CDL permit (commercial learner's permit): requirements, the permit test and the rules

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 6, 2026

A commercial learner's permit (CLP), often called a CDL (commercial driver's license) permit, is the permit your home state issues so you can practice driving a commercial motor vehicle on public roads with a qualified CDL holder beside you. You must hold one before your first CDL.

To get it you must be 18 or older and pass the general knowledge test (the "permit test") for the vehicle group you'll drive, answering at least 80 percent of the questions correctly. You then wait at least 14 days before the skills test, and the permit lasts at most one year. [1][2][3]

What a CDL permit is

A CLP counts as a valid CDL only for behind-the-wheel training on public roads, and only while a valid CDL holder with the right group and endorsements supervises you from the seat next to you.

The CLP is a separate document from a CDL or a regular driver's license. It must say it is invalid unless you carry the underlying driver's license from the same state with it.

You need a CLP before your first CDL, and before a CDL upgrade that requires a skills test. For the CDL classes and when you need one, see CDL requirements. [3][4][5]

Requirements to get a CDL permit

Under the federal rules, to get a CLP you must:

• Be 18 or older and prove your age.
• Pass the general knowledge test for the vehicle group you operate or expect to operate.
• For a passenger (P), school bus (S) or tank vehicle (N) endorsement on the permit, pass that endorsement's knowledge test.
• Certify that you aren't disqualified and don't hold a driver's license from more than one state.
• Show proof of citizenship or lawful permanent residency (or get a non-domiciled CLP).
• Prove the state is your state of domicile, with a document showing your name and residential address in the state, such as a government-issued tax form.
• List every state where you've been licensed to drive any vehicle in the past 10 years.
• Self-certify your type of driving: interstate or intrastate, excepted or non-excepted.

Since June 23, 2025, a new CLP applicant who certifies to non-excepted interstate driving must be examined and certified by a medical examiner; FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) sends the certificate to the state electronically. See DOT physical.

Before issuing the permit, the state checks your driving record (including records from every state where you were licensed in the past 10 years and national systems for prior CDLs and disqualifications) and verifies your name, date of birth and Social Security Number with the Social Security Administration. It also queries the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. [1][6]

What's on the CDL permit test

The permit test is the general knowledge test. States build their knowledge tests for each vehicle group and endorsement from an FMCSA pre-approved pool of questions. Federal rules list 20 general knowledge areas:

• Safe operations regulations: the driver-related parts of the federal safety rules, including the effects of fatigue, health, alcohol and drugs.
• Vehicle controls and instruments, and safety systems such as lights, horns, mirrors and fire extinguishers.
• Basic control, shifting and backing.
• Visual search, communication (signaling) and speed and space management.
• Night driving, extreme conditions, mountain driving, and fatigue and awareness.
• Hazard perception, emergency maneuvers, and skid control and recovery.
• Cargo and vehicle control, including cargo securement.
• Vehicle inspections.
• Hazardous materials basics: what needs an endorsement, hazmat classes, labeling and placarding.

Two more parts apply depending on your truck. Drivers of vehicles with air brakes must know 7 air brake areas, from system nomenclature and low air pressure to pre-trip, en route and post-trip brake checks. Drivers of combination vehicles must know coupling and uncoupling, combination-vehicle inspections and safe operation, including air brakes.

Endorsements have their own knowledge tests. We don't publish practice test questions.

Sources: [3][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Passing score and retakes

To pass each knowledge test, you must answer at least 80 percent of the questions correctly.

• If you score under 80 percent on the air brake part and the state still issues your permit, it carries an air brake restriction (L: no air brake equipped CMV).
• If you score under 80 percent on the combination vehicle part, you can't be issued a Class A (Group A) permit or CDL.
• If you retake a test you failed, the state must give you a different version.

Knowledge tests may be given in writing, verbally or in an automated format, and may be given in a foreign language as long as no interpreter is used. [2][5][7]

Rules while driving on a CDL permit

• A valid CDL holder with the proper group and endorsements must be with you at all times, in the front seat next to you (in a passenger vehicle, directly behind you or in the first row behind you), watching and directly supervising.
• You must also hold a valid driver's license from the state that issued the CLP.
• You may not drive a CMV hauling hazardous materials.
• The only endorsements allowed on a CLP are P, S and N, each with the limits in the table above (for S, no passengers except the same listed people).
• Every state must let a person with a valid CLP who isn't disqualified operate a CMV there; the supervision rules above still apply.
• CLP holders can be disqualified for listed offenses committed in a CMV or in a personal vehicle.

Sources: [3][5][6][9][13]

How long a CDL permit lasts

A CLP is valid for no more than one year from the date it was first issued without retaking the general and endorsement knowledge tests. A permit issued for less than a year can be renewed, but not past one year from the first issue date.

Renewing also affects the skills test. The skills test runs in order (pre-trip inspection, basic vehicle control, on-road driving), and if you fail one part you can't go on to the next. Scores for the parts you passed count only during the permit's initial issuance; if the CLP is renewed, you must retake all three parts. [3][7]

How long does it take to get a CDL?

The federal minimum wait is 14 days: you can't take the skills test in the first 14 days after your CLP is first issued.

For a first Class A or B CDL (or a first P or S endorsement), you must also finish entry-level driver training (ELDT) from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry before the skills test, and the state can't give the test until it verifies the training electronically. For a first hazmat endorsement, the training comes before the hazmat knowledge test.

Once you pass the skills test in a representative vehicle, you surrender your regular license and CLP and get your CDL, which the state makes valid for no more than 8 years. [1][3][6]

Common questions