English-proficiency enforcement is headed into the rulebook; comments close October 9

The short version.

• FMCSA has proposed writing the English-proficiency out-of-service violation into the federal safety regulations, and comments close October 9. Drivers who can't show English proficiency at roadside have been placed out of service since June 25, 2025, so this changes nothing today.

On August 10, FMCSA published a proposed rule that would write the English Language Proficiency (ELP) out-of-service violation directly into the federal safety regulations, aligning them with the roadside criteria inspectors have used since June 25, 2025 (91 FR 51422). It is a proposal, not a rule in force, and the comment period is open. If your drivers hold CDLs and cross state lines, this one is yours.

This changes nothing today. Drivers who can't demonstrate English proficiency at roadside are already being placed out of service. That started June 25, 2025 under CVSA's criteria (CVSA notice). The proposal makes that permanent and uniform in the regulations themselves, rather than resting on enforcement guidance.

The numbers, from the proposal's own analysis: in the first eight-plus months of enforcement (June 25, 2025 through March 19, 2026), FMCSA logged 60,399 English-proficiency violations, and 19,045 of those stops ended with the driver placed out of service until a replacement could arrive. FMCSA's own cost model puts a stop like that at about $1,600 ($800 a day, roughly two days to get a replacement driver in place). Multiply the two and the cost so far comes to roughly $30 million in fleet downtime.

Dates: Comments close October 9, 2026. If your fleet has a view on how this should be enforced, this is the window; after that, expect a final rule on FMCSA's timetable.

The story so far: the executive order came April 28, 2025; FMCSA issued its enforcement guidance May 20; roadside out-of-service enforcement began June 25; and the August 10, 2026 proposal now moves it into the regulations. Eight weeks from the executive order to parked trucks, and the paperwork is still catching up to the enforcement a year later.

The bottom line: The October 9 comment window is the only date here, and it is optional. A comment is a vote on how the permanent rule gets written; it is not a compliance step. The risk that matters is already here and has been since June 2025: by FMCSA's own cost model, one out-of-service stop runs about $1,600 in downtime alone, before a late load, and the first eight-plus months produced 19,045 of them. We'd skip the comment and look at today's risk instead: if any of your drivers might struggle with a roadside English exchange, the outcomes already range from a recorded violation to a parked truck, and the permanent rule would only make that harder to reverse. The risk does not wait for the final rule.

Also this week

Transit Solutions has asked FMCSA for an exemption to let carriers run its ClearView E-Mirror camera system in place of the two rear-vision mirrors the federal equipment rules require (the application). Nothing is decided yet. Comments are open through August 31, and FMCSA grants or denies after reviewing them. It is worth a look only if camera mirrors are on your equipment list.

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