The livestock hours-of-service exemption, explained

If you haul livestock, a big part of your driving day often doesn’t count against your hours-of-service clock at all — and most explanations only tell you half of it. Here’s how the agricultural exemption actually works for cattle and horses, at both ends of the haul, in plain terms.

This is a plain-language explainer, not legal or compliance advice. Confirm your state’s dates and follow the current FMCSA rules and your ELD.

What is the 150 air-mile livestock HOS exemption?

During your state’s planting and harvest season, hours-of-service rules don’t apply while you’re within a 150 air-mile radius of where you loaded the livestock. Livestock and horses are agricultural commodities, so the ag exemption covers them. Inside that radius, the clock simply doesn’t run — the time you spend loading and driving out isn’t counted.

Does the exemption apply at the delivery end too?

Yes — since November 15, 2021, the same 150 air-mile exemption also applies around the destination. Your HOS clock is off between a point 150 air-miles from where you loaded and a point 150 air-miles from where you’re delivering. Only the stretch in the middle counts against your hours.

On a lot of corridor runs, most of the haul — sometimes all of it — falls inside those two radii.

How many miles is the livestock exemption in total?

The exemption covers up to 150 air-miles at the source plus 150 air-miles at the destination — about 300 air-miles of the trip where HOS doesn’t apply. In road miles that’s roughly 172.5 miles at each end (air-miles are straight-line, not odometer miles), so a large share of a typical livestock run can be exempt. Only the distance between the two 150-mile radii is on the clock.

What counts as the “source” of the livestock?

A sale barn, ranch, or loading facility can all count as the source — it doesn’t have to be a farm. The exemption measures the 150 air-miles from wherever the livestock were loaded, so cattle picked up at a sale barn start the radius from that sale barn.

Do I still need an ELD for livestock hauling?

If you operate outside the 150 air-mile radius no more than 8 days in any 30-day period, you can use paper logs instead of an ELD. Many livestock haulers running mostly local or corridor lanes fall under this, but once you’re regularly beyond the radius, normal ELD and HOS rules apply for the on-clock portion of the trip.

When does normal HOS start counting again?

Once you cross beyond the 150 air-mile radius from the source, the normal HOS limits apply until you cross into the 150 air-mile radius of the destination. For that middle stretch you’re subject to the standard rules — 11 hours driving, 14-hour window, the 30-minute break — then the exemption picks back up for the last 150 air-miles into the delivery point.

The honest caveat

Each state defines its own planting and harvest season, the details matter, and this is a plain-language explainer — not legal or compliance advice. Confirm your state’s dates, follow the current FMCSA rules, and run your ELD accordingly. Our free hours-of-service planner builds this exemption in, so you can see how it applies to a real trip.