Roadside inspections with an ELD, from the window to the transfer
What the officer can ask for, what the driver taps in the TenTrucks app, what has to be in the cab after the 2026 rule changes, and what to do when the device itself is the problem. Written for the driver at the scale and the person who trains them.
What the officer asks for
Picture a scale on I-70 in Ohio at 6 a.m. The officer asks for your logs. With an ELD that means one of two things: look at them on the screen, or have the official file sent.
Either way the window is the same. On request, the ELD has to produce the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days, and the driver has to have records for those same 8 days. The device must also be able to show those days on a display or a printout, separately from any file transfer.
Two transfer options
Every ELD supports at least one of two options. Telematics means both wireless web services and email. Local means both USB 2.0 and Bluetooth. The officer chooses which of the device's certified methods to use.
When the transfer fails
If the data can't be transferred, for whatever reason, the officer reviews the display or the printout. FMCSA also says a telematics ELD must be able to reach the internet on its own. A device that depends on roadside Wi-Fi may not be compliant.
The driver's part
On request, the driver produces and transfers the records following the carrier's instruction sheet. That's 49 CFR 395.24(d). Knowing where the button is counts as part of the job.
Canada
On Canadian rules, TenTrucks inspection mode shows 14 days instead of 8. The rest of this page follows the US rules.
Inspection mode in the TenTrucks app
DOT inspection mode turns the phone into a full-screen officer view of today and the previous 7 days. Each day opens with a header: driver, CDL, carrier, USDOT number, vehicle, VIN, trailer, shipping documents, ELD ID, and indicators for malfunctions, data diagnostics and unidentified driving. Below it sit the graph, the event list and the cycle recap.
Set the optional 4-digit PIN and the officer can't leave the inspection screen without it. The driver hands the phone through the window and gets it back on the same screen.
Print, email and fax are on that screen too, for the officer who wants paper.
- Today plus 7 days, 14 on Canadian rules
- Optional 4-digit PIN lock
- FMCSA transfer by web services or email
- Transfer and malfunction instructions open offline
What the officer sees on each day
Every day in the inspection view has the same layout. Walk through it with a driver once, and they'll know what the officer is reading and where a problem would show.
| Part of the view | What it shows | Check before you roll |
|---|---|---|
| Driver and CDL | Who is logged in, and their license | The right driver is logged in, not the last person who used the phone |
| Carrier and USDOT | The company and its USDOT number | Correct for the authority the truck is running under |
| Vehicle and VIN | The truck the ELD is connected to | Matches the truck you're sitting in |
| Trailer and shipping documents | Trailer number and shipping document reference | Updated after a trailer swap or a new load |
| ELD ID | The registered device identifier | Nothing to do; the officer reads it |
| Malfunction and diagnostic indicators | Whether a malfunction or data diagnostic event is active | If one is on, the status strip says what to do |
| Unidentified driving indicator | Whether unassigned driving exists on the vehicle | Ask the office to assign or clear it first |
| Graph and events | The 24-hour duty graph and every event behind it | No gaps the driver can't explain |
| Cycle recap | Hours used and available in the cycle | Matches what the driver thinks they have left |
The last column is our advice, not a regulation.
Step by step, at the window
Train this in the yard, not on the shoulder. Ten minutes with a new driver before their first trip saves the long version at the scale. Here is the sequence in the driver app.
1. Open DOT inspection
Open inspection mode from the app. If your company uses the PIN lock, set it before you hand the phone over.
2. Show the logs
The officer scrolls today and the previous 7 days: header, graph, events, recap. Plenty of stops end here.
3. Send the file if asked
If the officer wants the data, choose FMCSA web services or email. The file covers today and the previous 7 days.
4. Enter the officer's code
The app asks for the comment or code the officer gives you. Type it exactly as given, then send.
5. Offer a courtesy copy
A PDF of the logs can go to the officer by email or fax, up to 31 days back. Fax depends on how your account is set up.
6. Call in the office if stuck
The same FMCSA transfer can be sent from the web app, so a dispatcher can send it while the driver stays at the window.
7. Back on the road
Once the officer hands the phone back, leave inspection mode with the PIN if you set one. Certify the day later, when you're parked.
Transfer and malfunction instructions live in the app and open in airplane mode, so the instruction sheet isn't buried in a glovebox.
What has to be in the cab in 2026
Here's the gotcha. Many roadside guides, and FMCSA's own ELD FAQ page, still list the ELD user's manual as a required in-cab document. It isn't anymore. A final rule (91 FR 37050) removed that requirement effective July 22, 2026.
The current text of 49 CFR 395.22(h) asks the carrier to make sure each driver has three things on board.
Data transfer instruction sheet
Step-by-step instructions for the transfer methods the ELD supports.
Malfunction instruction sheet
The reporting requirements and how to keep records during a malfunction.
Blank grids for 8 days
Enough blank record-of-duty-status graph-grids for at least 8 days.
Electronic counts
The packet can be electronic, and FMCSA says a logging app can count as the supply of blank grids. Many carriers keep a paper pad in the door pocket anyway. The grids matter most on the day the phone is what failed.
When the ELD malfunctions
A malfunction doesn't excuse the logs. It changes how you keep them, and 49 CFR 395.34 spells out who does what.
The driver
Note the malfunction and give the carrier written notice within 24 hours. Rebuild the current 24 hours and the previous 7 days on paper graph-grids, unless they're already in hand or can be pulled from the ELD. Keep paper logs until the ELD is serviced, and show those paper records at an inspection.
The carrier
Correct the malfunction within 8 days of discovering it or of the driver's notice, whichever comes first. Need longer? Ask the FMCSA Division Administrator for an extension within 5 days of the driver's notice.
What the driver sees in TenTrucks
The app monitors malfunction codes P, E, T, L, R and S and data diagnostic events 1 to 6. When one is active, a status strip tells the driver the corrective action to take.
What the office sees
Admins get malfunction alerts, and the device diagnostics pages show which unit is reporting what. Logging itself continues without cell service; the phone keeps the logs and syncs them later.
Clean up in the office before the scale does
The inspection header carries an unidentified-driving indicator. Better to clear those records before the truck rolls onto a scale. Unidentified driving waits on the Unidentified Records page for an admin to assign it, and the driver accepts or rejects it.
Uncertified days show under the Uncertified filter, and an alert for them goes out every day at 9:00. HOS violations arrive by email or SMS and sit on the HOS Violations report. Log fixes reach the driver as edit suggestions, so nothing changes on their log without their say.
A five-minute habit for the morning: the dashboard list of drivers within 1 hour of a limit, yesterday's uncertified days, and anything new on the Unidentified Records page. The rules behind those clocks are on the hours of service page.
- Unidentified Records page with Assign to driver
- Daily 9:00 alert for uncertified logs
- HOS violation alerts by email or SMS
The DVIR, done before anyone asks
Before driving, 49 CFR 396.13 has the driver confirm the truck is in safe condition, review the last DVIR if one was required, and sign that required repairs are certified. At the end of the day, 396.11 calls for a report on each vehicle driven, covering brakes, steering, lights, tires, coupling devices, wheels, emergency equipment and the rest of the list.
Three details trip people up. Electronic DVIRs are explicitly allowed since March 23, 2026. No post-trip report is needed when no defect is found or reported. And a carrier operating only one truck is exempt from the post-trip DVIR, which matters to owner-operators, though the pre-trip check still applies.
In TenTrucks, drivers fill in DVIRs on your own inspection forms and attach photos to a defect. Every open defect creates a work order: major ones as critical, due in 1 day, the rest as high, due in 7. The shop picks it up in maintenance.
One more document lives on the truck: proof of the annual inspection. Every vehicle, each unit of a combination included, needs one in the preceding 12 months under 396.17. Maintenance schedules in TenTrucks can run by days, so the next annual comes up before the decal runs out.
- Custom inspection forms
- Photos on every defect
- Defect to work order, automatically
After the stop
The truck rolls off the scale at 6:40. The driver has a load to deliver. The office has the rest.
Reports
Inspection Reports, HOS Violations, Logs Detail and the FMCSA Report are in the web app, and reports can go out by email on a schedule.
CSA and coaching
CSA insights give you the carrier-level view, not one stop. If a stop shows a habit, assign safety coaching to the driver. More on the fleet compliance page.
Repairs and records
Defects that affect safety get repaired before the truck runs again, and the carrier certifies the repair. The DVIR and its certifications are kept for 3 months.
Log retention
Carriers keep records of duty status and supporting documents for at least 6 months, plus a backup copy of ELD records on a separate device for 6 months.
Alerts that keep running
ELD connect and disconnect, document expiration and maintenance due alerts go out in the app, by email, SMS or WhatsApp. SMS and WhatsApp depend on your setup.
What TenTrucks doesn't do at the roadside
No USB or Bluetooth file transfer. The rule lets an ELD support either the telematics option (web services and email) or the local option (USB 2.0 and Bluetooth). TenTrucks uses the telematics option. If an officer asks for a USB transfer, the driver explains the device sends by web services or email, and the officer can review the display.
Fax depends on your deployment. Email is the standard path for courtesy copies.
The app shows and sends the logs. It doesn't decide whether a log is right. Unidentified driving, uncertified days and violations get fixed by people in the office, and the time to do that is before the stop, not during it.
Every other part of the device, the app and the web dashboard is on the TenTrucks ELD overview.
Questions fleets ask us
About TenTrucks ELD for roadside inspection & dot transfer.
Rules referenced on this page
- 49 CFR 395, Appendix A §4.9: ELD data transfer
- 49 CFR 395.8: Driver's record of duty status
- 49 CFR 395.22: Motor carrier responsibilities
- 49 CFR 395.24: Driver's responsibilities
- 49 CFR 395.34: ELD malfunctions and data diagnostic events
- 49 CFR 396.11: Driver vehicle inspection reports
- 49 CFR 396.13: Driver inspection
- FMCSA: ELD frequently asked questions
Walk through an inspection in TenTrucks
Book a demo and we'll run a mock roadside inspection on a test driver, from inspection mode to the FMCSA transfer.