By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 5, 2026
Quick answers for Delaware 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
- 4
- 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 Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (Delaware Department of Transportation).
Use the agency testing notes below.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a Delaware CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (Delaware Department of Transportation) 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 permit (CLP)
- $5 (1 year)$5.00 charged when the CLP is issued after the knowledge exams. The DMV CDL page says the CDL learner permit is valid for one year and may not be issued or extended beyond one year from the original issue date. The general driver license page still describes a 6-month CDL learner permit with one $5.00 extension; the CDL page is the more specific source and its term is recorded. The DMV fee script also carries an undisplayed $30.00 learner permit variable that no visible fee line uses, so it is not recorded.
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.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Test fees
Delaware's CDL prices come from the DMV fee table: the 8-year CDL, the 5-year hazmat CDL and the per-endorsement fee, with the learner permit fee stated on the DMV CDL page and in the manual. No Delaware statute section was read for these amounts this pass.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Delaware 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 Delaware
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- DMV examiners give the tests. Knowledge tests are walk-in only at any DMV facility, starting with the General Knowledge test. Skills tests are by appointment only, once the CLP has been held at least 14 days, and are given every weekday except Wednesday. Delaware moved to the modernized CDL skills test (pre-trip inspection, control skills and on-road driving) at all locations on February 26, 2025. The applicant brings a vehicle representative of the class sought, with its registration and insurance; an unsafe, uninsured or unregistered vehicle cannot be tested. The CDL manual says the DMV stays the scheduling contact until a third-party testing program starts; no such program is in operation on the pages read.
- Scheduling
- Book through the DMV's online MyDMV Account Services (My Road Test) or call a skills test office: Delaware City 302-832-5176, Dover 302-744-2515, Georgetown 302-853-1003, Wilmington 302-434-3220. The CDL page links the online scheduler by name only, so no URL is recorded.
- Before you apply
- Class A covers combinations over 26,000 pounds GVWR towing more than 10,000 pounds; Class B a single vehicle over 26,000 pounds; Class C a smaller vehicle designed for 16 or more people or placarded for hazmat. An intrastate driver may be 18 with 1 year of driving experience; interstate and hazmat drivers must be 21 (21 Del. C. 4704(a) amends 49 CFR 391.11 for intrastate commerce). A CLP holder may operate a commercial vehicle only with a CDL holder qualified in the same type of vehicle.
- Intrastate medical waiver
- A driver who cannot meet the federal physical standard in 49 CFR 391.41 may apply for an intrastate-only restricted CDL medical waiver, which excludes passenger and hazmat endorsements. The applicant must have held a CDL and driven vehicles over 26,000 pounds full time for at least 4 of the previous 6 years, with no CDL disqualification and fewer than 4 serious traffic, grade crossing or out-of-service violations in those 6 years, and must supply recent physical examinations. The DMV may require rehabilitation training, refer the case to its Medical Advisory Board, and retest the driver. A K restriction is added to the CDL, and the waiver ends with the CDL or on an earlier date the DMV sets (21 Del. C. 4704(b)).
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 Delaware'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.
Delaware applies the federal entry-level driver training rule as written. Since February 7, 2022, a first Class A or B CDL, an upgrade to a higher class, and a first S, P or H endorsement require ELDT from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry; training comes before the skills test, and before the knowledge test for hazmat. The DMV states that ELDT is an FMCSA program not administered by the DMV or DelDOT.
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: Delaware Commercial Driver's Manual, Version 4.0 (2022 CDL Testing System, release February 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 Delaware.
If you searched for Delaware 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 Delaware startup sequence