Hours of Service Calculator Canada — Canadian HOS Rules for Truck Drivers

Canadian HOS rules overview

Canada's Hours of Service (HOS) rules for commercial vehicle drivers are set out in the Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313), enacted under the Motor Vehicle Transport Act. These federal regulations apply to commercial vehicles engaged in interprovincial or international trade — meaning any truck that crosses a provincial or national border.

The regulations exist to reduce driver fatigue, which is a contributing factor in a significant portion of heavy truck collisions in Canada. Transport Canada and provincial enforcement agencies enforce HOS compliance through roadside inspections, carrier audits, and electronic logging device (ELD) data review.

Canada's HOS rules differ from the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules in several important ways — most notably, Canada allows 13 hours of driving per day versus 11 hours in the US. Drivers crossing the border must apply the rules of the country they are currently operating in.

Daily driving and on-duty limits

Canadian HOS regulations set three core daily limits:

The 14-hour on-duty window begins when you first come on-duty after taking your 10 hours off. Once 14 hours of on-duty time has elapsed — regardless of how much of that was spent driving — you must go off-duty for at least 10 consecutive hours before driving again. This means that even if you only drove 6 hours, if you were on-duty for 14 hours, you cannot legally drive another kilometre until you've rested.

Cycle 1 vs Cycle 2

In addition to daily limits, Canadian HOS regulations impose a weekly cycle limit on total on-duty hours:

Most owner-operators and long-haul drivers use Cycle 1 as it provides the simplest tracking — 70 hours over 7 days with a 36-hour reset. Cycle 2 is used by drivers who routinely work seven days a week, as the 120-hour / 14-day limit allows more flexibility for sustained high-hour weeks, at the cost of a 72-hour reset to reclaim full hours.

To switch cycles, a driver must complete the required reset for their current cycle before beginning the new cycle, and must notify their carrier. You cannot switch mid-cycle.

Mandatory rest requirements

Two types of mandatory rest apply under Canadian HOS regulations:

• Daily rest: Minimum 10 consecutive hours off-duty between driving shifts. This resets both the 13-hour driving limit and the 14-hour on-duty window.
• Cycle reset rest: Either 36 consecutive hours (Cycle 1) or 72 consecutive hours (Cycle 2) off-duty to fully reset the cycle hour counter to zero.

Off-duty time must be genuine — you must be relieved of all responsibility for the vehicle and cargo. Time spent on call, even if not actually called in, may be counted as on-duty time depending on the circumstances.

Split sleeper berth

Drivers operating a vehicle equipped with a sleeper berth may split the required 10 hours of rest into two periods, provided:

• One period consists of at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth
• The other period consists of at least 2 consecutive hours spent either off-duty or in the sleeper berth
• The two periods together total at least 10 hours

The 2-hour period does not count against the 14-hour on-duty window. This gives team drivers and long-haul solo drivers more flexibility to manage their rest without being forced off the road for a full 10-hour block at an inconvenient time.

Short-haul exemption

Drivers who meet all of the following conditions are exempt from the detailed logbook requirement (but not from the daily driving or on-duty limits):

• Operate within a 160-kilometre radius of their home terminal
• Return to the home terminal at the end of each shift
• Do not drive more than 13 hours in a day
• Do not exceed 14 hours of on-duty time per day

Under the short-haul exemption, drivers may use a simplified daily log rather than a full logbook or ELD. This significantly reduces administrative burden for local delivery drivers, construction site operators, and municipal service vehicles.

Adverse driving conditions exception

When a driver encounters adverse driving conditions that were not foreseeable at the start of the trip — such as severe weather, road closures due to accidents, or unexpected hazardous road conditions — they may extend their daily driving time by up to 2 hours (to a maximum of 15 hours total driving).

The exception applies only to conditions encountered en route, not to conditions that existed or were forecast at trip departure. The driver must note the exception and the nature of the adverse conditions in their logbook or ELD. The exception does not extend the 14-hour on-duty window.

ELD mandate in Canada

Transport Canada's Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate came into full force on January 1, 2023. All federally regulated commercial carriers and drivers subject to HOS regulations must use a certified ELD to record duty status automatically. Paper logbooks are no longer accepted for federally regulated drivers (except for short-haul exempt drivers and specific temporary exemptions).

ELDs must be certified by a third-party accreditation body and registered with Transport Canada. The device must synchronize with the vehicle engine and automatically record driving time. Drivers may make annotations and certify their logs daily.

Enforcement officers can inspect ELD records at roadside or during carrier audits. Non-compliance with the ELD mandate is a federal offence under the Motor Vehicle Transport Act.

Frequently asked questions

Regulation references