The Most Common HOS Violations
at Roadside Inspections
Every Hours-of-Service violation in FMCSA's latest 24-month SMS data, ranked by how often inspectors record it, with out-of-service shares and fleet-size and Texas breakdowns.
Which HOS violations inspectors record most
This study counts every Hours-of-Service violation in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System data for the latest 24-month window and ranks them by how often they are recorded at roadside.
- Between 2024-09-25 and 2026-09-24, 7.6% of 5,678,181 HOS-relevant roadside inspections recorded at least one Hours-of-Service violation. Those inspections produced 612,853 HOS violations in FMCSA's SMS data.
- The largest SMS violation group is Other Log/Form & Manner, with 176,194 violations, 28.7% of all HOS violations.
- The three most frequently recorded HOS violation codes are 3958A1HOSP (HOS (Property) - Failing to have a record of duty status using the method prescribed): 63,024; 39524 (HOS (ELD) - ELD Form and Manner): 60,445; 3958EHOSPD (HOS (Property) - No driver may make a false report in connection with a duty status. Explain): 58,973.
Frequency is not severity. A common form-and-manner citation is not more dangerous than a rarer driving-limit violation; see the HOS violations with the highest CSA penalties for the weight side of the picture. The fleet-size and Texas comparisons are descriptive and unadjusted except where stated, so a lower rate is not evidence of better compliance. See the Texas section for a like-for-like view.
Key findings
Each finding has its own link. Every figure is computed by Fleet Regulators' analysis code from the FMCSA files listed under Sources; the computed tables are downloadable below.
- Between 2024-09-25 and 2026-09-24, 7.6% of 5,678,181 HOS-relevant roadside inspections recorded at least one Hours-of-Service violation. Those inspections produced 612,853 HOS violations in FMCSA's SMS data.#
- The largest SMS violation group is Other Log/Form & Manner, with 176,194 violations, 28.7% of all HOS violations.#
- The three most frequently recorded HOS violation codes are 3958A1HOSP (HOS (Property) - Failing to have a record of duty status using the method prescribed): 63,024; 39524 (HOS (ELD) - ELD Form and Manner): 60,445; 3958EHOSPD (HOS (Property) - No driver may make a false report in connection with a duty status. Explain): 58,973.#
- Violations of the ELD sections of Part 395 (395.20 through 395.36) make up 43.2% of HOS violations. Violations of 395.8, the record of duty status section, make up 41.9%; violations of the property-carrying driving limits in 395.3 make up 13.7%.#
- 23.6% of HOS violations were recorded as out-of-service violations, and 2.3% of HOS-relevant inspections included at least one HOS out-of-service violation. The Jumping OOS/Driving Fatigued group has the highest out-of-service share among groups with at least 1,000 violations, at 89.2%.#
- Carriers with 2 to 10 power units received 14.4 HOS violations per 100 HOS-relevant inspections, and 9.9% of their inspections had at least one. For carriers with 151 or more power units the figures were 4.9 and 3.8%.#
- In HOS-relevant inspections conducted in Texas, 4.1% recorded at least one HOS violation, compared with 8.1% in all other report states (694,798 Texas inspections). This is a descriptive comparison, not a measure of compliance: Level III driver-only inspections are 5.4% of Texas HOS-relevant inspections versus 40.6% elsewhere, and 23.3% of Texas inspections involve intrastate carriers, which can operate under Texas hours rules. Reweighted to the other states' inspection-level mix, the Texas share is 4.8% for all carriers and 5.4% for interstate carriers only, against 8.1% and 9.0% in the other states.#
HOS violations by SMS violation group
FMCSA's SMS sorts HOS violations into groups. The share of inspections column counts HOS-relevant inspections that recorded at least one violation in the group.
| SMS group | Violations | Share of HOS violations | Share of HOS-relevant inspections | Out-of-service share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other Log/Form & Manner | 176,194 | 28.7% | 2.7% | 0.5% |
| Incomplete/Wrong Log | 119,413 | 19.5% | 2.0% | 71.2% |
| False Log | 116,956 | 19.1% | 1.9% | 31.4% |
| EOBR Related | 88,549 | 14.4% | 1.2% | 0.1% |
| Hours | 74,128 | 12.1% | 0.9% | 23.5% |
| Fail to transfer ELD records | 22,066 | 3.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Hours Nominal | 12,833 | 2.1% | 0.2% | 16.1% |
| Jumping OOS/Driving Fatigued | 2,714 | 0.4% | 0.0% | 89.2% |
SMS violations in the Hours-of-Service Compliance BASIC, 24-month window. Download this table (CSV).
The 20 most frequently recorded HOS violation codes
Codes and descriptions are FMCSA's. The CFR section comes from the code's numeric prefix, with the official section heading from the eCFR. "Per 1,000 inspections" counts HOS-relevant inspections that cited the code at least once.
| Code | 49 CFR | FMCSA description | Violations | Share | Per 1,000 inspections | Out-of-service share | SMS severity weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3958A1HOSP | 395.8 | HOS (Property) - Failing to have a record of duty status using the method prescribed | 63,024 | 10.3% | 11.1 | 94.0% | 5 |
| 39524 | 395.24 | HOS (ELD) - ELD Form and Manner | 60,445 | 9.9% | 10.6 | 0.1% | 1 |
| 3958EHOSPD | 395.8 | HOS (Property) - No driver may make a false report in connection with a duty status. Explain | 58,973 | 9.6% | 10.4 | 12.8% | 7 |
| 39530B1ELDDFR | 395.30 | HOS (ELD) - Driver failing to review records and certify the accuracy of the information. | 36,360 | 5.9% | 6.4 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 3958A | 395.8 | HOS (Form) - Paper Log/Logging Programs Form and Manner | 30,843 | 5.0% | 5.4 | 1.8% | 1 |
| 39522H4ELDBRODS | 395.22 | HOS (ELD) - In-Vehicle Information - Failing to have a supply of blank driver's records of duty status graph-grids sufficient to record the driver's duty status a | 23,664 | 3.9% | 4.2 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 39522GELDMFV | 395.22 | HOS (ELD) - A portable ELD is not mounted in a fixed position and visible to the driver when seated in the normal driving position. | 23,339 | 3.8% | 4.1 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 3953A2HOSPD | 395.3 | HOS (Property) - Driving beyond the 14 hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty during the current 8 consecutive day period. Date and Tim | 19,179 | 3.1% | 3.4 | 7.0% | 7 |
| 3953A1HOSPD | 395.3 | HOS (Property) - Driving more than 11 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty during the current 8 consecutive day period. Date and Time | 17,341 | 2.8% | 3.1 | 8.4% | 7 |
| 3958E1PC | 395.8 | HOS - False record of duty status driver improper use of Personal Conveyance - Not OOS | 15,900 | 2.6% | 2.8 | 5.4% | 7 |
| 3958EHOSPDOOS | 395.8 | HOS (Property) - Driver produces a false record of duty status that concealed an HOS limitation violation after the last rest period. Explain: | 15,892 | 2.6% | 2.8 | 82.6% | 7 |
| 39524DELDPT | 395.24 | HOS (ELD) - On request by an authorized safety official a driver must produce and transfer from an ELD the driver's hours of service records in accordance with t | 15,510 | 2.5% | 2.7 | 0.3% | 3 |
| 3958E | 395.8 | False report of drivers record of duty status | 12,139 | 2.0% | 2.1 | 48.5% | 7 |
| 39530B2ELDDFC24 | 395.30 | HOS (ELD) - Driver failing to certify the record immediately after the final required entry has been made or corrected for the 24 hour period. | 10,582 | 1.7% | 1.9 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 3953A3II | 395.3 | Driving beyond 8 hour driving limit since the end of the last on duty off duty or sleeper period of at least 30 minutes | 10,234 | 1.7% | 1.8 | 0.1% | 7 |
| 3958AELD | 395.8 | ELD - No record of duty status (ELD Required) | 9,378 | 1.5% | 1.7 | 97.0% | 5 |
| 39522H2ELDNISDT | 395.22 | HOS (ELD) Driver failing to have instruction sheet describing the data transfer mechanisms supported by the ELD and step-by-step instructions for the driver to pr | 8,863 | 1.4% | 1.6 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 39524C2IIIELDSDN | 395.24 | HOS (ELD) - Driver failing to manually input or verify shipping document number. | 8,402 | 1.4% | 1.5 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 3958F01 | 395.8 | Drivers record of duty status not current | 7,924 | 1.3% | 1.4 | 1.6% | 5 |
| 39524C2III | 395.24 | Driver failed to manually add shipping document number | 7,772 | 1.3% | 1.4 | 0.2% | 1 |
Frequency is not severity, crash risk, or CSA impact. Download this table (CSV).
HOS violations by 49 CFR Part 395 section
| Section | Section heading (eCFR) | Violations | Share | Out-of-service share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 395.8 | Driver's record of duty status | 256,556 | 41.9% | 47.7% |
| 395.24 | Driver responsibilities (ELD), in general | 109,022 | 17.8% | 0.1% |
| 395.22 | Motor carrier responsibilities (ELD), in general | 86,630 | 14.1% | 0.1% |
| 395.3 | Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles | 83,888 | 13.7% | 22.4% |
| 395.30 | ELD record submissions, edits, annotations, and data retention | 51,516 | 8.4% | 0.1% |
| 395.32 | Non-authenticated driver logs | 7,899 | 1.3% | 0.1% |
| 395.34 | ELD malfunctions and data diagnostic events | 5,273 | 0.9% | 1.0% |
| Not a Part 395 code | 4,812 | 0.8% | 54.4% | |
| 395.20 | ELD applicability and scope | 2,648 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| 395.15 | Reserved (former automatic on-board recording device rules) | 1,280 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| 395.26 | ELD data automatically recorded | 1,040 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 395.11 | Supporting documents | 727 | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| 395.13 | Drivers ordered out of service | 665 | 0.1% | 60.0% |
| 395.28 | Special driving categories; other driving statuses | 579 | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| 395.5 | Maximum driving time for passenger-carrying vehicles | 223 | 0.0% | 23.8% |
| 395.1 | Scope of rules in this part | 87 | 0.0% | 41.4% |
| Part 395 code not mapped to a section | 8 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Section assigned from the violation code prefix. Download this table (CSV).
Record-keeping and ELD-handling problems make up much of the volume. Those are process failures: a driver not certifying a log, a missing instruction sheet, an unreviewed unassigned-drive event. A routine daily log audit catches most of them.
HOS violations by fleet size
Rates use HOS-relevant inspections of carriers in each power-unit band as the denominator. Cells below 1,000 inspections are suppressed. Level III shares are broadly similar across bands (see the last column), but who gets inspected, where, and how often still differs, so these are descriptive differences, not adjusted comparisons of compliance.
| Fleet size | HOS-relevant inspections | Share with any HOS violation | HOS violations per 100 inspections | Share with an HOS OOS violation | Level III share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 693,148 | 13.3% | 19.3 | 5.6% | 33.9% |
| 2-10 power units | 1,529,937 | 9.9% | 14.4 | 3.6% | 34.2% |
| 11-50 power units | 1,269,615 | 7.2% | 10.2 | 1.7% | 36.4% |
| 51-150 power units | 760,445 | 5.7% | 7.7 | 1.0% | 38.4% |
| 151+ power units | 1,404,627 | 3.8% | 4.9 | 0.5% | 38.5% |
| Not reported or 0 | 20,409 | 6.8% | 9.0 | 3.7% | 24.8% |
Fleet size is self-reported power units in the same SMS census run. Download this table (CSV).
Texas compared with other states
These Texas figures describe inspections, not how compliant Texas carriers are. Texas inspections are a different mix from the rest of the country: far fewer are Level III driver-only inspections, and many involve intrastate carriers that can operate under Texas hours rules. The like-for-like tables below narrow the comparison but cannot account for every difference, so no conclusion about Texas carriers' compliance should be drawn from these numbers.
Here Texas means inspections conducted in Texas, whatever the carrier's home state.
| Inspections | HOS-relevant inspections | Share with any HOS violation | HOS violations per 100 inspections | Share with an HOS OOS violation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspections conducted in Texas | 694,798 | 4.1% | 6.1 | 1.4% |
| Inspections conducted in all other report states | 4,983,383 | 8.1% | 11.5 | 2.4% |
| All inspections in the file | 5,678,181 | 7.6% | 10.8 | 2.3% |
Unadjusted. Inspection location from the report state field. Download this table (CSV).
Like-for-like: by inspection level
The same comparison within each inspection level, for all carriers and for interstate carriers only.
| Carriers | Inspected in | Level | HOS-relevant inspections | Share with any HOS violation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All carriers | Texas | Level I | 191,277 | 1.9% |
| All carriers | Texas | Level II | 466,193 | 4.8% |
| All carriers | Texas | Level III | 37,327 | 6.8% |
| All carriers | All other report states | Level I | 1,336,312 | 6.0% |
| All carriers | All other report states | Level II | 1,623,411 | 8.4% |
| All carriers | All other report states | Level III | 2,021,567 | 9.3% |
| Interstate carriers only | Texas | Level I | 165,227 | 1.8% |
| Interstate carriers only | Texas | Level II | 337,923 | 5.5% |
| Interstate carriers only | Texas | Level III | 29,965 | 7.7% |
| Interstate carriers only | All other report states | Level I | 1,158,097 | 6.6% |
| Interstate carriers only | All other report states | Level II | 1,386,856 | 9.4% |
| Interstate carriers only | All other report states | Level III | 1,819,725 | 10.1% |
Levels I to III; Level VI is under 0.1% of HOS-relevant inspections. Download this table (CSV).
Standardized to the same inspection mix
The standardized column applies Texas's level-by-level rates to the other states' mix of Level I, II, and III inspections. It removes the effect of inspection level only, not of intrastate rules, enforcement practice, routes, or carrier mix, and it does not show how much of the gap any single factor explains.
| Carriers | Texas, unadjusted | Texas, standardized | Other states | Texas Level III share | Other states Level III share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All carriers | 4.1% | 4.8% | 8.1% | 5.4% | 40.6% |
| Interstate carriers only | 4.5% | 5.4% | 9.0% | 5.6% | 41.7% |
Levels I to III only, so unadjusted shares can differ slightly from the table above. Download this table (CSV).
For a profile of Texas-based carriers across every BASIC, see the Texas Motor Carrier Safety Profile.
What carriers can take from this
The data shows what inspectors record, not why. Read it as a list of the places roadside inspections most often find problems:
- Review every driver's log daily, including certification and unassigned driving time, rather than weekly or monthly.
- Check that every truck carries the ELD instruction sheet, malfunction instructions, and blank paper logs.
- Audit personal conveyance and yard move use against your written policy; see personal conveyance vs yard move.
- Fix dispatch scheduling that only works if a driver runs past the 11-hour or 14-hour limits.
- Treat any falsification finding as a management problem, not a driver problem.
How we built this study
- HOS violations
- Rows of the SMS Input - Violation file whose BASIC is Hours-of-Service Compliance.
- HOS-relevant inspections
- Inspections in the SMS Input - Inspection file flagged fatigued_insp = true, meaning the inspection counts toward the HOS Compliance BASIC.
- Counts and rates
- Counts are violations. Rates use HOS-relevant inspections as the denominator. One inspection can carry several violations, so violation counts and inspection shares differ.
- Out-of-service
- oos_indicator as recorded on each violation. An inspection counts as having an HOS out-of-service violation if any of its HOS violations has oos_indicator = true.
- Severity weights
- SMS severity weights are FMCSA's SMS methodology weights. They are shown for reference and are not crash-risk estimates.
- CFR sections
- Violation codes are mapped to a Part 395 section by their numeric prefix; section headings come from the eCFR. A one-digit section is used only when no further digit follows, and codes whose prefix matches no current section are reported as unmapped rather than guessed. 395.15 is reserved in the current eCFR; its rows are legacy codes for the former AOBRD rules. A few HOS BASIC codes come from 49 CFR Part 392 (for example state or local hours laws and driving while fatigued) and are listed as not Part 395. Codes and descriptions are FMCSA's.
- Code granularity
- FMCSA records HOS violations under 154 distinct codes, and one underlying problem can appear under several codes (the False Log group alone spans 15 codes). Code-level rankings therefore depend on FMCSA's coding granularity; the SMS group and CFR section tables are steadier views.
- ELD-related codes and CFR sections
- CFR sections are a classification, not a topic label. Of the 256,556 violations under 395.8 (record of duty status), 19,777 (7.7%) have an FMCSA code or description that mentions ELDs, so ELD-related problems appear in 395.8 as well as in the ELD sections 395.20 through 395.36.
- Fleet size
- Inspected carrier's self-reported power units in the same SMS census run; inspections of carriers not in the census are excluded from fleet-size rows. Fleet-size bands differ in inspection mix (the Level III share is shown in hos_by_fleet_size.csv), so differences between bands are descriptive, not adjusted.
- Texas
- Inspections with report_state = TX (inspections conducted in Texas), regardless of the carrier's home state. The comparison group is inspections conducted in all other report states.
- Texas like-for-like comparison
- Texas and other-state rates are also shown within inspection Levels I, II, and III, for all carriers and for interstate carriers only (texas_hos_by_inspection_level.csv). The standardized Texas share applies Texas's level-specific rates to the other states' Level I-III mix (direct standardization). It adjusts for inspection level only; it does not adjust for intrastate rules, enforcement practice, routes, or carrier mix, and it does not show what share of the gap any one factor explains.
- Small numbers
- Rates require at least 1,000 HOS-relevant inspections.
- Comparisons
- Differences under 1.0 percentage point are described as about the same.
- Rounding
- Percentages rounded to one decimal place. Counts are exact.
Quality checks run on this snapshot: 5,853,762 inspection rows with 0 duplicate inspection IDs; 6,784,490 violation rows, 100.0% of which link to an inspection row; 0 duplicate USDOT numbers in the carrier census; 100.0% of inspections matched to a carrier in the census. Full results are in the methodology file.
Reproducibility
Method. Every definition, filter, and denominator used is documented on this page and in methodology.json, so the calculations can be repeated by anyone with the same FMCSA files.
Exact snapshot. FMCSA replaces the SMS files each month, so downloading them today will not return the data used here. The source manifest identifies the exact inputs (dataset IDs, portal update dates, retrieval dates, row counts, and file checksums). Fleet Regulators holds that archived snapshot; independent verification of these exact figures requires it.
Newer data. Running the same analysis on a later FMCSA release will produce different numbers, which should be published as a new edition with its own snapshot date.
What this data can and cannot tell you
- Frequency is not severity: a common form-and-manner violation is not more dangerous than a rarer driving-limit violation.
- Recorded violations reflect what inspectors looked for and could see; they are not a census of all HOS non-compliance.
- Not every HOS violation leads to an out-of-service order; only violations with an out-of-service indicator do.
- Fleet-size rates depend on self-reported power units and on who gets inspected.
- Texas and other-state rates differ in inspection level mix and carrier population (Texas inspections include many intrastate carriers, which can operate under Texas hours rules). The comparison is descriptive and does not show that Texas carriers are more compliant.
- The SMS files contain only inspections and violations used in that month's SMS calculations.
- Nothing here establishes that any violation caused a crash.
Sources
- SMS Input - Motor Carrier Census Information (dataset kjg3-diqy), U.S. DOT open data portal. Portal data updated 2026-10-13; 2,132,868 rows retrieved 2026-11-07 (UTC).
- SMS Input - Inspection (dataset rbkj-cgst), U.S. DOT open data portal. Portal data updated 2026-10-13; 5,853,762 rows retrieved 2026-11-07 (UTC).
- SMS Input - Violation (dataset 8mt8-2mdr), U.S. DOT open data portal. Portal data updated 2026-10-13; 6,784,490 rows retrieved 2026-11-07 (UTC).
- Company Census File (dataset az4n-8mr2), U.S. DOT open data portal. Portal data updated 2026-11-06; 379,302 rows retrieved 2026-11-07 (UTC).
- 49 CFR Part 395, Hours of Service of Drivers (eCFR), for section headings.
Download the data
These files contain aggregate counts and rates only, no carrier-level records. The underlying data is published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on the U.S. DOT open data portal; cite FMCSA as the data source and this page for the analysis.
- findings.json: every headline figure on this page with the sentence it supports.
- methodology.json: sources, snapshot dates, definitions, suppression rules, and quality checks.
- source-manifest.json: identifiers, row counts, and checksums of the exact FMCSA source files used.
- hos_violations_by_group.csv: HOS violations by SMS violation group.
- top_hos_violation_codes.csv: Top 20 HOS violation codes with CFR section and out-of-service share.
- hos_violations_by_cfr_section.csv: HOS violations by 49 CFR Part 395 section.
- hos_by_fleet_size.csv: HOS violation rates and Level III share by carrier power-unit band.
- texas_vs_national.csv: Inspections conducted in Texas compared with other states and all inspections (unadjusted).
- texas_hos_by_inspection_level.csv: Texas and other-state HOS rates within each inspection level.
- texas_hos_standardized.csv: Texas HOS rate standardized to the other states' inspection-level mix.
Suggested citation
Link to a specific finding with its anchor, for example https://fleetregulators.com/research/most-common-hos-roadside-violations#finding-overall.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common HOS violation at roadside inspections?
In FMCSA's SMS data for 2024-09-25 to 2026-09-24, the most frequently recorded HOS violation code was 3958A1HOSP (HOS (Property) - Failing to have a record of duty status using the method prescribed), with 63,024 violations.
How often do roadside inspections find an HOS violation?
Between 2024-09-25 and 2026-09-24, 7.6% of 5,678,181 HOS-relevant roadside inspections recorded at least one Hours-of-Service violation. Those inspections produced 612,853 HOS violations in FMCSA's SMS data.
Are Texas carriers more compliant with HOS rules than carriers elsewhere?
This data cannot show that. A smaller share of HOS-relevant inspections conducted in Texas record an HOS violation, but Texas inspections include far fewer Level III driver-only inspections and many intrastate carriers that can operate under Texas hours rules. Adjusting for inspection level narrows the comparison but does not account for every difference, so it is descriptive only.
Does every HOS violation put a driver out of service?
No. 144,658 of 612,853 HOS violations in the data carried an out-of-service indicator. Only violations flagged out-of-service lead to an out-of-service order.
Are the most common HOS violations the most serious?
Not necessarily. This study ranks by frequency. SMS severity weights, civil penalties, and crash risk are different measures, and the most frequent codes are often record-keeping and ELD-handling problems.
Can Fleet Regulators audit my drivers' logs?
Yes. Our HOS compliance service includes daily log auditing, driver coaching, and dispatch review. It is a carrier-specific engagement, not a guarantee of inspection results.
Stop HOS violations before an inspector finds them
Fleet Regulators audits driver logs daily, coaches drivers, and fixes the dispatch habits that create violations. We do not promise a specific score, we show you exactly what is in your logs.