FMCSA grants five-year beacon exemption for Level 4 autonomous trucks
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration approved a five-year exemption that permits carriers operating Level 4 autonomous trucks to replace reflective warning triangles with cab‑mounted amber beacons, valid through October 7, 2031. The ruling supersedes Aurora’s earlier series of four three‑month waivers and is available to any Level 4 carrier that notifies FMCSA before operation.
Each beacon must be amber, satisfy SAE J595 Class 1 photometric standards and be mounted at least 100 inches above the ground, level with or higher than the side mirrors. The lights must switch on within five minutes of a stop and continue flashing together with the hazard flashers until the vehicle moves again or is recovered. Operation is limited to roads within the carrier’s validated operational design domain; hazardous‑material, passenger, double‑trailer beyond two 28‑foot units, triple‑trailer and tanker‑only restrictions apply as outlined. All carriers except Aurora must email FMCSA beforehand, certify under penalty of perjury that they have the beacons and will comply, and must report any crash involving the beacons within five calendar days and file annual malfunction reports by November 1.
“Going from a temporary waiver to a five-year exemption gives the industry a lot of confidence,” Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association said.
“will give the autonomous freight industry a key piece of regulatory certainty that will allow us to continue to scale safely,” Bart Teeter, director of fleet and operational safety at Bot Auto said.
FMCSA had denied Aurora and Waymo’s 2023 request for the same relief in December 2024, citing insufficient specificity. After the denial, the agency issued Aurora a narrow waiver from October 10, 2025 through January 9, 2026, during which the company ran beacons on 34 trucks that logged more than 500,000 miles.
What we know
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted a five-year exemption on Wednesday that lets carriers running Level 4 autonomous trucks use cab-mounted warning beacons in place of reflective triangles. The exemption runs through Oct. 7, 2031, and covers Aurora Operations plus any other Level 4 carrier that notifies the agency first, under a notice signed by Administrator Derek Barrs.
It replaces four three-month waivers Aurora has operated under since October 2025.
The beacons must be amber, meet the Class 1 photometric requirements of SAE J595 and sit at least 100 inches off the ground, at or above the top of the side mirrors.
They must activate within five minutes of a stop and keep flashing, alongside the standard hazard flashers, until the truck moves again or is recovered.
Every carrier other than Aurora must email FMCSA before starting, certifying under penalty of perjury that it has the beacons and will follow the terms.