Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog
CDL Testing and Licensing Procedures: Overview
The testing and licensing regulations of part 383 contain detailed procedures for anyone wishing to possess a CDL. As an initial note, those regulations were recently revised by the FMCSA, and substantially so. See 76 FR 26854 -26893 (May 9, 2011). The new part 383 establishes “new minimum federal standards for States to issue a commercial learner’s permit (CLP)” and requires CLP holders “to meet virtually the same requirements as those for a CDL holder, meaning that a driver holding a CLP will be subject to the same driver disqualification penalties that apply to a CDL holder.” 76 FR at 26854. The revised regulations were drafted to allow States to gradually implement the new procedural requirements that a driver applicant must fulfill. This is shown by the fact that they impose different requirements for CLPs issued before or after July 8, 2014, as well as for CDLs issued before or after January 30, 2012. The stated goal of the FMCSA in promulgating the new part 383 was to “enhance safety by ensuring that only qualified drivers are allowed to operate commercial motor vehicles on our nation’s highways.”
While in the typical case the rightful possession of a CDL is undisputed, it is nevertheless worthwhile to know what a driver must accomplish to obtain the license. Generally, a driver engaged in intrastate-only operation may be able to qualify for a CDL without meeting the driver qualification requirements of part 391, in particular the requirement of a physical exam and medical examiner’s certificate. Such drivers are subject to the specific driver qualification requirements of their respective states. Prior to the recent revision of part 383, a considerable amount of discretion was left to the States regarding the topics that could be covered within their respective versions of the knowledge and skills testing required to obtain a CDL. However, the new part 383 now mandates that States must include specific types of items as part of their knowledge and skills tests. A review of these items may be worthwhile in the right type of case, and, in any event, it is helpful for counsel to be generally familiar with the procedures that a driver must undergo to obtain a CDL.