Everything You Need to Know About Hours of Service (HOS) Rules in Canada for 2025

The trucking industry of Canada fully operates under a set of comprehensive regulations, emphasising over efficiency, safety and sustainability. To navigate these regulations, the Canada’s ELD Mandates have proven to be quite useful as it aids in combating drivers fatigue, reduces the risk of accidents and sustains a smooth flow of operation within the industry.

A reliable commercial driver who operates within the closed boundaries of Canada must obtain a vivid understanding of the Canada HOS rules. These rules aid in maintaining compliance while mitigating the risk of penalties.

Hence, in this blog, we have explored the critical aspects related to Canada's hours of service rules along with the requirements, exemptions and tips for maintaining compliance in 2025.

What Do You Understand By Canada Hours-of-Service Rules?

Well, to put it in simple words, the Canada Hours of Service regulations are considered the federal rules that dictate the maximum number of hours a commercial motor vehicle can operate within a regulated time-frame. Besides the operating hours, these regulations also dictate the rest periods required by the drivers, ensuring that they remain safe and alert while driving on the road.

Numerous studies have discovered that approximately 20% of fatal collisions that occur in Canada are caused due to driver fatigue. These fatal accidents end up costing billions of money in the healthcare industry while the trucking industry loses its productivity.

Thus, by enforcing the HOS rules along with eld transport Canada, the transport industry of Canada aims to minimise the occurrence of such unpredictable risks by improving the road safety measures, aimed towards protecting the livelihood of commercial drivers.

The ELD Mandate in Canada: What You Should Know:-

Starting from 1st January 2023, the electronic logging device Canada mandate has started to work in full-effect. The innovation of the eld device has entirely replaced the traditional paper logs as well as manual recording system.

These efficient devices aid in accurate tracking of the driving hours while simultaneously simplifying compliance with the Canada HOS rules. Moreover, the certified eld devices for trucks Canada offer several types of advantages including:

· Environmental Benefits: This device successfully eliminates the need for paper logs.

· Automation: This device reduces the risk of errors, saving time for both the drivers and carriers.

· Real-Time Monitoring: This device allows the fleet managers to monitor the driver’s status and recognise any potential violations.

Hence, the carriers as well as the drivers must implement the use of certified ELDs. These efficient devices fulfil the technical standards set by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA).

Who Should Comply with the Canada Hours of Service Rules?

Well, the Canadian HOS regulations are applicable for most of the commercial drivers freely operating within Canada, including those drivers who cross international borders. However, there are certain types of vehicles (used for various operations) have been exempted from following this set of guidelines. The list of exempted vehicles includes:

· Public Welfare Emergencies: The vehicles that are used for offering relief especially during the disasters or emergencies have been exempted from following these guidelines. These kinds of vehicles have been specifically defined under the Emergencies Act.

· Primary Produce Transport: The vehicles that have two/three axles and are used for delivering goods like farm produce, forest produce or fish have also been exempted, provided the driver is the producer.

· Emergency Vehicles: These kinds of vehicles that are specifically used for police, ambulance and fire services have also been exempted.

Despite these exemptions, most of the carriers as well as drivers must strictly adhere to the Canada HOS regulations. In case the driver or carrier fails to follow these regulations then apart from jeopardising their safety, they must pay a certain amount of fine.

Key HOS Rules You Must Follow in 2025:-

So far we have discussed the importance of maintaining compliance with Canada HOS regulations. Let’s take a look at some of the significant rules covered under HOS:

1. Daily Driving Limit:

· The drivers cannot drive for more than 13 hours in a single day.

· Before resuming back to driving, the driver must take at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time.

2. On-Duty Limitations:

· The total hours of on-duty time (including both driving and non-driving activities) allotted to the drivers for a single day is 14 hours.

· After 14 hours, the drivers must log off from their duty time before resuming back to work.

3. Off-Duty Requirements:

· Within each 24 hours, a minimum of 10 hours of off-duty must be logged.

· This includes 8 consecutive hours along with 2 additional hours (which can be split into increments of 30 minutes or more).

4. Duty Cycles:

· Cycle 1: The drivers may not exceed 70 hours on duty in any 7 days.

· Cycle 2: The drivers may not exceed 120 hours on duty in any 14 days. The drivers must take at least 24 consecutive hours off-duty before accumulating 70 hours under this cycle.

5. Split Sleeper Berth Rules:

· The drivers may split their mandatory rest periods into two sleeper berth periods; provided neither is less than 2 hours and the total of both should be 10 hours.

Special HOS Rules for Northern Canada (Latitude 60ºN and Above):-

The Canada HOS rules include special provisions for the drivers operating in the northern territories such as Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In these regions, the climatic conditions are harsher while the distances are greater.

The special provisions rules for these particular regions include:

· Driving Limit: Increased to 15 hours per shift

· On-Duty Limit: Extended to 18 hours per shift

· Shift Limit: The drivers may work up to 20 hours, provided they must take 8 consecutive hours of off-duty reward.

The adjustments have been made after recognizing the challenges of driving in these harsh regions. These adjustments ensure that the operational flexibility is maintained without compromising on the safety.

The Exemptions of Canadian Hours-of-Service:-

The exemptions followed under Canada HOS regulations have been mentioned into two categories, comprising:

1. Deferral of Off-Duty Time

The drivers may defer up to 2 hours of their required off-duty time to the following day only under these special conditions:

· No more than 13 hours of driving or 14 hours of on-duty time are logged on Day

· The deferred time is added to the mandatory off-duty hours on Day 2.

2. Emergency Conditions

The drivers may exceed the maximum driving and on-duty limits during emergencies such as severe weather or natural disasters, only if it is a safe measure to do so.

Understanding the Role of Paper Logs and ELDs:-

Although it is an evident fact that Canada ELD mandate has largely replaced the use of paper logs, the drivers need to maintain paper logs as their backup plan in case the ELD malfunctions. However, the logs must be recorded with the following information:

· The date as well as the starting time of the duty cycle.

· The total number of driving and on-duty hours for the day.

· The change in duty status (including both the location and duration).

Why Should One Maintain Compliance with Canada HOS Rules?

If any commercial driver or carrier fails to maintain compliance with the Canada HOS rules, then these are the following consequences that they might encounter:

· Fines and Penalties: Both the drivers and carriers must compensate steep fines for the violations of the defined rules.

· Increased Chances of Accident Risk: If the driver is suffering from fatigue, then it would likely lead to accidents, jeopardising the lives and cargo.

· Out-of-Service Orders: If the drivers exceed their assigned HOS limits, then they can be declared out of service.

Tips for Simplifying Canada HOS Compliance in 2025:-

If the regulations mentioned under the HOS rules sound a bit confusing, then here are some of the essential tips that would aid in simplifying the entire HOS compliance:

1. Using Certified ELDs: Make sure that all of the ELD devices fulfil Transport Canada's certification standards.

2. Automating Compliance Tracking:: With the help of fleet management software the eld devices can be monitored. This software could easily identify the violations and accordingly maintain accurate records.

3. Train the Drivers Regularly: Make sure that the drivers of your team are well informed about the changes in the rules and best practices of compliance.

4. Plan the Routes Wisely: To avoid delays and maximise the efficiency of this industry, the breaks as well as the driving times must be managed strategically.

Streamlining the Canada HOS Compliance with Fleet Management Software:-

Navigating through the complexities of Canada HOS rules can be quite overwhelming. To make it easy, the comprehensive fleet compliance solutions (i.e., fleet management software) aids in simplifying the entire process of HOS tracking, preventing violations and improving the overall performance of the fleet.

With the help of fleet management software, these are the following features that you could make use of:

· Real-Time HOS Monitoring: This software keeps track of the driver's hours and accordingly receives alerts for potential violations.

· Integrated Fleet Management: This software facilitates combining HOS compliance with maintenance, fleet safety and fleet telematics.

· Customisable Logs and Reports: This software helps with generating accurate and audit-ready logs with ease.

More than 10,000 fleets trust ELD MANDATE to ensure their compliance and efficiency.

Ready to simplify compliance and improve efficiency?

Call our fleet experts today and get started with a free consultation.