Canada ELD Certification Clarification Coming Soon

• October 23, 2020
• Madeline S.

After years of discussion and waiting, Canada finally announced it's Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate last year. Canada based a lot of its mandate off of the U.S. but made a few notable exceptions. The primary difference was that Canada would require a third-party certification for all ELDs.

In the U.S., all ELDs are self-certified. Canada opted to require third-party certification to reduce the risk of modifications or tampering with devices. All Canadian carriers, and U.S. carriers that provide cross-border transportation into the country, will have to get their devices certified by an approved third-party in order to be compliant.

At the time of the announcement last year, many in the industry had questions about the certification. Carriers were promised clarification, and that will be coming soon. Canada's ELD deadline is still set for June 2021, so news about the certification process will be welcomed.

While no official announcements have been made yet, the news should be arriving soon. Companies such as Quebec-based FPInnovations have confirmed that they are in the final stages of accreditation to become a certification body.

The good news is that Canadian carriers don't have to wait for a list of approved third-party certification bodies to start moving towards compliance. Carriers can go ahead and purchase and install ELDs now. Devices sourced before the certification process is completed will still be able to get over-the-air updates, similar to updating a smartphone.

So far, the Canadian government has no released a list of accredited third-party certification companies yet. However, it seems like that news should coming soon. Transport Canada should also be providing a detailed guide for carriers on how to find and get certified by accredited companies. It's unclear whether COVID-19 has delayed any plans or if it will delay the compliance mandate deadline. Right now, it appears that the government is still aiming for its original June 2021 date.

Trucking companies should start looking at making their fleets compliant now, with or without certification clarification. Unlike the U.S., Canada will not be grandfathering in older devices and will not be providing extensions.

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