The FMCSA which is also known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is extending the COVID-19 emergency to . The agency has a waiver extended to give drivers more time to renew CDLs and medical certificates. Hours of service waiver is effective throughout May 31st. The CDL medical certificate waiver. The hours of service waiver is effective but they are ever so flexible.

There are changes to the hours of service waiver since the extension which had been issued on November 30th. It applies to drivers hauling commodities like livestock feed, vaccines, food, paper products, gasoline, medical supplies, ethyl alcohol, and supplies to help individuals hit hard by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Direct assistance can’t include non-emergency transportation with qualifying commodities or regularly scheduled commercial deliveries. This also involves loads with a nominal quantity of emergency relief to obtain benefits of the emergency declaration. To find yourself eligible the transportation has to qualify for commodities relative to the immediate restoration for essential supplies.

Truckers are going to have a tough time adjusting to this but certainly are appreciative.

Carriers who operate under the terms of the declaration are required to report their use of it to FMCSA within five days of the end of each month via their FMCSA portal account. The Trucker Nation advocacy group is actively soliciting information about use of the COVID emergency declaration’s hours of service waiver as well, with hopes to possibly underpin advocacy around hours flexibility. 

Additionally, FMCSA is giving all commercial learner’s permit holders, CDL holders and non-CDL commercial drivers whose licenses were valid on February 29, 2020, and expired on or after March 1, 2020, and whose medical certification or medical variance expired on or after December 1, 2021, 45 days to renew their licenses. Drivers meeting this criteria have until April 15 to renew their licenses and medical certificates.