ELDT records: what 49 CFR 380 requires
What a training provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry must keep, report and show an auditor, straight from the regulation.
Under 49 CFR Part 380, training providers listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry must keep the required ELDT records for at least three years and give them to FMCSA within 48 hours when asked (49 CFR 380.725 and 380.719).
Keep the required records at least this long 380.725
To hand them to FMCSA when asked 380.719
To send the training certification to the TPR, by midnight 380.717
Who needs it
Does ELDT apply to this driver?
Pick what the driver is getting. The answer comes straight from 49 CFR 380.603 and 380.609.
The answer and the rule appear here.
Except for the hazmat endorsement, the theory and behind-the-wheel (range and public road) portions must be finished within one year of finishing the first portion (49 CFR 380.603). Some drivers are excepted, such as those the CDL rules except under 383.3; check 380.603 for the full list.
Your records checklist
What a training provider must keep
Tick off what your files already hold. Your ticks stay in this browser, and the list prints.
49 CFR 380.725(b). Keep each record at least three years from the date it is made or received; for an instructor's expired or canceled CDL, keep the most recent valid one (380.725(c)).
Reporting deadline
When must the training be reported?
By midnight of the second business day after the trainee finishes (49 CFR 380.717). Pick the day the trainee finished.
This counts Monday to Friday. If a holiday falls in between, allow for it.
What the certification includes (380.717)
ELDT Systems does not send certifications to the TPR for you yet; it flags anything missing that the certification asks for.
Instructors
Who may teach behind the wheel
On public roads
Holds a CDL of the same or higher class, with the needed endorsements, and has at least two years of experience driving that class of vehicle or as a behind-the-wheel instructor, and meets any State instructor requirements.
Only on a range
The same experience rule, but the instructor may instead have previously held that CDL and endorsements, if they teach only on a range that is not a public road.
49 CFR 380.605. An instructor whose CDL was canceled, suspended or revoked for a disqualifying offense may not teach for 2 years after it is reinstated.
ELDT Systems
How ELDT Systems keeps these records
Assessments
Every behind-the-wheel session is scored item by item and signed, with the federal elements signed off as proficient.
Clock hours
Range and road minutes from the clock in each section add up for the student's behind-the-wheel total.
Permits and licenses
Permit and license details and copies stay in the student's file.
Instructor files
Each instructor's CDL, endorsements and experience, checked against the 380.605 qualifications, with expiry reminders.
Ready for a request
The audit binder prints a student's whole file, and every score downloads as a spreadsheet.
What the TPR asks for
Missing license numbers, states or completion dates are flagged before you report.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How long must ELDT records be kept?
At least three years from the date each required record is generated or received (49 CFR 380.725).
How fast must records be produced for FMCSA?
Within 48 hours of a request from FMCSA or its authorized representative (49 CFR 380.719).
When must training be reported to the TPR?
By midnight of the second business day after the trainee completes the training (49 CFR 380.717).