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US and Canada driving-hour limits for dispatch software
By Noam Turecki ·
Dispatch or routing software that runs loads on both sides of the border has to check every driver against two different sets of hours-of-service limits. The US text is eCFR :: 49 CFR 395.3, and the Canadian one is the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, for driving south of latitude 60°N.
The daily driving caps differ: 11 hours in the US against 13 in Canada. The cycle lengths differ too, and the figures below come from the eCFR page, which showed Title 49 up to date as of 27 October 2026, and the Justice Laws page, current to 30 September 2026.
If you're weighing tools, read the page on AI dispatch and routing. Plymouth AI Lab describes there the dispatch assistants it builds, which read load requests and suggest assignments, and says every suggestion has to respect the driver's legal hours.
US daily limits in 49 CFR 395.3: 11 hours driving and a 14-hour period
The US rule caps a shift in two ways. A driver may drive a total of 11 hours during the period set in paragraph (a)(2) of the section.
The second cap is the 14-hour period: a driver may not drive after 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. The rule text opens with an exception clause that points to section 395.1, so the limits here are a starting point.
Canadian daily limits south of latitude 60°N: 13 hours driving, 14 hours on duty
The Canadian regulations say sections 12 to 29, the daily and cycle sections used in this post, apply to driving south of latitude 60°N. Inside that area, no driver shall drive after accumulating 13 hours of driving time in a day.
A second line says no driver shall drive after accumulating 14 hours of on-duty time in a day.
Both rules use the number 14, but the two texts word it differently. The US 14 counts consecutive hours after coming on duty; the Canadian 14 counts hours of on-duty time. Your software should store them as two separate checks.
| Limit | US (49 CFR 395.3) | Canada (south of 60°N) |
|---|---|---|
| Driving in a day | 11 hours during the period set in paragraph (a)(2) | 13 hours of driving time in a day |
| The 14 | No driving after 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty | No driving after 14 hours of on-duty time in a day |
| 7-day limit | 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days, for a carrier that does not operate vehicles every day of the week | Cycle 1: 70 hours of on-duty time in 7 days |
| 8-day limit (US); cycle 2 (Canada) | 70 hours on duty in 8 consecutive days, for a carrier that operates vehicles every day of the week | Cycle 2: 120 hours of on-duty time in 14 days, and 70 hours unless 24 consecutive hours off duty were taken |
Cycle limits: 60 or 70 hours in the US, 70 or 120 in Canada
Over a week or more, the US limit depends on the carrier. It is 60 hours on duty in any period of 7 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier does not operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week, and 70 hours on duty in any period of 8 consecutive days if it does.
That means the 60 and the 70 aren't choices a driver makes. They follow from how the carrier operates, so your software needs the carrier's pattern, not a preference from the driver.
In Canada a driver follows either cycle 1 or cycle 2, and the motor carrier has to require it. Cycle 1 is 70 hours of on-duty time in any period of 7 days.
Cycle 2 has two lines. One is 120 hours of on-duty time in any period of 14 days. The other stops driving at 70 hours of on-duty time unless the driver has taken at least 24 consecutive hours off duty.
Set up one rule set per country and a cycle per driver
A rule set here is a list of checks the software runs before it suggests a driver. A driver's hours are tracked in a log or an ELD (electronic logging device). Four steps keep the two countries apart:
- Store which country's rule applies to each trip, so a Canadian lane doesn't get checked against the US 11.
- Store the cycle each driver follows. In Canada that is cycle 1 or cycle 2; in the US the 60 or 70 follows the carrier's operating days.
- Check the daily limits and the cycle limits separately, since the rule text lists them as separate lines.
- Leave a driver out of a suggestion when the load would not fit, and let a person decide.
What these rule texts leave to you
Two pages don't settle every case. The US text begins with an exception clause that points to section 395.1, and this post doesn't read that section. The Canadian regulations apply to all commercial vehicles other than a listed set of exceptions, and this post doesn't say which vehicles are on that list.
The Canadian figures above are for driving south of latitude 60°N. Break rules, restarts, split sleeper time and driving north of 60°N aren't covered here, so check them in the full texts.
The service page says compliance stays with the carrier and the driver. So the next step's yours: pull the current text of both rules, write down which cycle each driver follows and which country's rule each lane falls under, and give those limits to whoever configures your dispatch software, with the date you checked.
Sources
Related service: AI dispatch and route optimization for trucking and delivery teams
This post was researched and drafted by AI agents, then checked by a separate AI fact-checker and reviewer before publishing. Every source is linked above.
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