New IFTA Rules In Place January 1, 2024

The requirements for electronic distance records have changed to tightly define what data elements are required and what formats are acceptable under the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA).

The changes that are effective as of January 1 impact distance records produced by a vehicle tracking system that utilizes latitudes and longitudes, such as an ELD or GPS.

Under the new requirements, records produced by vehicle tracking systems must be created and maintained at a minimum of every 10 minutes when the vehicle’s engine is on and contain the following data elements:

• The date and time of each system reading
• The latitude and longitude to include a minimum of 4 decimal places (0.0001) of each system reading
• The odometer reading from the engine control module (ECM) of each system reading. If no ECM odometer is available, a beginning and ending dashboard odometer or hubodometer for the trip will be acceptable
• The vehicle identification number or vehicle unit number

Data must be accessible in an electronic spreadsheet format, such as XLS, XLSX, CSV, or delimited text file. Formats from a vehicle tracking system that provides a static image such as PDF, JPEG, PNG, or Word are not acceptable.

The effective date for the changes — January 1, 2024 — also aligns with changes recently finalized by IRP.