Panda ELDFMCSAHome / ELD compliance
Compliance is a record, not a promise
An officer does not want to hear that your fleet runs a good operation. They want eight days of records, on a screen, now. That is the entire job.
What the mandate requires
Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Four obligations, and an ELD either meets them or it does not.
- 01
Automatic recording
Driving time is captured by the vehicle, not typed in afterwards. A driver cannot reduce recorded drive time by editing it.
- 02
Eight days available
The current day and the seven before it must be producible on demand. Not archived, not emailed later. Available.
- 03
Electronic transfer
Records must move to an authorised officer electronically, with on-screen display as the fallback. No printer is required.
- 04
Malfunction handling
When an ELD fails, the driver reconstructs the record and keeps paper logs until it is repaired. The clock on that repair is eight days.
Without anyone remembering to do it
Pairing is Bluetooth between the driver's phone or tablet and the device in the port. Once the vehicle passes 5 mph it is in motion, and the log runs on its own.
- Off duty
- Sleeper
- Driving
- On duty
Illustrative log. Not live fleet data.
Four warnings before a violation
Most ELDs report a violation once it has happened. Panda ELD notifies the driver and the safety office at one hour, thirty minutes, fifteen minutes and five minutes. An hour is the difference between choosing a truck stop and taking whatever shoulder is available.
- 1 hrDriver and office both notified
- 30 minEnough range to pick a stop
- 15 minEnough range to reach one
- 5 minLast call
- ViolationWhat the other four prevent
An inspection, start to finish
- 01
The officer asks
The current day and the seven before it. That window is what the app keeps ready at all times.
- 02
Transfer or display
Records move electronically. Where an officer prefers to read the screen, the screen is enough. Printouts are not required.
- 03
Forty-eight hours
Further information may be requested by email or fax within 48 hours of the inspection. It is already in the portal.
- 04
The office has the same view
Every duty change, edit and certification sits in the portal, which is where a compliance review begins if one follows.
What a bad log costs
- Maximum civil penalty per hours-of-service violation, charged to the carrier$19,246
- Maximum per violation charged to the driver$4,812
- Per entry where falsification is knowing$15,846
- Per day for incomplete or inaccurate records, capped at $15,846$1,584
Maximums under 49 CFR Part 386, Appendix B, as adjusted for inflation on 19 February 2026. A driver who cannot produce records for the day of inspection and the seven days before it can be placed out of service under 49 CFR 395.13, and the 2026 revision to CSA scoring doubled the weight carried by out-of-service findings. Penalties are assessed case by case; these are ceilings, not the amounts issued.
The parts nobody markets
Every fleet meets these eventually. They are the questions worth asking a vendor before signing, not after.
Working offline
Device and app both run with no signal. A connection is needed to back up records or share them, not to stay compliant through a dead zone.
Log edits
Records can be corrected where a correction is legitimate, and drivers certify their days. Recorded driving time itself is not editable.
Bulk certification
Days left uncertified can be certified together rather than one at a time, which is how most backlogs actually get cleared.
Asked at every demo
Is your ELD FMCSA certified?
Yes. In line with the FMCSA's ELD mandate, the Panda ELD compliance solution is registered and certified with the FMCSA.
Do I have to print my logs?
No. Logs transfer electronically and can be shown on screen. An officer may still request additional information by email or fax within 48 hours of the inspection.
Does it need cellular data?
Not to run. Both the device and the app work offline. A connection is needed to back up data or share logs, and a data plan is recommended for everyday use.
How is driving time recorded?
Automatically, once the driver's device is paired to the ELD over Bluetooth and the vehicle is registered in the app. A vehicle counts as in motion above 5 mph.
See it against what you run now
Tell us the current ELD, the number of trucks and what is not working. A demo takes about as long as a coffee stop.