Hazmat endorsement (H): requirements, TSA security check and cost

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 6, 2026

The hazardous materials (H) endorsement on a CDL (commercial driver's license) lets you drive a commercial motor vehicle hauling hazmat that must be placarded. To get it you pass a hazmat knowledge test (no skills test) and clear a security threat assessment by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which includes fingerprints and a criminal history check.

The state can't issue, renew, upgrade or transfer the endorsement until TSA has found you don't pose a security risk, or you hold a valid TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential). [2][4][5][6]

Do you need a hazmat endorsement?

You need an endorsement on your CDL to drive a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials. For CDL purposes, hazardous materials means material that must be placarded under 49 CFR Part 172 subpart F, or any quantity of a select agent or toxin listed in 42 CFR Part 73. TSA's own guidance is the same: apply if you have a state-issued CDL and need to haul materials that require placarding.

A vehicle of any size hauling placarded hazmat needs a CDL: if it doesn't meet the Class A or B weight tests, it's a Class C vehicle. So a small truck hauling placarded loads still needs a CDL with the H endorsement. See CDL classes and requirements.

To haul hazmat in a tank vehicle you need both the tank (N) and hazmat (H) endorsements, shown on the license as X. [1][2][5][7][8]

How much does a hazmat endorsement cost?

TSA's fee for the security threat assessment is $85.25 for new and renewing applicants (effective January 1, 2025). The fee is non-refundable and valid for five years. You can pay by credit card, money order, company check or certified/cashier's check.

The reduced rate is $41.00. It applies only if you already hold a valid TWIC card and are licensed in a state that accepts the TWIC security threat assessment through TSA's reciprocity and comparability process.

These are TSA's fees as listed on its page on October 6, 2026. This guide doesn't cover state license or test fees.

Sources: [1]

The hazmat knowledge test and training

The hazmat endorsement takes a knowledge test, on top of the CDL's own tests. There's no skills test for it. The test covers:

• Hazardous materials regulations: the hazmat table, shipping papers, marking, labeling, placarding, packaging, reporting hazmat accidents, tunnels and railroad crossings.
• Hazmat handling: forbidden materials, loading and unloading, cargo segregation, attending the vehicle, parking, routes, cargo tanks and safe havens.
• Operating emergency equipment and emergency response procedures.

Before your first hazmat knowledge test you must finish entry-level driver training from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry. The hazmat curriculum has no minimum number of instruction hours for theory training, but the provider must cover every topic. [2][3][10][11]

The TSA security threat assessment

TSA runs a security threat assessment for every driver who wants to get, renew or transfer a hazmat endorsement. It includes a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, an intelligence-related background check and a final decision.

You can pre-enroll online or do the whole process in person at an enrollment center, where you give your fingerprints and documents, including documents for citizenship verification. If your license is from Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia or Wisconsin, TSA says to go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles for application and fingerprinting information instead.

TSA's goal is to give you a status within 60 days of enrollment; it can take longer if your fingerprints were hard to capture or data is missing. TSA doesn't send approval letters: it tells your licensing state, which gives you the result when it issues your CDL with the endorsement. If TSA finds potentially disqualifying information, it sends you a letter with instructions. [1][6]

Who is eligible?

TSA says you may apply if you are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, naturalized citizen, or a nonimmigrant alien, asylee or refugee in lawful status, and you have a CDL issued by a U.S. state. The federal rule (49 CFR 1572.105) lists the exact immigration statuses, including refugees, asylees and certain nonimmigrants with authorization to work in the U.S.

Check with your licensing state first: it may have citizenship or lawful presence rules stricter than TSA's. The TSA rule applies only to CDLs issued by a U.S. state, which generally doesn't include drivers from Canada and Mexico.

You may be found ineligible for incomplete or false application information, for disqualifying criminal offenses, or for mental incapacity. Mental incapacity means a court or other lawful authority found you lacked mental capacity (including a finding of insanity or incompetence to stand trial in a criminal case), or you were formally committed to a mental health facility. Commitment for observation and voluntary admission don't count. [1][12][13][14]

Disqualifying offenses: permanent and interim

The federal rule (49 CFR 1572.103) has two lists of felonies. They apply to convictions, or findings of not guilty by reason of insanity, in a civilian or military court.

Permanent disqualifying offenses count no matter when they happened. They include espionage, sedition, treason, a federal crime of terrorism, a crime involving a transportation security incident, improper transportation of a hazardous material under 49 U.S.C. 5124 (or a comparable state law), unlawful possession, use, sale or transport of explosives, murder, threats or hoaxes about explosives or other lethal devices against public places, government facilities, public transportation or infrastructure, RICO violations based on one of these crimes, and attempts or conspiracies to commit them.

Interim disqualifying offenses count if you were convicted (or found not guilty by reason of insanity) within 7 years of the date of your application, or released from incarceration for that crime within 5 years of it. They include firearms or weapons offenses, extortion, dishonesty, fraud or misrepresentation (including identity fraud; welfare fraud and passing bad checks don't count), bribery, smuggling, immigration violations, distributing or importing a controlled substance (or possessing it with intent to distribute), arson, kidnapping or hostage taking, rape or aggravated sexual abuse, assault with intent to kill, robbery, fraudulent entry into a seaport, other RICO violations, and conspiracy or attempt to commit these crimes. TSA's own list also counts guilty pleas (including no contest) and findings of not competent to stand trial.

You're also disqualified while you're wanted or under indictment for any of these felonies, until the warrant is released or the indictment dismissed. TSA may also find you ineligible based on watchlists and other databases, extensive criminal convictions, a serious crime not on the lists, or imprisonment of more than 365 consecutive days. [15][16]

Appeals and waivers

If TSA decides you don't meet the standards, it sends you an Initial Determination of Threat Assessment that gives the basis and explains how to appeal. You can appeal if you believe you do meet the standards. If you don't start an appeal (or ask for more time) within 60 days of receiving it, the determination becomes final.

A waiver is a separate request: if you have a disqualifying condition, TSA may still grant the endorsement if it determines you don't pose a security threat. Waivers can cover permanent offenses in 1572.103(a)(5) through (a)(12), all interim offenses, and mental incapacity. The waiver rule doesn't list espionage, sedition, treason or terrorism (1572.103(a)(1) through (a)(4)). You ask in writing, during the application or no later than 60 days after a final determination. TSA weighs the circumstances of the offense, restitution, any mitigation remedies, court or medical release records and other factors, and answers in writing within 60 days (or longer for good cause). [6][14][17]

Renewal, transfers and TWIC holders

States must make you renew the hazmat endorsement at least every 5 years, so the TSA screening repeats. At least 60 days before it expires, your state must notify you and advise you to file your renewal as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days before the expiration date. You submit new fingerprints at renewal, and your state may require you to pass the written tests again.

If you move to a new state, you may not need a new assessment, as long as the new state can issue an endorsement that expires within five years of your last completed assessment.

If you hold a valid TWIC, states may issue the hazmat endorsement based on it after checking the TWIC is valid. The endorsement then won't expire later than your TWIC. Check with your state for details. [1][4][18]

Common questions