By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 4, 2026
Quick answers for Alaska CDL applicants
Use this page to answer the four searches most CDL applicants make before choosing a school or booking a test: what the state charges, which class of license the work needs, where the skills test is handled, and whether the state adds anything beyond federal ELDT.
- Published fee lines
- 10
- Skills testing
- agency offices or approved third-party testers
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles.
Booking points to online.dmv.alaska.gov/starii/index.aspx.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What an Alaska CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles publishes; training tuition is a separate, school-set cost covered in our CDL training cost guide. A line reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note beside it says what the agency does say.
- Commercial instruction permit (CLP, classes IA, IB, IC)
- $15 (180 days, extendable once for another 180 days)$15 under AS 28.15.271(a)(3); the DMV fee table lists the same $15 for commercial and non-commercial instruction permits, with no REAL ID version, and $5 to renew a permit (AS 28.15.271(a)(5)). The DMV CDL page gives 180 days from the permit to finish the road skills test and lets an applicant resubmit forms once to extend the permit another 180 days.
- Commercial driver license (classes A, B, C)
- $100$100 under AS 28.15.271(a)(2)(A). The DMV fee table lists the CDL at $100 standard and $120 REAL ID and says a CDL is required to be REAL ID compliant; the $20 difference is the federally compliant license fee in AS 28.15.271(b)(4). The license term is not stated on the DMV CDL pages read.
Endorsement fees
Endorsements ride on the base license; hazmat also carries a federal background check handled outside the license fee. Our hazmat endorsement guide covers that federal layer.
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Test fees
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Other published fee lines
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Alaska sets CDL fees in AS 28.15.271: $100 for each commercial license including renewals, $25 for each commercial skills test and $15 for an instruction permit, plus $20 for a federally compliant (REAL ID) card, which the DMV says every CDL must be. The DMV fee table lists the resulting $100 standard and $120 REAL ID prices.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Alaska issues licenses against these three rather than writing its own. Pick the class by the heaviest combination you will actually operate, because the skills test is taken in a vehicle of that class.
- Class A
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more (whichever is greater), inclusive of a towed unit or units with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds.
- Class B
- Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more, or such a vehicle towing a vehicle not exceeding 10,000 pounds GVWR or gross vehicle weight.
- Class C
- Any single vehicle or combination that does not meet Class A or B but is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or transports placarded hazardous materials or select agents.
- Which class a hotshot needs
- A hotshot combination needs a Class A CDL when the greater of its GCWR or actual combination weight reaches 26,001 pounds and the greater of the towed unit’s rating or actual weight exceeds 10,000 pounds. Check Class B for a heavy single vehicle and Class C for passenger or hazardous-material use. Federal registration requirements depend separately on the operation.
Endorsements ride on whichever class you hold; the hazmat endorsement guide covers the one carriers ask about most, and CDL versus non-CDL driving covers the boundary case of trucks that stay under the threshold. If the plan is a specific vehicle rather than a license, hotshot trucking and the box truck business guide walk what each one requires end to end.
Who gives the skills test in Alaska
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- The DMV gives commercial road tests at some DMV offices, and its road test page says the DMV has authorized third parties, independent businesses that set their own fees, to conduct road tests for the public; its driving school list includes a CDL category. Under 2 AAC 90.210(m) the skills test runs in order: pre-trip inspection, vehicle control skills, then on-road, and failing one segment ends the test. Passed segments count only during the first issuance of the instruction permit; if the permit is renewed, all three must be retaken. Alaska also issues an Off-Highway CDL found nowhere else: residents of communities off the road system with no DMV services and no skills test offered at least once a year can get a CDL with restriction 7 without any road test and without ELDT, valid only in those communities. Under a federal exemption granted December 28, 2022 and extended through December 28, 2029, residents of 14 named areas (Bethel, Prince of Wales Island, Haines, Ketchikan, King Salmon, Kodiak Island, Kotzebue, Nome, Mitkof Island (Petersburg), Sitka, Skagway, Unalaska Island, Utqiagvik and Wrangell Island) can take an abbreviated road test for a CDL with restriction 8, exempt from ELDT and valid only in those areas.
- Scheduling
- The DMV road test page asks applicants to schedule online. The CLP must be held at least 14 days before the skills test, and road test fees are not refundable. Commercial road test vehicles must carry a front plate with current tabs. online.dmv.alaska.gov/starii/index.aspx
- Before you apply
- A CDL is required for a vehicle or combination over 26,000 pounds, a vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers, or a vehicle hauling hazardous materials. Applicants must be at least 18, or 21 for hazmat, school bus or interstate driving, and a CDL issued to a driver under 21 is restricted to intrastate operation (2 AAC 90.210(h); the DMV adds restriction K). To get the CLP an applicant needs a valid Alaska non-commercial license, proof of lawful status and Alaska residence, a Social Security number, a medical examiner's certificate unless exempted, and passing knowledge tests. A permit holder drives only with a supervising driver who is at least 21, licensed for the class and endorsement, and has held that license for a year.
- Intrastate medical waiver
- A driver who needs a waiver to meet the medical standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b) applies to a different agency by operation type: an interstate driver gets the waiver or skills performance evaluation from FMCSA, while an intrastate driver gets the waiver from the Alaska DOT&PF Commercial Vehicle Compliance office, and a copy goes in with the CDL application (2 AAC 90.440, as the DMV self-certification page describes it).
Every applicant also needs a current medical certificate; our DOT physical guide covers the exam that produces it. Not sure your truck even needs a CDL? Start with CDL vs non-CDL.
The federal training rule, then Alaska's position
Entry-level driver training (ELDT) is federal: it applies in every state before the tests it gates, and the training must come from a provider on FMCSA's registry. The full walkthrough lives in our how to get a CDL guide.
- Who must train
- First-time Class A or Class B applicants; Class B holders upgrading to Class A; First-time S, P, or H endorsement applicants
- Registry requirement
- Entry-level driver training means training received from an entity listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, completed before taking the CDL skills test for a first or upgraded Class A or Class B CDL, before the skills test for a first P or S endorsement, or before the knowledge test for a first H endorsement. You must complete training with a provider listed on the registry.
- States may add more
- States with training requirements that exceed the federal minimum standard may prohibit you from taking the skills test, or the knowledge test for the H endorsement, until you meet their state requirements as well as the federal ones. Federal rules also allow you to receive training and take the CDL skills test in a state other than the state you are licensed in.
Alaska applies the federal entry-level driver training rule: the DMV confirms completion in FMCSA's Training Provider Registry before a skills test for a first Class A or B CDL, an upgrade, or a first passenger or school bus endorsement, and before the hazmat knowledge test. Alaska accepts ELDT completed in other states through registered providers. Drivers whose skills test the state waives under 49 CFR Part 383 are outside ELDT, which in Alaska means Off-Highway CDL holders (restriction 7) and restricted CDL holders in the 14 waiver areas (restriction 8). Removing restriction 8 for an unrestricted CDL requires full ELDT.
The official manual and where this fits
The knowledge tests come straight from the state's own manual, so study the agency's current edition: Alaska Commercial Driver License Manual. The CDL licenses you as a driver; if the plan is your own trucks and your own freight, the business side runs on its own track through start a trucking company in Alaska.
If you searched for Alaska CDL requirements, go here next
Still deciding if you need a CDL?
Start with the vehicle weight and use case. The national guide explains the CDL threshold before you pay for a permit or training.
Compare CDL vs non-CDLReady to drive under your own authority?
The CDL is the driver credential. Operating authority, IRP, IFTA, insurance, and permits are the business credential stack.
See the Alaska startup sequence