Quick answer: ELD devices record a driver's hours of service automatically from the truck's engine, and most interstate carriers running property-carrying commercial vehicles have to use one. The device you pick has to be on FMCSA's registered ELD list, has to be simple enough that drivers use it correctly every day, and — the part most carriers only think about later — has to hand its data to the rest of your back office. Yolda does not sell ELD devices. It reads the data from the ELD you already run, so hours, jurisdiction miles, and per-truck numbers land in dispatch, IFTA, and your reports instead of sitting in a separate portal.
Key takeaways
- Under 49 CFR 395.22, a carrier that is required to use an ELD must use one that appears on FMCSA's registered ELD list. Registration is self-certification by the provider, so check the list before you buy.
- The rule itself names the main carve-outs: drivers who keep paper logs on 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period, driveaway-towaway operations, and vehicles manufactured before model year 2000.
- Driver experience matters more than feature lists. Every wrong duty-status entry becomes a log edit, and log edits are what auditors read.
- An ELD that exports nothing useful leaves you retyping miles into an IFTA spreadsheet four times a year.
- Yolda integrates with TT ELD, Reliable ELD, and MAX ELD today, and more providers are in progress.
What an ELD is and why it is required
An ELD — electronic logging device — connects to a commercial vehicle's engine and records driving time automatically. Subpart B of 49 CFR Part 395 sets what the device must do, and it has applied to devices used since December 18, 2017. The point of the rule is simple: engine-recorded driving time is harder to fudge than a paper grid filled in at the end of a shift.
Two things in the regulation are worth knowing before you shop. First, 49 CFR 395.22 says a carrier required to use an ELD "must use only an ELD that is listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's registered ELDs list," published at fmcsa.dot.gov/devices. Second, that list is built on provider self-certification, and devices do get removed from it. That is why the registration check belongs in your buying process and again, briefly, once a year.
Not every driver needs one. The regulation lets a driver record duty status on paper rather than an ELD when the driver completes a record of duty status on no more than 8 days in any 30-day period, in driveaway-towaway operations where the vehicle being driven is the shipment, and in a vehicle manufactured before model year 2000 as shown by the VIN on the registration. Separately, the 150 air-mile short-haul provision in 395.1(e) exempts qualifying drivers from the record-of-duty-status requirements in 395.8 altogether. If you think one of these fits your operation, read the section itself on eCFR rather than taking a vendor's summary for it.
What an ELD device actually does
Three data streams come off a compliant device, and each one is worth money to you beyond the inspection.
Hours of service. The device records duty status and driving time, and produces the record a roadside officer asks for. It also gives your dispatcher something a paper log never did: available hours right now, before a load is assigned.
Engine and vehicle data. ELDs read engine power status, motion, and odometer through the diagnostic port. That is where engine hours, idle time, and hard-brake events come from on the providers that report them.
Location and miles. The device stamps position at intervals the rule defines. Those breadcrumbs are the raw material for state-by-state mileage — the exact number IFTA asks for every quarter.
The compliance value is obvious. The operational value is what most carriers leave unused: the same feed can settle a driver, fill an IFTA worksheet, and tell you which truck actually made money last month.
How to choose an ELD device
Reliability and FMCSA registration
Start with the registered list, then ask how long the provider has been on it. Ask what happens when the device loses signal — does it buffer and sync, or does the driver lose the record? A device that drops events quietly creates log edits, and log edits are what a safety investigator reads first.
Ease of use for drivers
The best ELD is the one your drivers operate correctly without calling the office. Put the app in front of two drivers before you sign anything: one who is comfortable with phones and one who is not. Watch them change duty status, add a note, and certify a day. If either struggles, you will be fixing logs every week.
Hardware versus app-based
Every compliant ELD has a hardware component connected to the engine; what varies is the display. Some providers pair a plug-in device with the driver's own phone or tablet, others ship a dedicated screen. Phone-based setups cost less up front and one less thing to mount; dedicated hardware avoids the "my phone died" problem and the personal-device argument. Neither is more compliant than the other.
Support and pricing model
Ask who answers at 2 a.m., because that is when a device fails. Ask how pricing works: monthly per truck, hardware included or separate, contract length, and the cost of replacing a unit. Vendors price these very differently, and quotes change — get yours in writing for your truck count rather than trusting a number in a blog post, including this one.
Does it integrate with your other software?
This is the question that gets asked last and costs the most. An ELD that keeps its data inside its own portal means someone re-enters miles for IFTA, someone re-checks hours before dispatching, and someone reconciles settlement pay against a separate report. Ask the provider what it can export, whether there is an API, and which transportation management systems already read from it. If you run Yolda, the answer for TT ELD, Reliable ELD, and MAX ELD is that the data flows in already.
ELD comparison table
Vendor-neutral and deliberately incomplete: prices and specs change, so confirm them with the provider rather than with an article.
| Provider | Device type | On FMCSA registered list | Best for | Works with Yolda |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TT ELD | Plug-in device with driver app | Check fmcsa.dot.gov/devices | Owner-operators and small fleets | Yes — live integration |
| Reliable ELD | Plug-in device with driver app | Check fmcsa.dot.gov/devices | Small and mid-size fleets | Yes — live integration |
| MAX ELD | Plug-in device with driver app | Check fmcsa.dot.gov/devices | Owner-operators and small fleets | Yes — live integration |
| Any other registered ELD | Varies | Check fmcsa.dot.gov/devices | Fleets already under contract | Not yet — more providers in progress |
Yolda does not make or sell any of these devices. The last column is only about whether the data can flow into your Yolda account.
ELD devices for owner-operators versus larger fleets
An owner-operator is buying one thing: a device that keeps them legal and does not eat an evening a week. Price per month matters, contract length matters, and the driver app matters more than any dashboard, because there is no office to call. A phone-based setup is usually enough.
A fleet is buying a system. Ten trucks means ten devices to provision, drivers who leave mid-contract, and a safety manager who needs to see unassigned driving across the whole yard. At that size the questions change: how are devices reassigned between trucks, how are log edits approved, what does the carrier-side portal show, and how does any of it reach payroll and IFTA without retyping. The answer to that last one decides how many hours a month your back office spends on data entry.
Both ends of that range face the same regulatory floor. The difference is how much of the work the software takes off your desk.
Beyond compliance: making ELD data work for you
Compliance is the price of entry. The return on an ELD comes from using the same feed more than once, and that is where a TMS sits.
IFTA. Jurisdiction miles are the hardest part of a quarterly return and the part most often reconstructed by hand. In Yolda, ELD miles feed your IFTA worksheet alongside fuel receipts already in the account, so the return is assembled from records you already have instead of a spreadsheet someone rebuilds every quarter. When a source is missing or a rate is unverified, it is flagged for review rather than quietly averaged.
Dispatch. Hours-of-service data tells you who can legally take the next load. Pulled into dispatch, it becomes part of the assignment decision and the ETA, not a separate tab someone checks afterwards.
Per-truck reporting. Engine hours and miles are the denominator for cost per mile. Combined with settlements and expenses in Yolda's accounting, they turn into per-truck numbers that show which unit earns and which one only looks busy.
Safety. ELD records sit next to the rest of your compliance paperwork — driver qualification files, expiring documents, CSA exposure — in safety, which is where an auditor's questions actually land.
To be exact about what Yolda does and does not do: Yolda reads and reports ELD data. It does not certify logs for a driver, file anything on a driver's behalf, or enforce compliance. The device keeps the record; Yolda makes the record useful. You can see the current integrations, including TT ELD, Reliable ELD, and MAX ELD, in the integrations section on the Yolda home page.
FAQ
Are ELDs required for all trucks? No. The requirement applies to most interstate carriers running property-carrying commercial vehicles that keep records of duty status. The regulation allows paper logs when a driver completes a record of duty status on 8 days or fewer in any 30-day period, in driveaway-towaway operations, and in vehicles manufactured before model year 2000. Check 49 CFR 395 for the exact wording before deciding one applies to you.
What is the difference between an ELD and an AOBRD? An AOBRD was the older automatic onboard recording device allowed under earlier rules. It recorded less, and it did not have to meet the technical specification in Subpart B of Part 395. Devices used since December 18, 2017 must meet the ELD requirements, so AOBRDs are no longer a compliant option.
Can I use an app instead of a hardware ELD? Not on its own. A compliant ELD has to be connected to the engine, so there is always a hardware component. What an app replaces is the display: many providers pair a plug-in device with the driver's phone or tablet instead of a mounted screen.
What happens if my ELD malfunctions? The regulation is specific. Under 49 CFR 395.34, the driver must note the malfunction and give the carrier written notice within 24 hours, reconstruct the record of duty status for the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days on paper grid logs, and keep preparing paper logs until the device is fixed. The carrier must correct the malfunction within 8 days of discovery or of the driver's notice, whichever comes first.
Does my ELD work with my TMS? That depends on both. Ask your ELD provider what it exports and whether it has an API, and ask your TMS which providers it already reads. Yolda currently integrates with TT ELD, Reliable ELD, and MAX ELD, with more providers in progress.
How much do ELD devices cost? Pricing varies by provider and usually combines a per-truck monthly fee with a hardware cost, sometimes bundled and sometimes separate. Contract length and replacement-unit cost vary just as much. Get a written quote for your truck count from each provider you are considering — any single figure quoted in an article will be wrong for someone.
Choosing, in one paragraph
Pick from the registered list, test the app with real drivers, read the contract for what a replacement costs, and ask early how the data gets out. The first three keep you compliant. The fourth decides whether the device pays for itself or just satisfies the rule.
Already have an ELD? See how its data flows into dispatch, IFTA, and per-truck reporting in Yolda — book a demo or start a free trial.
Regulatory details in this article come from 49 CFR Part 395 as published on eCFR, current as of September 2026. Rules change; confirm anything that affects your operation against FMCSA's own materials at fmcsa.dot.gov.
