By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 28, 2026
Quick answers for Maine 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
- 8
- 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 Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, CDL Examination Section.
Booking points to maine.gov/sos/bmv/driver-licenses-and-ids/commercial-drivers-license/commercial-drivers-license-exam.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a Maine CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, CDL Examination Section 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)
- The BMV fee table lists no separate charge for a commercial learner's permit. Its commercial lines are the CDL examination fee, the per-endorsement fee and the license fees. The CDL manual says the learner's permit is issued with a skills test request card after the applicant passes the vision screening and knowledge tests, and that it is valid for a limited time period, without stating the term.
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
Other published fee lines
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Maine prices the credential in three pieces: a $70 CDL examination fee, $20 per endorsement, and the license itself at $34 for 5 years ($59 REAL ID). Every figure comes from the BMV Drivers License and Examination Fees page; the penalty for a late cancellation comes from the Maine CDL manual.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Maine 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 Maine
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- BMV examiners give every test. The applicant mails the CDL application and fees to the CDL Examination Section in Augusta, which schedules the vision screening and knowledge tests through the main office and mails back an appointment notice; interpreters are not allowed on the knowledge tests. The skills test is a separate appointment, which the manual says meets the federal 14-day wait, requested by mailing the skills test request card to the BMV. It has three parts (off-road vehicle control skills, pre-trip vehicle inspection and on-road test) in a vehicle the applicant supplies, representative of the class sought, with a valid registration (no photocopies unless rented) and inspection sticker, no hazmat placards, and no combination over 74 feet or trailer over 53 feet. Only the applicant and examiner ride along, and tests are not given on weekends or holidays. Maine is moving to the AAMVA modernized skills test: the new vehicle inspection applies to skills tests on or after November 1, 2026, and the full modernized test, with the new off-road control exercises, from September 1, 2027. No third-party skills tester program appears on the BMV CDL pages or in the manual read.
- Scheduling
- Tests are scheduled by mail through the CDL Examination Section, 29 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, which returns an appointment notice with the place, date and time. Questions go to 207-624-9000 ext. 52122. A no-show without cancellation gets no further notice until the applicant contacts the section; do not file a new application. maine.gov/sos/bmv/driver-licenses-and-ids/commercial-drivers-license/commercial-drivers-license-exam
- Before you apply
- Maine requires a CDL for a combination of 26,001 pounds or more towing over 10,000 pounds, a single vehicle of 26,001 pounds or more, a vehicle designed for more than 15 passengers including the driver, or any vehicle placarded for hazardous materials; farm trucks with F plates used within 150 miles of the farm and some other vehicles are exempt. The manual sets 21 as the minimum age to operate a bus or haul hazardous materials. Applicants need 20/40 vision in the best eye and a 110-degree field of vision. A permit holder must ride with a licensed operator of the right class who has held a license for two years, sits beside the driver, and is at least 20 (22 for a bus or school bus). Every CDL holder self-certifies the type of commerce; a driver certifying non-excepted interstate or intrastate driving must file a current DOT medical examiner's certificate with the BMV and keep it current, and a driver certifying intrastate commerce gets the K (intrastate only) restriction.
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 Maine'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.
Maine restates the federal entry-level driver training rule and adds nothing of its own. Since February 7, 2022, training from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry is required to get a Class A or B CDL for the first time, upgrade a Class B to a Class A, or get a first school bus (S), passenger (P) or hazmat (H) endorsement. Holders of a CDL or an S, P or H endorsement issued before that date, and anyone who qualifies for a skills test exception under 49 C.F.R. Part 383, are exempt. The BMV's modernized-testing letter confirms the ELDT curriculum does not change with the new skills test.
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: Maine Commercial Driver License Manual, with the Commercial Driver License Manual Addendum (current skills test procedure until September 1, 2027). 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 Maine.
If you searched for Maine 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 Maine startup sequence