Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Requirements Explained
A Commercial Driver's License (CDL) is required to operate large trucks and buses, and requires passing knowledge and skills tests, meeting medical certification standards, and maintaining a clean enough record to avoid disqualification. Carriers must verify a driver's CDL status and history before and during employment.
Key Takeaways
- CDLs require passing general and endorsement-specific knowledge and skills tests.
- Drivers must maintain current medical certification (49 CFR Part 391).
- Certain violations (DUI, reckless driving, multiple serious offenses) trigger disqualification.
- Carriers must verify CDL status and driving history before and throughout employment.
What it takes to hold a CDL
Obtaining a CDL requires passing a general knowledge test and, for specialized cargo like hazmat or tankers, additional endorsement tests, plus a skills test demonstrating vehicle inspection, basic controls, and on-road driving ability. Drivers must also pass a DOT medical exam and maintain current certification, since certain health conditions can disqualify a driver from operating safely.
Federal rules also set disqualifying offenses — DUI, leaving the scene of a crash, using a vehicle to commit a felony, and accumulating multiple serious traffic violations can all result in CDL suspension or disqualification.
Why CDL history matters after a crash
A driver's CDL history — prior violations, disqualifications, medical certification status, and the carrier's verification of all of it — is central to negligent hiring and negligent retention claims. If a carrier hired or kept a driver with a disqualifying record, or failed to verify medical certification, that failure becomes powerful evidence in a lawsuit.
The FMCSA's Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) and Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse are two of the key databases attorneys use to reconstruct what a carrier knew, or should have known, about a driver before the crash.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What disqualifies someone from holding a CDL?+
DUI convictions, leaving the scene of an accident, felony use of a vehicle, and accumulating multiple serious traffic violations are among the offenses that can disqualify a CDL holder.
Do carriers have to check a driver's CDL history?+
Yes — federal rules require checking motor vehicle records in every state where a driver has held a license, both before hiring and periodically during employment.
What is the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse?+
A federal database tracking CDL holders' drug and alcohol program violations, which carriers must query before hiring and annually thereafter.