CDL License Requirements and General Qualifications

 

According to federal regulations (§391.11), a CDL driver must meet the following general qualifications.

A person shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless he/she is qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. Except as provided in §391.63, a motor carrier shall not require or permit a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless that person is qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

Except for limited exemptions, you are qualified to drive a motor vehicle if you:

• Are at least 21 years old.
• Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.
• Can, by reason of experience, training, or both, safely operate the type of commercial motor vehicle you drive.
• Are physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
• Have a currently valid commercial motor vehicle operator’s license issued only by one State or jurisdiction.
• Have prepared and furnished the motor carrier that employs you with the list of violations or the certificate as required by §391.27.
• Are not disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle under the rules in §391.15.
• Have successfully completed a driver’s road test and has been issued a certificate of driver’s road test in accordance with §391.31, or has presented an operator’s license or a certificate of road test which the motor carrier that employs you has accepted as equivalent to a road test in accordance with §391.33.

Complete details on the CDL General Qualifications can be found here