ELD Provider Vetting

FMCSA maintains a list of self-certified registered ELDs at fmcsa.dot.gov. Only devices on the list satisfy § 395.20 requirements at roadside inspection.

Required evaluation criteria

1. On the FMCSA Registered ELD list at the time of purchase AND continuously thereafter
2. Active customer support (vendor responds within a documented SLA)
3. Data transfer methods supported: USB, Bluetooth, AND wireless web services (all three are required per § 395.20)
4. Driver edit interface that requires annotation reason codes
5. Carrier portal access to ELD records for audit retrieval
6. 8-day malfunction handling documented in vendor materials
7. Pricing transparency (hardware + monthly fee + data fees)

Removed-from-list risk

FMCSA periodically removes self-certified vendors that fail review or go out of business. When this happens:

• 60-day grace to find replacement
• Carrier MUST switch within the 60-day window
• Continuing to use a removed ELD = violation

Check the registered list quarterly — at minimum.

Major US ELD providers (current registered list, recent verification)

Motive, Samsara, Geotab, Omnitracs, EROAD, PeopleNet/Trimble, KeepTruckin (now Motive), Garmin eLog, BigRoad, J.J. Keller, Magellan Drive, Fleetilla, IntelliShift.

Red flags

• Vendor not on the registered list
• Vendor not responsive to a 24-hour ELD-malfunction support request
• Vendor charges separately for "FMCSA data transfer" feature
• Vendor lacks USB data transfer support (must be wireless + USB + Bluetooth)
• Vendor will not provide a carrier-side portal for retrieving records

CFR citations

• 49 CFR § 395.20
• 49 CFR § 395.22
• FMCSA Registered ELD list

How Compass surfaces this

This skill is searchable in the Compass Ask interface and runs against the carrier's actual fleet data when invoked from within the relevant tracker. It is read-only — no actions are taken without explicit user approval.

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This skill is published under the X3 Compass open skills initiative. Contributions welcome at https://github.com/x3fleetsafety/skills