By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Oct 4, 2026
Quick answers for New Hampshire 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
- 7
- 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 New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles.
Booking points to dmv.nh.gov/drivers-licensenon-driver-ids/commercial-driver-licenses/cdl-road-test.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a New Hampshire CDL costs
These are the license-side fees New Hampshire Department of Safety, 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 driver learner permit (CLP)
- $20 (180 days)$20 for each commercial driver learner permit under RSA 263:42, I-a. The permit is valid for 180 days and may be renewed once, provided the knowledge tests were passed within one year (RSA 263:88, II); after a year the knowledge tests must be taken again.
- Original commercial driver license and examination
- $60 (Expires on the licensee's birthday in the fifth year after issuance)$60 under RSA 263:42, I. The statute prices the original CDL and its examination as one fee, so New Hampshire charges no separate knowledge or skills test fee on a first attempt. Fees are not refunded once an examination has been taken or a license issued.
- Commercial driver license renewal
- $60 (Expires on the licensee's birthday in the fifth year after issuance)$60 under RSA 263:42, I, the same as the original license. Renewal is in person at a DMV office with the CDL application, the current CDL and a valid medical card, and every renewal includes a vision test; hazmat renewals also need TSA clearance and the hazmat knowledge test.
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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New Hampshire sets every CDL fee in one statute, RSA 263:42: $60 for the license and its examination together, $20 for the learner permit, $10 per endorsement and $20 for a reexamination. There is no separate REAL ID price for a commercial license in the statute and no itemized knowledge or skills test fee.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- Division of Motor Vehicles examiners give the tests. Knowledge tests and the vision test are taken at a DMV office by appointment; passing every required knowledge test earns the learner permit. The road skills test can be scheduled only after the permit has been held at least 14 days and entry-level driver training is complete. Saf-C 1806 sets the order: vehicle inspection, then the control skills test (forward stop, straight-line backing, forward offset tracking and reverse offset backing), then the on-road test, and failing one part ends the exam. Only the applicant, the examiner and an examiner in training may ride in the test vehicle. Road tests are given at five sites: Concord (rear parking area of the Concord DMV building), Durham (UNH campus bus garage lot on Route 155A), Lebanon (I-89 Exit 19 southbound weigh station), Nashua (110 Broad Street DMV) and Twin Mountain (DOT highway maintenance garage on Route 302). Saf-C 1800 names no third-party skills tester program, and none appears on the DMV CDL pages read.
- Scheduling
- The road test page says to call the DMV at 603-227-4000 to schedule a CDL road skills test; the learner permit page gives 603-227-4020 or any DMV office. A retest after a failed road test must be scheduled in person. Missing a road test without canceling at least 24 hours ahead counts as a failure (Saf-C 1806.05(b)), and an application whose holder never appears is kept 12 months and then the fee is forfeited (RSA 263:42, VII). dmv.nh.gov/drivers-licensenon-driver-ids/commercial-driver-licenses/cdl-road-test
- Before you apply
- A CDL is required for a vehicle over 26,000 pounds GVWR, a combination over 26,000 pounds towing a trailer over 10,000 pounds, a vehicle designed for 16 or more passengers including the driver, or any placarded hazmat vehicle. To get the learner permit an applicant must hold a valid New Hampshire driver license, be at least 18, have a valid medical card on file with the DMV, bring a completed DSMV 312 and pass the knowledge tests. A permit holder may operate a commercial vehicle only with a CDL holder aged 25 or older licensed for the vehicle, seated beside them (behind them on a school bus or motor coach), and may not haul hazmat, carry passengers or run a tank that is not empty and purged.
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 New Hampshire'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.
New Hampshire applies the federal entry-level driver training rule as written. Saf-C 1806.01(a) requires every new applicant who did not hold a CDL before February 7, 2022, and does not meet an exemption under 49 CFR Part 383, to finish entry-level driver training under 49 CFR 380.600 before scheduling the road skills test. The DMV lists the same training before the road test for a Class A or B license and for the H, P and S endorsements, and sends applicants to the FMCSA Training Provider Registry for trainers.
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: New Hampshire Commercial Driver Manual, with the Commercial Driver Manual Supplement. 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 New Hampshire.
If you searched for New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire startup sequence