Driver's Daily Log — ELD-Exempt Paper RODS — 49 CFR 395.8 — Printable PDF

A paper record of duty status with the graph grid and every entry 49 CFR 395.8 requires — built for drivers who are lawfully allowed to run paper.

Read this first — paper is only lawful for some drivers. Since the ELD mandate, a paper RODS may be used only under an exemption at 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(A). The cover page states all four in plain language:

• Operation requiring a record of duty status on not more than 8 days within any 30-day period
• A driveaway-towaway operation where the vehicle being driven is part of the shipment
• A driveaway-towaway operation where the vehicle transported is a motor home or RV trailer
• A commercial motor vehicle manufactured before model year 2000, per the VIN on the registration

If none applies to you, you need an ELD — this form will not make paper lawful. Short-haul drivers under the 100 / 150 air-mile radius generally keep time records instead and may not need it at all. A paper RODS is also what you fall back on when an ELD malfunctions.

Built to form and manner: four duty statuses per 395.8(b) · one-hour increments identified and preprinted with Midnight and Noon marked above the correct increment per 395.8(f)(8) · quarter-hour rulings · all eleven entries required by 395.8(d) alongside the grid · the location-remarks line per 395.8(h)(5) · total-hours column at the right edge.

Print two copies per day. 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(B) requires the record be kept in duplicate — driver keeps one, carrier gets one. Each sheet has an Original / Duplicate checkbox.

3 pages, US Letter: cover with the eligibility rules, the master log sheet in landscape, and a completed example using the specimen trip described in the regulation itself.

Print as many as you need. You own the file: no page limit, no reprint fee.

Instant digital download. This form is a recordkeeping aid, not legal advice. It does not confer or extend any exemption — confirm your own eligibility with FMCSA or your carrier's safety department.