Six electronic logging devices removed from approved list

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has removed six electronic logging devices from it list of registered ELDs.

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, the agency announced that Blue Star ELD, Road Star Solutions, United ELD, Speed ELD and two TrackEnsure ELDs were added to the list of revoked devices. FMCSA said the two TrackEnsure devices had the same model number (PT30) and ELD identifier (TE0101).

According to the agency, all six of the devices were removed from the approved list for failing to meet minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A, which requires “an ELD without a printer be designed so that the display may be reasonably viewed by an authorized safety official without (the official) entering the commercial motor vehicle.”

That particular violation has been a popular reason for the agency to remove devices from the approved list. In 2024, the agency placed 18 ELDs on the revoked list for the same reason.

Carriers with trucks equipped with any of the six revoked ELDs will have until March 9 to replace the devices with one from the agency’s list of approved units. Failing to do so ahead of the deadline will result in a “no record-of-duty status” and being placed out of service.

Currently, there are 1,040 devices on FMCSA’s Registered ELDs list. All of those devices are self-certified by the manufacturer as being compliant with federal regulations. The agency does not endorse any of the ELDs on the registered list.

FMCSA said that before the March 9 deadline, carriers using any of the now-revoked electronic logging devices should “revert to using paper logs or logging software” to record their hours-of-service data.

The agency added that “safety officials are encouraged not to cite drivers using these revoked ELDs” for either not using a registered device or having no record-of-duty status prior to the deadline.

Revoked electronic logging devices can be added back to the approved list if “the ELD provider corrects all identified deficiencies.” In spite of this, FMCSA said it “strongly encourages” carriers to be proactive to avoid compliance issues “in the event that the deficiencies are not addressed by the ELD providers.”

One of the recently revoked devices, Blue Star ELD, is no stranger to that process. The device was removed by the agency three separate times over the past nine months, with the device being added back to the approved list the previous two times.

This back-and-forth raises questions about the reinstatement process when it comes to revoked ELDs. Land Line has questioned FMCSA about its oversight of the process, specifically regarding Blue Star ELD and whether a device removed on multiple occasions is more thoroughly scrutinized when attempts are made to have it reinstated. As of the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 10, the agency had not provided an answer.

The lack of oversight regarding self-certification has created issues for carriers when it comes to maintaining compliance with the ELD mandate. In November 2022, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association requested the agency establish a comprehensive certification process for electronic logging devices, saying it has become “abundantly clear” the current self-certification process has been a “major disservice to motor carriers.”

In addition to self-certifying, FMCSA also allows ELD manufacturers to self-revoke non-compliant devices. There are currently 262 ELDs on the revoked list. Of those, only 43 were added by the agency, with the remaining 219 devices carrying a status of “self-revoked.” LL