An air mile is a nautical mile measured in a straight line. 150 air miles is about 172.6 statute (road) miles.

Do I still need a CDL medical card?

Yes. The short-haul exception only changes hours-of-service recordkeeping. Every other CDL requirement still applies.

What happens if I go over 14 hours one day?

You lose the exception for that day. You have to complete a regular log or an ELD record for the day, and you must comply with the standard 11-hour and 14-hour limits.

Short-Haul Exception Explained — 150 Air-Mile CDL Rule

Short-Haul Exception Explained

The short-haul exception lets qualifying CDL drivers work a 14-hour day inside a 150 air-mile radius and use a simple time record instead of an ELD.

Difficulty

Reading time

7 min

Applies to

Class A, Class B

Official source

FMCSA — Hours of Service

What changed in 2020

FMCSA updated the short-haul exception (49 CFR §395.1(e)(1)) on September 29, 2020. The rule now covers more drivers than before by expanding the radius from 100 to 150 air miles and the maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours.

Previous vs new

Previous	New (since Sept 29, 2020)
Drive within a 100 air-mile radius	Drive within a 150 air-mile radius
Do not exceed a 12-hour on-duty period	Do not exceed a 14-hour on-duty period
Start and end shift in the same location	Start and end shift in the same location
10 hours off (property) between shifts	10 hours off (property) between shifts

Recordkeeping — you can skip the ELD

Drivers using the short-haul exception can keep a simple time record — time in, time out, and total hours for the day — instead of a graph-grid log or ELD. The motor carrier keeps that record for 6 months.

When you fall out of the exception

If you drive past 150 air miles, exceed 14 hours on duty, or don't return to the normal work-reporting location, you no longer qualify for that day. Then you must complete a regular log or use an ELD — a paper log is only allowed if you needed a log on 8 or fewer days out of the last 30.

Non-CDL short-haul

The non-CDL short-haul exception in §395.1(e)(2) is separate and did not change.

Key facts to remember about Short-Haul Exception Explained

The material on this page is drawn from the FMCSA CDL Manual and, where a state rule differs, from the relevant state DMV manual. That is the same regulatory language your examiner will grade your written test against. When you sit for the CDL exam, questions on Short-Haul Exception Explained are not usually trick questions — they test whether you have internalized the specific numbers, definitions, and procedures above and can apply them under time pressure.

Two habits separate drivers who pass this section on the first try from those who have to retake it. The first is treating the quick-answer box at the top of this guide as a fact you have to be able to write out from memory — not just recognize when you see it. The second is reading the common-mistakes list with the assumption that at least one of those wrong patterns is going to show up as a distractor on your exam. Both habits take five minutes per guide and dramatically reduce the number of questions you flag as "not sure" on test day.

How Short-Haul Exception Explained fits the rest of your CDL study plan

This is one guide inside a Hours of Service topic pack on CDLTest360. The full topic covers every subject the FMCSA CDL Manual expects a commercial driver to know before taking the written exam. After you have worked through this page, the fastest way to lock in the material is to take a short practice test that draws from the same question pool your state DMV uses. Missed questions link back to the guide that answers them, so weak spots surface themselves — no guessing about what to re-read.

If any acronym or part name on this page is unfamiliar, every one of them is defined in the CDL glossary. Terms are auto-linked on first mention, so you can jump to a definition and come right back without losing your place. And if you are studying for a state-specific rule that is not identical to the federal regulation, always let your state CDL manual take precedence — this site is built on FMCSA material, and a handful of numbers (medical certification windows, permit-holding periods, endorsement fees) do vary by state.

Ready to test yourself?

Once you feel like you own this page, take a practice test on Hours of Service to prove it. Aim for a strong pass rate before moving on. If you are preparing for the full CDL exam, browse the rest of the CDLTest360 Learning Center — every topic in your state CDL manual has a matching guide, and each one is written the same way this page is: quick answer first, plain-English explanation second, real-world common mistakes third.

How to study this guide

A short, high-yield loop for locking in the material on this page before you sit the CDL exam:

1.Read the TL;DR quick answer at the top of this guide and re-write it in your own words. If you can't, read the body once and try again — that's the fact you're being tested on.
2.Walk through the common-mistakes section below. Every item on that list is a real reason drivers have failed this question in the past.
3.Take the linked practice test. Aim for 90% or better on the Hours of Service section before you move on.
4.The day before your official DMV test, re-read only the TL;DR box and the common-mistakes list on every guide you studied. That's your final review.

Why this matters for your CDL exam

Hours of Service is one of the sections the CDL written exam draws from directly. Examiners score against the exact language of the FMCSA CDL Manual, which is why every guide on CDLTest360 keeps the regulatory wording where it matters and only rewrites the surrounding explanation. If you understand short-haul exception explained at the level of this page — the numbers, the definitions, and the reasons behind them — you'll recognize the correct answer even when the question is phrased differently than the practice tests you've seen.

One more thing worth knowing: the CDL written exam does not test memorization for its own sake. It tests whether you can apply these rules on the road, so anywhere in this guide you see a number, a step, or a component name, pair it in your head with when a driver would actually use it. That mental link is what turns a fact you read into an answer you can pick under time pressure on exam day.

Common mistakes

Using the exception past the 150 air-mile radius without switching to a log
Thinking the exception waives the 10 hours off between shifts
Forgetting the shift must both start and end at the normal work-reporting location
Assuming the exception applies automatically — the carrier must have you on it

Frequently asked questions

What is an air mile?: An air mile is a nautical mile measured in a straight line. 150 air miles is about 172.6 statute (road) miles.
Do I still need a CDL medical card?: Yes. The short-haul exception only changes hours-of-service recordkeeping. Every other CDL requirement still applies.
What happens if I go over 14 hours one day?: You lose the exception for that day. You have to complete a regular log or an ELD record for the day, and you must comply with the standard 11-hour and 14-hour limits.

About this guide

This guide is part of the CDLTest360 Learning Center, a free set of study materials written for drivers preparing for the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) written exam in the United States. Every fact on this page comes from the current FMCSA CDL Manual or, where a state rule differs, the state DMV manual. Numbers, definitions, and procedures are quoted or paraphrased from those official sources; the surrounding explanation, the examples, and the common-mistakes list are original to CDLTest360.

The Learning Center is written by CDL instructors and reviewed against the federal regulations on a rolling basis. If you spot something that doesn't match what your local DMV taught you, state rules take precedence over anything on this site — always confirm the number with your state's CDL manual before your exam.