Trucking Laws · Nationwide · October 29, 2026

FMCSA Says It Removed More Than 10,000 Truck Driver Training Providers and Over 100 ELDs, and Is Going After Chameleon Carriers

By Big Rig Daily Staff

FMCSA says it has removed more than 10,000 commercial truck driver training providers from its federal registry since December 2025, along with more than 100 noncompliant electronic logging devices from its approved list. FMCSA Chief Safety Officer Steve Dowling gave the numbers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in a keynote at the WEX OTR Summit in Jacksonville, Florida, FreightWaves reported.

Training providers

"Since December of '25, there have been more than 10,000 providers that have been removed from the training provider registry," Dowling said. FreightWaves noted that this is a broader registry cleanup and is separate from an emergency enforcement action announced in August, which targeted about 110 commercial driver training schools linked, per Dowling, to more than 5,000 drivers cited for English-language proficiency violations. He said FMCSA will keep reviewing training programs.

ELDs

"We've removed over 100 noncompliant ELDs from the registered device list, and we've prevented nearly 600 from making it onto the list entirely," Dowling said. He said the agency is most concerned about systems that can be manipulated to hide hours-of-service violations. "You can't go in and edit logs by making a phone call," he said. Our report on a live demonstration in Illinois covers a case from the same day.

Chameleon carriers and Motus

Chameleon carriers are trucking companies that shut down and reopen under new identities to avoid safety enforcement or penalties. Dowling said FMCSA's new registration system, Motus, is meant to verify ownership and principal place of business. "One location that maybe has 20 different DOT numbers coming out of a PO box in a location, that's a problem," he said. "You're going to see cases that start coming out that are specifically combating against chameleon carriers," he added, noting work with the Justice Department and FBI.

Dowling acknowledged Motus has had technical problems. About 95% of registration activity was working based on data he reviewed the previous week, he said, but problems for the rest are "not acceptable to us." FMCSA has paused its biennial registration update requirement while it fixes them. For more, see our plain-English Motus registration guide and what FMCSA said about a fix.

Looking ahead to 2027

Dowling said FMCSA is studying possible hours-of-service flexibility, including sleeper-berth rules and the 14-hour window. He also said it is too early to tell if the enforcement efforts reduce crashes: "Sometimes you have to be patient."

Quick facts

• Training providers removed from the federal registry since December 2025: more than 10,000.
• Noncompliant ELDs removed from the registered list: over 100, with nearly 600 blocked.
• Where: WEX OTR Summit, Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.

A question for readers

Do tighter checks on training schools and ELDs make you feel more confident about the truckers sharing the road?

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