The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 was intended to improve highway safety by ensuring that drivers of  large trucks and buses are qualified to operate those vehicles and to remove unsafe and unqualified drivers from the highways. While the Act established minimum national standards which States must meet when licensing Commercial Motor Vehicle drivers, the individual states continue to actually license drivers. The Commercial Drivers License program places requirements on drivers, the employing motor carrier and the states.The Act made it illegal to hold more than one license and by requiring states to adopt testing and licensing standards for truck and bus drivers to attempt to test the ability to operate the type of vehicle which the person actually plans to operate. The Act does not require or provide for a separate Federal license, but required states to upgrade their existing testing and licensing programs  to conform with Federal minimum standards.

The Federal standard requires States to issue a Commercial Drivers License  in three classifications.

Class A   Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Class B  Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.

Class C  Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials. 

If a driver either fails the air brake component of the general knowledge test or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes, the driver is issued an air brake restriction, restricting the driver from operating a Commercial Motor Vehicles equipped with air brakes.

Drivers who operate special types of Commercial Motor Vehicles also need to pass additional tests to obtain endorsements for
T - Double/Triple Trailers (Knowledge test only)
N - Tank Vehicle (Knowledge Test only)
H - Hazardous Materials (Knowledge Test only)
X - Combination of Tank Vehicle and Hazardous Materials
P - Passenger (Knowledge and Skills Tests)

States develop tests required to be at least as stringent as Federal standards. Model driver and examiner manuals and tests prepared and distributed to states for use, if desired. The general knowledge test must contain at least 30 questions. Applicants must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions to pass general and endorsement knowledge tests, and must successfully perform all skills required by 49 CFR 383.113 to pass skills test. Skills tests must be taken in a vehicle representative of type of vehicle that applicant operates or expects to operate. Other States, employers, training facilities, governmental departments and agencies, and private institutions can serve as third party skills testers for the State, if other qualifications are met.

Individual state determine license fees, renewal cycles, most procedures, and continue to decide the age, medical and other driver qualifications of its intrastate commercial drivers. Interstate drivers must continue to meet 49 CFR 391 Federal driver qualifications. All Commercial Drivers Licenses must contain the words "Commercial Driver's License" or "CDL;"  driver's full name, signature, and address; date of birth, sex, and height Color photograph or digitized image of driver;  State license number; name of the issuing State; date of issuance and expiration of the license; class(es) of vehicle that driver is authorized to drive; notation of any "air brake" restriction issued; and any endorsement(s) for which driver has qualified. States may issue time limited learner's permit for actual behind-the-wheel training on public highways if permit holders required to be accompanied by holder of valid Commercial Drivers License appropriate for that vehicle.

Waiver

States may waive the Commercial Drivers License requirements, subject to certain conditions, for firefighters, emergency response vehicle drivers, farmers and drivers removing snow and ice in small communities. Additionally, states may waive the CDL knowledge and skills testing requirements for seasonal drivers in farm-related service industries,  issuing restricted Commercial Drivers Licenses. Active duty military drivers were waived from Commercial Drivers License requirements by the Federal Highway Administrator.

Public Utilities Commission (PUC)

The Tariff and License branch in the transportation division of the PUC may regulate intrastate trucking. Intrastate trucking refers to freight shipments commencing and concluding within the state. The PUC issues operating permits and sets minimum and maximum intrastate freight rates. The PUC may require trucking firms, depending on the size of the annual gross receipts, to file quarterly and/or annual reports. Requirements vary by state.

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