USDOT number, hours of service and periodic inspection: what 49 CFR says for a tree truck

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The text is from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, which the eCFR shows as up to date as of October 7, 2026. It reports the wording and says nothing about whether any particular truck, crew or driver is covered. States have their own rules for trucks that stay inside the state: the guide to truck and trailer rules by state and province collects those that were read, and the guide to GVWR and GCWR explains the weight ratings used below.

Which vehicles the rules cover

Section 390.5 defines a commercial motor vehicle as a motor vehicle, self-propelled or towed, used on a highway in interstate commerce to carry passengers or property, with a vehicle or combination weight rating, or a gross weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever figure is greater. The definition goes on to cover larger passenger vehicles and vehicles carrying placarded hazardous materials. Section 395.1(a) says the hours of service rules in part 395 apply to all motor carriers and drivers except as provided in its later paragraphs. The CDL side of this is on the guide to the CDL medical card.

USDOT number and marking

Section 390.201 describes USDOT registration under the Unified Registration System. It says each motor carrier subject to the subchapter must file Form MCSA-1 online with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) before it begins operations, with an update every 24 months on a schedule keyed to the last digit of the number, and a new filing within 30 days of a change of legal name, form of business or address. It says FMCSA issues an inactive number, activates it after the administrative filings, and that an applicant may not begin operations or mark a vehicle with the number until FMCSA's written notice that it is active. The eCFR page for this section carries an effective date note saying that at 88 FR 80184, November 17, 2023, the section was suspended indefinitely.

Section 390.21 sets the marking. It says the marking must show the motor carrier's legal name or a single trade name, plus the identification number issued by FMCSA, preceded by the letters "USDOT". It must appear on both sides of the self-propelled vehicle, in letters that contrast sharply with the background, and be readily legible in daylight from a distance of 50 feet (15.24 metres) while the vehicle is stationary. It may be painted or be a removable device that meets the same tests.

Hours of service for property-carrying drivers

Section 395.3 gives the limits for drivers of property-carrying commercial vehicles, except as section 395.1 provides.

Limit	What section 395.3 says
Start of shift	No driving before 10 consecutive hours off duty
14-hour period	No driving once 14 consecutive hours have passed since coming on duty after 10 consecutive hours off duty
Driving time	11 hours of driving within the 14-hour period
Break	After more than 8 hours of driving time, a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes out of driving status is needed, except for drivers who qualify for either short-haul exception
Weekly limit	60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days if the carrier does not operate every day of the week, or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days if it does
Restart	A 7 or 8 day period may end with the start of an off-duty period of 34 or more consecutive hours

The short-haul exceptions and others that name work close to tree work

Section 395.1(e)(1) exempts a driver from the record of duty status in 395.8 and from 395.11 if the driver stays within 150 air miles (172.6 statute miles) of the normal work reporting location, returns there and is released from work within 14 consecutive hours, gets at least 10 consecutive hours off duty between each 14 hours on duty in a property-carrying vehicle, and the employer keeps accurate time records for 6 months. Paragraph (e)(2) is a separate exception for drivers of property-carrying vehicles that do not require a commercial driver's license. It requires the same 150 air-mile radius and a return to the reporting location each duty tour, words the next condition as no driving past the 14th hour on duty on 5 days in any 7 consecutive days, and none past the 16th hour on 2 days in any 7 consecutive days, and it also requires 6 months of time records.

Other paragraphs of section 395.1 deal with adverse driving conditions (up to two additional hours), emergencies, agricultural operations, and construction materials and equipment. Paragraph (n) exempts a driver of a utility service vehicle, as section 395.2 defines it, from part 395. That definition covers a commercial vehicle used to repair, maintain or operate structures or facilities for delivering public utility services, including electric, gas, water, sanitary sewer, telephone, television cable, broadband-internet and cellular services, while engaged in work necessarily related to delivering them, and operated primarily within the utility's service area. The definition does not name tree work.

Record of duty status

Section 395.8 says a motor carrier subject to part 395 must require each driver to record duty status for each 24-hour period. It says the carrier must install and require its drivers to use an electronic logging device, with manual records allowed for drivers who need a record of duty status on not more than 8 days in any 30-day period, in driveaway-towaway operations and for vehicles built before model year 2000. The four statuses are off duty, sleeper berth, driving and on-duty not driving. A driver must submit the record to the carrier within 13 days of the 24-hour period it covers.

Driver vehicle inspection report

Section 396.11 says every motor carrier must require its drivers to prepare a written report at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated. It covers at least service brakes including trailer brake connections, parking brake, steering mechanism, lighting devices and reflectors, tires, horn, windshield wipers, rear vision mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment. The section adds that no report is needed from a driver who finds, or is told of, no defect or deficiency. A carrier must repair any defect likely to affect safe operation before the vehicle is operated again, certify the repair on the report, and keep reports for three months. The section does not apply to a carrier operating only one commercial motor vehicle.

Periodic inspection

Section 396.17 says every commercial motor vehicle must be inspected as the section requires, including at a minimum the parts and accessories in appendix A to part 396, and that each vehicle in a combination is inspected on its own. A carrier must not use a vehicle unless each listed component has passed an inspection at least once during the preceding 12 months and documentation of it is on the vehicle. The documentation can be the inspection report or a sticker or decal showing the date, the carrier's name and address, the vehicle identification and a certification that it passed. The carrier may do the inspection itself or use a commercial garage or similar business that has qualified inspectors. Failure to do the inspection properly puts the carrier under the penalty provisions of 49 U.S.C. 521(b).