By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026
Quick answers for Connecticut 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
- 9
- Skills testing
- the agency's own examiners
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Booking points to portal.ct.gov/dmv/commercial-and-industry-services/get-commercial-driver-license/cdl-knowledge-vision-test.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a Connecticut CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) 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 learner's permit (CLP)
- $20 (Up to one year from the date of issuance)The $20 permit fee is paid once the required knowledge tests are passed, and C.G.S. 14-44i(b) sets the same $20. The CLP is valid for one year from issuance; a holder who does not get the CDL within that year must retake and pass the knowledge tests for a new permit (C.G.S. 14-44e(g)). A duplicate CLP is also $20.
- New commercial driver's license (CDL)
- $70 (3.5 to 5 years, expiring on the operator's birthday)The DMV fee table lists a new CDL at $70, issued for 3 1/2 to 5 years to expire on the operator's birthday, and the CDL page lists the same $70 for a new license. C.G.S. 14-44h(b) prices the original license at $17.50 per year and has it expire within four years after the operator's next birthday.
- CDL renewal
- $70 (4 years)A four-year renewal is $70, or $118 with a public passenger endorsement, and an expired CDL adds a $25 late fee (C.G.S. 14-44h(b) and 14-44i(a) set the $25 and the $70). The DMV mails a renewal form, renewal is by appointment and cannot be done at a DMV Express office, and the license arrives by mail within 30 days. Hazmat endorsement renewals are processed only at the Bridgeport, Danbury, Enfield, Hamden, Norwalk, Old Saybrook, Waterbury, Wethersfield and Willimantic offices.
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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Connecticut prices the credential in small statutory pieces: $16 for the general knowledge test, $5 per endorsement test, $30 for the skills test, $20 for the CLP and $70 for the license. The school bus (S) fee waiver in C.G.S. 14-44i(d) covers the knowledge test, skills test and CLP fees for an applicant with an employer letter.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Connecticut 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 Connecticut
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 the knowledge tests at DMV offices by appointment only. For the skills test the applicant emails Form R-405 to the DMV at dmv-detu@ct.gov, and the DMV processes the request and gives a test date within three business days. The test has three parts, a pre-trip inspection, a static course and an on-the-road test, in a representative vehicle the applicant supplies (no trailer over 48 feet, no farm, transporter, dealer or repairer plates, no truck-tractor for Class B, no loaded cargo), with a CDL holder to operate it to and from the test. By statute the CLP must be held at least 14 days before the skills test (C.G.S. 14-44e(g)). After passing, the applicant waits two business days and returns to the office where the knowledge test was taken for the license. No third-party skills tester program appears on the DMV pages read.
- Scheduling
- Knowledge tests are booked through the DMV appointment system; skills tests are requested by emailing Form R-405 to dmv-detu@ct.gov. Military personnel meeting the federal criteria may apply for a skills test waiver. portal.ct.gov/dmv/commercial-and-industry-services/get-commercial-driver-license/cdl-knowledge-vision-test
- Before you apply
- A CLP needs a valid Connecticut driver's license, and the applicant must be at least 18 to operate within Connecticut only and at least 21 to operate interstate or haul hazardous materials. The applicant brings REAL ID documents, a Social Security number, printed confirmation of self-certification and Form R-229a, must be registered in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (the DMV checks status before every CDL or CLP transaction), and must have a medical examiner's certificate that the examiner files electronically, because the DMV no longer accepts paper certificate forms.
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 Connecticut'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.
Connecticut applies the federal entry-level driver training rule in 49 CFR Part 380 and adds no curriculum or hour count of its own. Since February 7, 2022, C.G.S. 14-44e(a)(2) bars the DMV from giving the skills test for a first Class A or B CDL, an upgrade, or a first P or S endorsement, or the knowledge test for a first H endorsement, until FMCSA confirms the training. The DMV lists an upgrade from Class C to Class B among the covered cases. One Connecticut layer sits beside the federal rule: a school training others for a CDL must be authorized by the Office of Higher Education, though an employer training its own staff is outside that rule.
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: Connecticut Commercial Driver's License Manual (R-295 Rev. 12/2024), for testing as of July 1, 2025. 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 Connecticut.
If you searched for Connecticut 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 Connecticut startup sequence