An FMCSA yard move is a special hours of service duty status you can use on your electronic logging device (ELD). It lets you move your truck within a specific area—like a company terminal or a customer’s lot—without that time counting against your driving clock.
Instead of burning through your precious Hours of Service (HOS), this time gets logged as ‘on-duty, not driving.’ This simple switch saves your driving hours for where they actually count: out on the open road.
Unlocking Efficiency with the Yard Move Status
We’re talking about shuffling trailers around, backing into a loading dock, or moving the rig over to the maintenance bay. These are all necessary parts of the job, but they shouldn’t be chipping away at your federally mandated driving window.
Using the FMCSA yard move status correctly is key to logging this time accurately. It keeps your operation running smoothly and, most importantly, keeps you compliant.
Why This Status Matters to Your Fleet
The difference between ‘driving’ and ‘on-duty, not driving’ might sound like splitting hairs, but it has a massive impact on your fleet’s productivity. Here’s why getting this right is a game-changer:
- Preserves Driving Time: It saves your limited 11-hour driving clock for actual road time, not for inching across a parking lot.
- Enhances Operational Flow: You can stage trucks, hook up to different trailers, and get ready for departure without the constant pressure of a ticking HOS clock.
- Maintains HOS Compliance: Proper logging stops simple yard movements from being misclassified, which is a red flag that could trigger HOS violations during a DOT audit.
The official definition of a yard move has been a bit of a moving target, especially since the ELD mandate kicked in. To clear things up, the FMCSA proposed a clearer definition back in February 2020. The proposal specifies that yard moves happen in confined areas on private property, but can also include brief trips on a public road if it’s just to get from one part of a carrier’s property to another.
If you want to dive deeper, you can check out the FMCSA’s public commentary on this definition to see how the rules are evolving.
At its heart, the idea is simple: a yard move separates the work you do on-property from the driving you do on the road. This separation is your ticket to maximizing every minute of drive time while staying firmly inside HOS regulations.
Knowing When to Use the Yard Move Status
As a rule of thumb, the yard move status is meant for any truck movement inside a confined, private area where the public doesn’t have access. This simple principle ensures the special driving status is used as intended—for repositioning a truck, not for hauling a load down the road.
What Locations Qualify as a Yard
Let’s cut through the guesswork and look at the specific places the FMCSA yard move guidance generally considers a “yard.” Think of these as your green-light zones for using the yard move status.
Here are the most common qualifying areas:
- Your Company Terminal: Any movement on your own property is a perfect use case. Think moving from a parking spot to the fuel island or into the maintenance bay.
- Shipper or Receiver Facilities: Moving a truck around a customer’s distribution center, privately owned warehouse lot, or manufacturing plant could also potentially qualify. This absolutely includes repositioning the truck for loading or unloading.
- Intermodal Yards or Ports: Navigating through the controlled chaos of a port or rail yard to pick up or drop off a container is another valid use of the yard move status.
The common thread here? These are all controlled environments. That’s the core principle behind the rule. The status is specifically designed for low-speed, off-highway movements that are part of the job but aren’t “driving” in the traditional Hours of Service sense.
Crossing the Line: Public Roads and Other Gray Areas
So, what about those tricky situations? Like when you have to briefly cross a public road to get from a shipper’s main lot to their overflow parking area? This is a classic gray area.
The good news is the FMCSA does allow for brief and incidental use of a public road, but only when traveling between two separate properties owned by the same entity. For example, crossing a small two-lane street that splits your company’s terminal in half would likely be an acceptable use of yard move.
The crucial distinction here is intent. If the purpose is simply to move between two parts of the same facility, it’s likely a valid yard move. But if the goal is to travel to a new, distinct location—even one just a short distance away—that time becomes Driving.
This is where the yard move status really shows its differences from other special duty statuses. Let’s take a quick look at how it stacks up against Personal Conveyance, another status you might have questions about.
Yard Move vs Personal Conveyance Quick Comparison
To help clear things up, here’s a straightforward breakdown of how Yard Move and Personal Conveyance differ.
| Guideline | Yard Move | Personal Conveyance |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Moving a CMV for operational purposes on private property. | Moving a CMV for personal use when off-duty. |
| Location | Company terminals, shipper/receiver lots, intermodal yards. | Public roads. |
| HOS Logging | Logged as On-Duty (Not Driving). | Logged as Off-Duty. |
| Vehicle State | Can be laden or unladen. | Can be laden or unladen. |
As you can see, these two statuses are designed for completely different situations. If you want to dive deeper into the rules for using a truck for personal reasons, you can explore our complete guide to Personal Conveyance. Understanding the nuances between these statuses helps you make the right call every time, preventing simple mistakes from turning into serious hours of service violations.
How to Log Yard Moves Correctly on an ELD
Getting the yard move log right on your ELD is your single best defense in a DOT audit. It’s that simple. While every ELD system is a little different, the basic steps for activating the FMCSA yard move status are pretty much the same across the board, and they’re designed to be easy for your team to use.
The goal is to make correct logging a reflex, not a question. You need to select the “Yard Move” duty status before you even think about putting the truck in gear. That simple action tells the ELD to record the movement as “On-Duty, Not Driving,” which is the key to preserving those valuable driving hours. While this duty status is great for
Think of the logging process as a pre-flight checklist. Having a clear, step-by-step procedure removes all the guesswork for your team and makes your fleet’s compliance that much stronger when an inspector shows up.
The Power of a Good Annotation
One of the most important habits you can instill in your team is adding clear, detailed annotations. An annotation is just a short note added to the ELD log that gives context to what’s happening. Think of it like leaving a breadcrumb trail for a DOT inspector to follow.
A solid annotation quickly answers the “who, what, where, and why.” For instance, instead of a vague note like “yard move,” a much stronger annotation would be: “Yard move at ABC Distribution Center, moving from Dock 5 to staging area to pick up pre-loaded trailer.”
That level of detail instantly clears up any questions during a roadside inspection and shows the officer that you know the rules and are applying them correctly.
Best Practices for Your Team
Building a foolproof logging process isn’t just about the tech; it’s about the training. Your ELD is only as good as the person using it, so ongoing education is absolutely critical.
Here are a few best practices to get you started:
- Train, Train, Train: Don’t just show them once and forget about it. Regularly review the specific steps for enabling yard move on your fleet’s ELD system.
- Set Speed Thresholds: If your ELD provider allows it, set a maximum speed (say, 20 mph) that automatically kicks the status back to “Driving.” This is a fantastic safety net to catch mistakes.
- Establish a Correction Protocol: Mistakes happen. Teach your team exactly what to do if they forget to enable the status. The procedure should be to pull over as soon as it’s safe, manually correct the log, and add a detailed annotation explaining the error.
Correctly logged yard moves significantly impact your Hours of Service (HOS) compliance. They can even be used to satisfy required breaks, giving you the flexibility to reposition your truck without eating into your driving time.
Understanding the tech you’re using is also part of the puzzle. If you’re curious about how logging systems have changed over the years, our guide on the transition from AOBRD vs ELD provides some great context. At the end of the day, mastering these ELD functions is non-negotiable for modern fleet management.
How Yard Moves Impact Your Hours of Service
Understanding how an FMCSA yard move hits your Hours of Service (HOS) is where the rubber really meets the road for operational efficiency. The whole point of this special duty status is to protect one of your most valuable assets: your 11-hour driving clock.
When you use yard move status correctly, every single minute spent shuffling trailers around a customer’s lot is logged as ‘On-Duty, Not Driving.’ This simple switch can be a total game-changer for fleet productivity. It means all that slow, careful maneuvering inside a facility doesn’t eat up the precious time you need for the highway. Think of it as hitting pause on your driving clock while your on-duty clock keeps on ticking. This can also be a real benefit for local drivers as well. For more information on that, check out our guide for DOT Hours of Service for local drivers.
Saving the Driving Clock for the Road
Let’s walk through a real-world example. Imagine you have just one hour of driving time left in your shift. The problem? You need to spend the next 45 minutes moving trailers around a packed distribution center just to get to your loading dock.
Without using yard move status, that entire 45 minutes would burn right through your driving time. You’d be left with a measly 15 minutes to actually get back on the road.
But by flipping the ELD to yard move status, that 45 minutes is logged as on-duty time instead. Once the truck is finally loaded and ready to roll, you still have your full hour of driving time available. That simple action can be the difference between making a delivery on time or having to shut down just a few miles from the destination.
The core benefit is crystal clear: yard moves preserve the 11-hour driving limit for actual, over-the-road driving. This empowers your team to handle complex on-site logistics without sacrificing highway efficiency.
How Yard Moves Affect the 14-Hour and 70-Hour Clocks
Now for the critical part. While the yard move status is great for protecting the driving clock, you absolutely have to remember that it does not stop the other HOS clocks.
Any time spent in yard move status still counts toward your daily 14-hour on-duty limit. It also counts against your cumulative 60/70-hour limit for the 7/8-day work period.
This is a piece of the HOS puzzle you can’t afford to get wrong, as misunderstanding this often leads to preventable logbook violations. For instance, if you spend two hours in yard move status, those two hours are gone from your 14-hour on-duty window for the day. For a deeper dive, check out our guide on preventing Hours of Service violations to keep your team fully compliant.
Ultimately, mastering the FMCSA yard move is all about smart HOS planning. When you teach your team how to use this status correctly, you give them the tools to manage all their clocks effectively, maximizing their legal working hours and keeping your fleet moving safely and efficiently.
Common Yard Move Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even with the best of intentions, mistakes with the FMCSA yard move status can and do happen. Knowing the common pitfalls is the first step to preventing them. It helps you tighten up your training, fine-tune your policies, and ultimately build a more resilient DOT compliance program.
Most of these errors boil down to simple human oversight or a genuine misunderstanding of the rules. By tackling them head-on, you can turn potential violations into valuable coaching moments for your team.
Forgetting to Switch Duty Status
One of the most frequent slip-ups is forgetting to switch your ELD status after a yard move is done. Picture this: you finish shuffling trailers, grab your paperwork, and pull out onto the main road, all while your ELD is still happily ticking away in “Yard Move.”
Now, most modern ELDs have a failsafe. They’re designed to automatically switch to “Driving” once the truck hits a certain speed, usually somewhere between 5-20 mph. But relying on that feature alone is a risky bet. If that system glitches or fails to switch, you’re left with a bad log that will immediately raise red flags during an inspection.
The solution here is consistent, hammered-in training. You have to make it a habit to manually switch back to “Driving” status before you leave the yard. It needs to be a non-negotiable step on your departure checklist.
Misusing Yard Move for Short Trips
Another classic mistake is using the yard move status for trips that are clearly driving time. This usually comes from a good place—trying to save that precious 11-hour clock—but it’s a direct violation of HOS regulations.
Here are a couple of real-world examples of what not to do:
- Bobtailing to a truck stop: Moving an unladen tractor from a customer’s lot to a nearby truck stop for a meal or break is not a yard move. That’s travel on public roads and must be logged as “Driving” or maybe “Personal Conveyance” if it meets the specific criteria.
- Moving between separate facilities: Driving a loaded trailer from Warehouse A to Warehouse B, even if they’re only a mile apart, doesn’t count. The moment those wheels hit a public road, it’s no longer a yard move; it’s part of the commercial operation. This is especially true for intermodal container haulers. Moving from the port facility to a nearby warehouse or terminal location should not be done in the FMCSA yard move status.
The core principle is simple: if the truck is on a public road for any reason other than briefly crossing between two parts of the same property, it’s not a yard move. This rule is firm and leaves very little room for interpretation.
Making sure your logs are accurate also means keeping excellent records. Having the right paperwork is absolutely crucial for backing up your duty status during an audit. It’s always a good idea to brush up on the requirements for HOS supporting documents to keep your files in perfect order. By proactively training your team on these common errors, you can prevent simple slip-ups from turning into costly compliance headaches.
Creating a Rock-Solid Yard Move Policy for Your Fleet
Let’s be blunt: a clear, written policy is your single best defense for staying consistent and audit-ready. When it comes to compliance, ambiguity is the enemy. A detailed FMCSA yard move policy completely removes the guesswork for your team and gives you a powerful leg to stand on if an auditor ever questions your logs.
This isn’t about writing a massive, complicated novel that no one will read. Your goal is to create a simple, easy-to-understand playbook that lets your team operate with confidence. Think of it as the official guide for how your fleet handles these specific on-duty moves.
Key Elements Your Policy Must Include
To actually work, your yard move policy has to be direct and cover all the essential bases. It needs to clearly spell out the what, where, and how for your entire team.
Start by making sure these core components are in there:
- A Simple Definition of a “Yard”: Spell out exactly what your company considers a qualifying location using the FMCSA yard move definition. Don’t be vague—list specific examples like your own terminals and privately owned customer facilities.
- Clear ELD Instructions: Give your team step-by-step guidance on how to turn the yard move status on and off for your fleet’s specific ELD system. Screenshots or short videos are even better.
- Annotation Guidelines: You have to explain why detailed annotations are so important. Give them concrete examples of what a good, descriptive note looks like versus a weak, useless one.
A strong policy is the foundation of a proactive safety culture. It transforms compliance from a set of abstract rules into a series of concrete, actionable steps that everyone can follow consistently.
From there, you need to talk about the importance of regular training and routine log checks to make sure the policy is actually being followed. This constant reinforcement is what makes the rules stick. Building out a solid framework like this is a cornerstone of any effective trucking company safety program—one that protects your company from violations and keeps everyone safe on the road.
FMCSA Yard Moves FAQ
Even with the best policy in place, some tricky situations will pop up. Let’s tackle a few of the most common questions we hear from fleet managers and their teams about the FMCSA yard move status.
Does Yard Move Count Against My 14-Hour Clock?
Yes, it absolutely does.
While a yard move won’t chew up your 11-hour driving time, it is still considered ‘On-Duty, Not Driving.’ That means every single minute spent in yard move status is ticking away at your 14-hour on-duty limit for the day.
What Happens If I Forget to Turn Off Yard Move?
Most ELDs have a built-in failsafe to prevent this. They’re usually programmed to automatically flip your status to ‘Driving’ once the truck hits a certain speed, typically somewhere between 5 and 20 mph.
If for some reason that doesn’t trigger, you’ve got to manually correct the log as soon as it’s safe to do so. Make sure you add a detailed annotation explaining exactly what happened and why you’re making the edit.
Can I Use Yard Move on a Public Road?
This is where things get really tricky, and the official guidance is pretty strict. The short answer is no, a yard move is meant for private property.
Now, the FMCSA might allow for brief, incidental use of a public road if you’re just trying to get from one part of the same property to another. Using it for any real travel between separate locations is asking for trouble.
What is a “yard move” under FMCSA rules?
A “yard move” is the movement of a commercial motor vehicle within a confined area (such as a carrier’s terminal, shipper’s lot, or intermodal facility) that can be logged as on-duty but not driving time rather than driving time.
When is a move not a yard move?
If the movement occurs on a public road open to general traffic, without traffic control restrictions (gates, signs, flaggers), it must be logged as driving time and not classified as a yard move.
How does a yard move affect a driver’s hours of service?
Yard move time counts toward the 14-consecutive hour duty clock, but doesn’t count toward the driving time limit since it’s logged as on-duty not driving.
Is use of the yard move status mandatory?
No. Motor carriers may choose whether to allow drivers to use the yard move status. Improper use or misclassification may result in a falsification violation.
How should a driver record a yard move on an ELD?
The driver must select the “Yard Move” special driving status before movement begins, and annotate the log with a description. The ELD will flag the movement accordingly in the log output.
How do auditors verify yard move compliance?
Auditors check the location (latitude/longitude), context of the site, and whether the move was in a qualifying “yard.” If evidence shows the vehicle was on a public road or outside a confined site, the log may be treated as falsified.
At My Safety Manager, we take the headache out of DOT compliance so you can get back to running your business. Discover how our fleet safety and DOT compliance services can help you.
You must be logged in to post a comment.