a list of devices the government has verified.

That gap is what the agency is now trying to close:

• Tighter vetting. In December 2025 FMCSA introduced a multi-step review of new ELD applications, including fraud checks against previously revoked devices, so that a removed product cannot simply re-register under a new name. Industry coverage noted that this stopped short of independent, third-party testing.
• More removals. In 2026 the agency has announced batches of 12 devices on May 20, 10 on July 9 and five on August 6, among others. In each case FMCSA said the devices failed to meet the minimum requirements in Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 395.
• A planned rule. Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison said the agency is rewriting the approval process and that only one or two new providers have been approved recently. He gave no timeline, and no formal proposal has been published yet.

One independent tracker of the FMCSA list counted 936 registered devices as of October 2. The number is still large, but it is shrinking rather than growing.

How to Check Whether Your ELD Is Still Registered

FMCSA publishes two lists on its ELD website, eld.fmcsa.dot.gov: registered devices and revoked devices. Checking takes a few minutes.

• Find the exact device name, model number and ELD identifier. They appear in the header of the ELD record your device produces and usually in the app’s settings or “about” screen.
• Match all three against the registered list. Many products have similar names, and one provider can have several registrations, so a name match alone is not enough.
• Check the revoked list too. FMCSA does not notify each carrier individually; it posts a notice and expects carriers to watch the list.
• Repeat the check on a schedule. Once a month is a reasonable habit while removals continue at this pace.

What to Do If Your Device Is Revoked

FMCSA’s removal notices follow the same pattern each time. Carriers using a revoked device are told to do three things:

1. Stop using the revoked device and go back to paper logs or logging software to record hours of service.
2. Replace it with a device from the registered list within 60 days of the removal date.
3. Keep recording duty status accurately in the meantime. The 60 days are a window to switch equipment, not a break from the hours-of-service rules.

Enforcement works in two stages. Until the deadline, FMCSA asks inspectors not to cite drivers for the revoked device itself and to review paper logs or logging software instead. After the deadline, a driver still running the revoked device is treated as having no record of duty status: the citation is under 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1), and the driver is placed out of service under the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance criteria. For the five devices removed on August 6, that date is October 6, 2026.

A provider can fix the problems and be put back on the list, and FMCSA says it will announce when that happens. It is safer not to plan around that outcome. If the device is still revoked on day 60, the carrier carries the consequences, not the vendor.

Revocation vs. Malfunction: Two Different Clocks

Drivers and dispatchers often confuse a revoked ELD with a broken one. The rules are different.

When a registered ELD malfunctions

• The driver must notify the carrier in writing within 24 hours.
• The driver reconstructs the current day and the previous seven days on paper, unless those records are already in hand or can be retrieved from the device, and keeps logging on paper until the ELD works again.
• The carrier has eight days from discovering the problem, or from the driver’s notice, to repair or replace the device.
• If eight days is not enough, the carrier can ask the FMCSA division administrator in its home state for an extension, and must do so within five days of the driver’s notice.

When an ELD is revoked

• The device may work perfectly, but it no longer counts as an ELD.
• The window is 60 days from FMCSA’s notice, and it applies to every truck using that device at once.
• There is no repair option on the carrier’s side. The only fix is a different, registered device.

Either way, the truck needs paper. The ELD rule requires each vehicle to carry blank graph-grid logs for at least eight days, along with instruction sheets on data transfer and on what to do in a malfunction.

How to Choose a Replacement That Will Last

Being on the registered list is the minimum, not proof of quality. Because the list is self-certified, the carrier has to do some of the vetting that the system does not.

• Look at the provider’s history. How long has the device been registered, and has the company had other products revoked?
• Be wary of editing promises. FMCSA has tied its crackdown to devices and services that alter driving time. A vendor that offers to “fix” logs or add hours is offering a reason for the device to be removed, and falsified logs are the carrier’s violation.
• Test the data transfer. At roadside the device must send records to the inspector either by telematics (web services and email) or locally (USB and Bluetooth). Ask for a demonstration before you buy.
• Read the contract. Check the term, the cancellation fees, and whether you get a refund or a free swap if the device is revoked. With a new certification rule being written, a shorter commitment has value.
• Ask about the coming rule. A serious provider should be able to say how it would handle independent testing or a new certification step.
• Confirm support hours. A malfunction at 2 a.m. starts the eight-day clock whether or not anyone answers the phone.

Protect Your Records When You Switch

Changing providers does not end your duty to keep the old data. Carriers must retain records of duty status and supporting documents for six months, and must keep a backup copy of ELD records on a separate device. If a vendor is revoked or shuts down its service, access to its portal can disappear with little notice.

• Export at least the last six months of logs for every driver before you cancel the old service.
• Store the files somewhere you control, and confirm they open.
• Keep the paper logs written during the changeover with the same records.
• Note the date each truck moved to the new device, so an auditor can follow the trail.

ELD Compliance Checklist

For carriers and safety managers:

• Check every device in the fleet against FMCSA’s registered and revoked lists today, by name, model and ELD identifier.
• If you run one of the five devices removed on August 6, have a registered replacement installed before October 6.
• Put a monthly list check on the calendar and assign it to one person.
• Stock each truck with eight days of blank paper logs and the required instruction sheets.
• Write down your malfunction procedure: who the driver notifies, and who tracks the eight-day and five-day deadlines.
• Back up ELD data regularly instead of relying on the vendor’s portal.

For drivers and owner-operators:

• Know your device’s exact name and identifier, and where to find them on the screen.
• Practice a data transfer before an inspector asks for one.
• Keep your paper log skills current. You may need them for a malfunction or a revocation.
• Report a malfunction in writing within 24 hours and keep a copy.
• If you lease on to a carrier, ask which ELD it uses and whether it is still on the registered list.

For brokers and dispatchers: a driver placed out of service over a revoked ELD is a late load. Asking a carrier which device it runs is a fair question during onboarding.

The Bottom Line

The registered list is self-certified, FMCSA is removing devices at a steady pace, and a rule to replace self-certification is being written without a published date. Until that changes, the responsibility sits with the carrier: check the list regularly, keep paper in the truck, know the difference between the eight-day malfunction clock and the 60-day revocation window, and choose a provider on its record rather than its price alone.

Neal’s Take

The way I see it, an ELD is one of those tools you only think about when it stops counting, and by then the clock is already running. For carriers and owner-operators, the two things that matter most are checking the registered list on a regular schedule and keeping your own copy of the log data, because both are cheap and both are fully in your control. There is a real trade-off in what FMCSA is doing: stricter approval should support carriers that log honestly, and it also puts cost and disruption on fleets that bought a device in good faith and then saw it removed. I would not assume any device on the list today is a problem, and I would not assume it is safe forever either. For dispatchers and brokers, knowing which device a carrier runs is a small question that can prevent a late load.

— Neal Cvetkovski, Founder of LOAD TIDE. Personal opinion, not legal or financial advice.

Stay with LOAD TIDE for daily updates on the freight and trucking market.

Sources: FMCSA (August 6 removal notice), FMCSA ELD website and lists, Truck News, Trucking Info (revocations), Trucking Info (vetting process), FreightWaves, Land Line, SmallFleetHQ (list tracker)