Canadian federal hours of service: daily limits, cycle 1 and cycle 2 explained

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The rules that apply are in the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313). Check the regulation itself, or your provincial authority if you drive only inside one province.

Canada's federal hours-of-service rules cover drivers working for extra-provincial (federally regulated) motor carriers. They apply to trucks, tractors and trailers over 4,500 kg registered gross vehicle weight, and to buses built to seat more than 10 people, driver included. This guide covers the rules for driving south of latitude 60°N, where most Canadian trucking happens.

The daily limits

The regulation counts limits by "day," meaning a 24-hour period that starts at the time your carrier sets for your whole cycle (often midnight). Within each day:

• 13 hours of driving. You can't drive after 13 hours of driving time in a day (section 12).
• 14 hours on duty. You can't drive after 14 hours of on-duty time in a day. On-duty time includes driving, inspections, fuelling, loading and waiting to load (section 12).
• 10 hours off duty. You must take at least 10 hours off duty in each day (section 14).

There are also limits tied to your shifts, not the calendar day (section 13):

• After 13 hours of driving or 14 hours on duty, you need 8 consecutive hours off before you drive again.
• You can't drive once 16 hours have passed since the end of your last 8-hour (or longer) off-duty period.

How the 10 hours off break down

The 10 hours have to include 8 consecutive hours. The other 2 can be spread over the day in blocks of at least 30 minutes each, and they must be separate from the 8-hour block (section 14).

A driver who isn't splitting sleeper berth time can push up to 2 hours of that daily off-duty time into the next day (section 16). The conditions are:

• the deferred time isn't part of the 8 consecutive hours;
• you take at least 20 hours off duty across the two days;
• the deferred time is added to the 8-hour block on day two;
• you drive no more than 26 hours total across the two days; and
• your record of duty status says you're deferring and shows whether you're on day one or day two.

Cycle 1 and cycle 2

On top of the daily limits, your carrier must assign you to one of two cycles (section 24):

• Cycle 1: no more than 70 hours on duty in any 7 days (section 26).
• Cycle 2: no more than 120 hours on duty in any 14 days. You also can't go past 70 hours without taking at least 24 consecutive hours off (section 27).

Whichever cycle you're on, you can't drive unless you've had at least 24 consecutive hours off duty at some point in the previous 14 days (section 25).

Resetting and switching cycles

You can reset your cycle to zero by taking enough consecutive time off (section 28):

• Cycle 1 reset: at least 36 consecutive hours off duty.
• Cycle 2 reset: at least 72 consecutive hours off duty.

Switching between cycles uses the same numbers (section 29). Going from cycle 1 to cycle 2 takes at least 36 consecutive hours off, and going from cycle 2 to cycle 1 takes at least 72. Your hours then start again from zero on the new cycle.

Which cycle fits

The regulation doesn't pick a cycle for you, but the numbers show the trade-off:

• Cycle 1 suits regular weekly schedules. You get to a reset sooner, after 36 hours off.
• Cycle 2 allows more total hours over two weeks, but you need a 24-hour break before 70 hours and a 72-hour break for a full reset.

Sleeper berth splitting

A solo driver in a truck with a qualifying sleeper berth can split the required off-duty time into no more than two periods (section 18). Neither period can be shorter than 2 hours, and the two must add up to at least 10 hours spent in the berth. Driving before and after each period can't add up to more than 13 hours, and other timing limits apply. Teams have their own split rules, with a 4-hour minimum per period (section 19). Read these sections carefully before planning a split.

North of 60

Different limits apply north of latitude 60°N. For example, cycle 1 allows 80 hours in 7 days (section 51), and the daily limits are longer (section 39). If you drive in the territories, read sections 37 to 54.

Short-haul and logs

You still have to follow the hours limits even if you don't need an ELD. Drivers working within 160 km of their home terminal, who return there each day to start at least 8 consecutive hours off, can skip the ELD and the daily record of duty status, as long as the carrier keeps accurate time records (sections 77 and 81). Everyone else on federal rules records hours on a certified ELD unless an exception applies. See Transport Canada's ELD guidance for those exceptions.