Who is required to complete ELDT before getting a CDL?

First-time applicants for a Class A CDL or a Class B CDL must complete entry-level driver training before taking the CDL skills test. Class B CDL holders seeking to upgrade to a Class A CDL must complete the required training for the class they are upgrading to before the skills test. First-time applicants for a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement must complete the required training before the S or P skills test or the H knowledge test.

Driver entry

How to get a CDL

Getting a commercial driver's license runs through one federal gate: entry-level driver training with a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, completed before your skills test. Your state licensing agency issues the license itself. This guide walks the sequence in order, the exceptions, and where the honest cost answers live.

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 22, 2026

The five steps, in order

Confirm you need a CDL at all. The license classes attach to vehicle weight ratings, passenger counts, and placarded hazmat, not to trucking as a job. Start with whether you need one: plenty of van, hotshot, and light box truck operations run legally without a CDL.
Pass the DOT physical. Interstate commercial driving requires a medical certificate from a listed examiner, and your state will ask for it during licensing. Plan to pass the DOT physical first so a disqualifying condition surfaces before you spend on training.
Get your commercial learner's permit. Your state driver licensing agency issues the CLP after the knowledge test. FMCSA does not issue licenses; states do, and state rules can add requirements on top of the federal floor.
Complete entry-level driver training with a registered provider. Federal rule: the training must come from a provider listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, theory plus behind-the-wheel, before the skills test. What that costs and who pays is its own decision; see what training costs.
Take the skills test and get the license issued. Your provider certifies your completion to FMCSA electronically, and once that certification is on file your state licensing agency can administer the skills test (or the knowledge test for a hazmat endorsement) and issue the CDL.

Who the training rule covers

Compliance with the entry-level driver training subpart is required on or after February 7, 2022. The requirements apply to individuals who obtain a commercial learner's permit on or after that date.

FMCSA's Training Provider Registry states that the ELDT regulations set the minimum federal requirements for training that entry-level drivers must complete before being permitted to take certain CDL skills or knowledge tests. Training is required for:

First-time Class A or Class B applicants. First-time applicants for a Class A CDL or a Class B CDL must complete entry-level driver training before taking the CDL skills test.
Class B holders upgrading to Class A. Class B CDL holders seeking to upgrade to a Class A CDL must complete the required training for the class they are upgrading to before the skills test.
First-time S, P, or H endorsement applicants. First-time applicants for a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement must complete the required training before the S or P skills test or the H knowledge test.

Individuals who obtained a commercial learner's permit before February 7, 2022 are not required to complete entry-level driver training as long as they obtain the CDL before the CLP or renewed CLP expires. A CLP must be held 14 days before taking the CDL skills test.

Who is excepted

The ELDT rules do not apply to drivers already excepted from the CDL requirements. The regulation lists four groups:

CDL-excepted drivers. Drivers excepted from the CDL requirements under 49 CFR 383.3(c), (d), and (h), which cover certain farm, firefighting, emergency, and military-equivalent operations.
Restricted-CDL applicants. Drivers applying for a restricted CDL under 49 CFR 383.3(e) through (g), covering certain farm-related service industries and pyrotechnics operations.
Qualifying military drivers. Military personnel with military commercial vehicle experience who meet all the requirements and conditions of 49 CFR 383.77, the military skills-test waiver.
Restriction removals. Drivers applying for removal of a restriction in accordance with 49 CFR 383.135(b)(7).

The ELDT regulations are not retroactive: individuals who were issued a CDL or an S, P, or H endorsement before February 7, 2022 are not required to complete training for that CDL or endorsement.

How the training itself works

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.

There is no required minimum number of instruction hours for theory training and no required minimum number of instruction hours for behind-the-wheel range and public road training. The instructor must cover all topics in the applicable curriculum and must determine and document that each driver-trainee has demonstrated proficiency. Training providers must use written assessments to determine proficiency in the theory portion, and the driver-trainee must receive an overall minimum score of 80 percent on the theory assessment.

The training provider is responsible for submitting certification of your training completion to FMCSA. Once this is submitted, you may work with your State Driver Licensing Agency to take your skills or knowledge test. Except for individuals seeking the H endorsement, individuals must complete the theory and behind-the-wheel (range and public road) portions of entry-level driver training within one year of completing the first portion.

What it costs

Neither FMCSA nor any other federal agency publishes what CDL training costs. Tuition is set by each school, and commercial learner's permit and CDL licensing fees are set by each state driver licensing agency, so no official national figure exists. The figures below are named providers' own published claims, labeled as such. Commercial learner's permit, skills test, and CDL issuance fees are set state by state by each driver licensing agency and vary; no single national figure exists, so none is recorded here. The published claims that do exist, and how company-sponsored training and tuition reimbursement actually work, are broken down in what training costs.

State rules sit on top

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. The license classes themselves are federal standards states implement; the class definitions and the weight lines behind them are laid out in CDL vs non-CDL.

Frequently asked questions

Who is required to complete ELDT before getting a CDL?: First-time applicants for a Class A CDL or a Class B CDL must complete entry-level driver training before taking the CDL skills test. Class B CDL holders seeking to upgrade to a Class A CDL must complete the required training for the class they are upgrading to before the skills test. First-time applicants for a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement must complete the required training before the S or P skills test or the H knowledge test.
I got my CDL years ago. Does the training rule apply to me?: No. The ELDT regulations are not retroactive: individuals who were issued a CDL or an S, P, or H endorsement before February 7, 2022 are not required to complete training for that CDL or endorsement.
Can I get a CDL without going to a traditional school?: The rule requires training from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, not a traditional campus school specifically. There is no required minimum number of instruction hours for theory training and no required minimum number of instruction hours for behind-the-wheel range and public road training. The instructor must cover all topics in the applicable curriculum and must determine and document that each driver-trainee has demonstrated proficiency. FMCSA notes that CDL applicants have reported difficulty locating a training provider that offers only behind-the-wheel training, because some providers require trainees to enroll in both theory and behind-the-wheel training. Applicants who intend to take theory with one provider and behind-the-wheel with a different provider should confirm both providers' policies first.
Is there a deadline once I start training?: Except for individuals seeking the H endorsement, individuals must complete the theory and behind-the-wheel (range and public road) portions of entry-level driver training within one year of completing the first portion.
Can I train or test in a different state?: 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.

Sources

Primary statutes and official agency pages this guide relies on. Laws and fees change, so confirm against the current source before you act.

49 CFR part 380, subpart F and appendices A-B (Entry-Level Driver Training Requirements) · eCFR (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
ELDT Applicability · FMCSA Training Provider Registry
Selecting a Provider · FMCSA Training Provider Registry

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.