Hotshot logbook rules: who has to log, and who doesn't

"Do I need a logbook?" is one of the first questions new hotshot drivers ask, and online answers range from "never under 26,000 lb" to "always." Both are wrong. The license has nothing to do with it. The weight rating, whether the run crosses state lines, and how far from home you drive do.

This page answers only the logbook question and its exceptions. The driving limits themselves are in hotshot ELD and hours of service rules, and picking a device is in best ELD for hotshot.

Do you need to log? Five questions

SOURCE: Rules: 49 CFR 395.1(e), 49 CFR 395.8 and 390.5, checked on Cornell LII Oct 26, 2026.

Most long-run hotshots fall all the way through to question 5. If you take loads 300 or 600 miles from home several times a month, you need an ELD.

The two short-haul exemptions

Federal rules give hotshots two ways to skip the log when they work close to home.

The 150 air-mile exemption, any license (395.1(e)(1)).

• Stay within a 150 air-mile radius (172.6 statute miles) of your normal work reporting location.
• Return there and be released within 14 consecutive hours.
• Take at least 10 consecutive hours off between each 14 hours on duty.

The non-CDL short-haul option (395.1(e)(2)).

• For drivers of property-carrying vehicles that don't need a CDL.
• Stay within 150 air miles and return to your work reporting location at the end of each duty tour.
• Don't drive after the 14th hour after coming on duty on 5 days of any 7, or after the 16th hour on the other 2 days.

Either way, the carrier, which on your own authority means you, keeps time records for 6 months: what time you came on duty, total hours on duty each day, what time you were released, and the total for the previous 7 days for drivers used occasionally.

WEEK CHECK, EXAMPLENO. 0214

EXAMPLE

Mon: 120 air mi out and back, 12 hrs

Short-haul

Tue: local runs, 13 hrs

Short-haul

Wed: load to a city 280 air mi away

Log that day

Thu: back home from the overnight

Log that day

Fri: local, 11 hrs

Short-haul

This month so far2 log days of 8 allowed on paper

The moment a run takes you past 150 air miles, or you can't get back and be released in time, you need a log for that day. Measure air miles as a straight line, not road miles.

Paper logs vs ELD

Under 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(ii), paper logs are allowed instead of an ELD when:

• You need a record of duty status on 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period.
• The vehicle was manufactured before model year 2000, as shown by the VIN on the registration.
• The vehicle you're driving is the shipment, as in driveaway-towaway, or you're towing a motor home or RV trailer being delivered.

Paper logs have their own rules: entries current to the last change of duty status, in your own handwriting, with date, total miles, truck number or plate, carrier name and main office address, shipping document number or shipper and commodity, all four duty status lines adding to 24 hours, and your signature.

Records to keep, and for how long

• The carrier (you, on your own MC) keeps records of duty status and supporting documents, like fuel receipts, bills of lading and dispatch records, for at least 6 months (395.8(k)(1)).
• The driver must have the current day and the previous 7 days of logs available while on duty (395.8(k)(2)).
• On short-haul days, the time records stand in for logs and follow the same 6-month rule.
• With an ELD, keep the instruction card, the malfunction instructions and blank paper logs for at least 8 days in the truck.

Edge cases hotshots hit

• Mixing local and long runs. Count every day you leave the 150 air-mile radius. Day 9 in a 30-day window is ELD territory.
• Farm freight. Some agricultural hauls within 150 air miles of the source during planting and harvest are exempt from hours of service under 395.1(k). Read the definition of agricultural commodity before relying on it.
• Under 10,001 lb. A light pickup and small trailer below the CMV line has no federal log requirement, but such rigs carry little freight.
• Intrastate only. State rules apply, and they don't always match the federal ones.
• The CDL threshold never changes whether you log. It changes which short-haul option you can use.

Logs and booking loads

Logs decide which loads you can legally take: a 600 mile run with a 7 a.m. delivery isn't a load if your 14-hour window closed at noon. Our hotshot dispatching service checks your hours before presenting any load, plans the reload so you're not stuck waiting on the clock, and leaves the yes or no to you. The broker sends the rate confirmation to you. How the work fits together is in hotshot setup, more on the TruckQuick desk on the home page, and every guide on the guides page.

Sources

• 49 CFR 395.1(e) and (k), 395.8 and 390.5, via Cornell LII (checked Oct 26, 2026)
• FMCSA, Electronic Logging Devices (fmcsa.dot.gov)