FMCSA and Texas truck rule changes in 2025 and 2026

The federal hours-of-service limits for truck drivers have not changed since a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) final rule published June 1, 2020.^1,2 The rule changes of 2025 and 2026 were narrower: two rescinded requirements, a longer emergency relief window, a withdrawn speed limiter proposal, new limits on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), and an English-proficiency change for Texas drivers who never cross state lines.

Two hours-of-service pilot programs proposed in September 2025 had not started as of Oct. 7, 2026. FMCSA was still taking comment on their data collection.^3,4

Timeline of truck rule changes, 2025-2026

Status is as of Oct. 7, 2026. “FR” is the Federal Register; “TexReg” is the Texas Register.

Hours-of-service pilot programs: proposed, not started

FMCSA published two pilot proposals on Sept. 17, 2025. Each would enroll about 256 drivers and exempt only those drivers from one hours-of-service limit.^8,9

• Split duty period. Drivers of property-carrying trucks could extend the 14-hour driving window with one break of 30 minutes to 3 hours. The break could be off duty, in the sleeper berth, or on duty but not driving at a pickup or delivery location, including what the notice says is sometimes called detention time.⁸
• Flexible sleeper berth. The longer of two sleeper berth periods could be as short as 5 hours instead of 7, allowing a “5/5” or “6/4” split. The September 2025 notice described one month of baseline data and three months under the exemption.⁹

Comments on both proposals closed Nov. 17, 2025. On Oct. 6 and 7, 2026, FMCSA published notices of its plan to ask the Office of Management and Budget to approve the data collection, with comments due Dec. 7, 2026. The notices describe 16 weeks of participation per driver, and both notices say the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute would gather participating drivers’ records of duty status.^3,4 The sleeper berth notice cites Executive Order 14286 of April 2025, “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers.”⁴

Texas Mobility Outlook found no Federal Register notice that either program had begun. Every other driver remains under the current limits, explained in hours-of-service rules for truck drivers. What the pilots would test is covered in truck driver fatigue.

Emergency hours-of-service relief: 14 days to 30 days

When a governor or FMCSA declares a regional emergency, drivers giving direct assistance get automatic relief from the hours-of-service limits in §§ 395.3 and 395.5. Since Oct. 5, 2026, that relief lasts for the emergency period or 30 days from the first declaration, whichever is shorter. It had been 14 days.^23,24

The change reverses part of an October 2023 final rule. FMCSA proposed it on Jan. 9, 2026 in response to petitions for reconsideration.¹⁵

English language proficiency: the Texas intrastate rule and the federal proposal

Federal rules require interstate commercial drivers to read and speak English well enough to talk with the public, understand road signs, answer officials’ questions and fill out reports, under 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2).¹¹ Until Dec. 11, 2025, Texas exempted intrastate drivers from that requirement. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) proposed removing the exemption on Oct. 17, 2025, received no comments at its Oct. 30 hearing or in writing, and adopted the change without edits.^11,14 The DPS proposal said the change “will have an undeterminable impact on driver availability.”¹¹

On Aug. 10, 2026, FMCSA proposed writing English proficiency into its rules as an out-of-service violation. The proposal responds to a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and would match the federal rules to the enforcement tolerances in CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Comments were due Oct. 9, 2026.²¹

Enforcement was already under way. In fiscal 2025, roadside inspectors in Texas recorded 12,665 English-proficiency violations under the border zone code, the second most cited driver violation in the state after operating without a CDL (14,269).²⁵

Non-domiciled CDLs: interim rule in 2025, final rule in 2026

A Sept. 29, 2025 interim final rule limited state licensing agencies’ authority to issue and renew commercial learner’s permits and CDLs for people domiciled in a foreign country.¹⁰ The final rule, published Feb. 13, 2026, reaffirmed it with minor changes. Eligibility is limited to holders of specific, verifiable employment-based nonimmigrant status.¹⁶

Equipment and paperwork rules rescinded or revised

ELD operator’s manual. Since July 22, 2026, carriers no longer have to keep a copy of the electronic logging device user’s manual in the truck. FMCSA said there was “no readily apparent benefit” given ELD use since December 2019.¹⁹ Section 395.22(h) still requires data transfer and malfunction instruction sheets and eight days of blank graph-grids.¹⁹ The ELD mandate, with its Dec. 18, 2017 compliance date, is unchanged.²⁶

Rear impact guard labels. Since March 23, 2026, guards no longer need a permanent manufacturer’s certification label. FMCSA said the rule does not affect the federal safety standards for the guards themselves.¹⁷ Those standards were upgraded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) effective Jan. 11, 2023, to protect occupants of compact and subcompact cars striking a trailer’s rear at 35 mph.²⁷ Trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more built on or after Jan. 26, 1998 still need guards whose bottom edge sits no more than 22 inches above the ground.²⁸ Truck maintenance and inspection data covers the equipment rules in more depth.

Inspection reports. A Feb. 19, 2026 rule, effective March 23, addressed electronic driver vehicle inspection reports. A written report at the end of each day’s work is still required only when a defect is found or reported, and carriers keep the reports for three months.¹⁸

Technical corrections. A July 21, 2026 rule corrected errors and outdated references across the regulations. FMCSA said it imposed no new requirements.²⁰

Speed limiters: proposal withdrawn

On July 24, 2025, FMCSA and NHTSA withdrew their 2016 proposal to require a speed limiting device on heavy vehicles over 26,000 pounds, along with FMCSA’s 2022 notice that it planned a follow-up proposal. The agencies cited “policy and safety concerns and continued data gaps.”⁷

Hazardous materials routes: no Texas change

FMCSA’s Dec. 8, 2025 update to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry covered revisions reported from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, for the District of Columbia, Michigan and California only.¹³ Houston’s designations still date from a March 4, 1970 city ordinance: the 610 Loop is a through route for non-radioactive hazardous materials, and I-45 from Franklin St to US 59 is closed to them.²⁹ Commercial vehicle safety in Houston lists the local routes.

Texas rule changes for carriers and inspectors

An amended 37 TAC § 4.13 took effect Oct. 29, 2025. It simplifies the rule on authority to enforce commercial vehicle rules, clarifies training and certification for certain state and local officers, confirms that commercial vehicle inspection sites are valid places for inspections, and matches the rule to CVSA’s inspector training and certification policy.¹²

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) proposed amendments to its insurance rule on Aug. 28, 2026. They would trim and condense the rule text and let carriers without a safety rating apply to self-insure. The table of minimum amounts is marked “(No change.)”²² The intrastate minimum for general freight carriers over 26,000 pounds remains $500,000.³⁰

What did not change

• Federal hours-of-service limits. The 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour window, 30-minute break, 60- and 70-hour weekly limits and 34-hour restart have not changed since the 2020 rule took effect Sept. 29, 2020. Changes to Part 395 in 2025 and 2026 touched only § 395.22 and § 395.38.^1,2
• Texas intrastate hours. The 12-hour driving and 15-hour on-duty limits and the 70-hour, 7-day limit in 37 TAC § 4.12 are unchanged apart from the English-proficiency amendment.^14,31
• Side underride guards. NHTSA’s April 21, 2023 advance notice remains at the prerule stage. The Fall 2025 Unified Agenda lists “Analyzing Comments” with a July 2026 date, and no proposed rule had appeared in the Federal Register through Oct. 7, 2026.^32,33
• Federal insurance minimum. For-hire carriers of general freight in interstate commerce still need $750,000 in coverage.³⁴