By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 30, 2026
Quick answers for New Jersey CDL applicants
Use this page to answer the three searches most CDL applicants make before choosing a school or booking a test: what the state charges, where the skills test is handled, and whether the state adds anything beyond federal ELDT.
- Published fee lines
- 12
- Skills testing
- the agency's own examiners
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
Amounts below come from New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
Booking points to telegov.njportal.com/njmvc.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
What a New Jersey CDL costs
These are the license-side fees New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 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 Permit (commercial learner permit), sold as the commercial examination test receipt
- $125 (180 days)The MVC License and Permit Fees table prices the Commercial Permit at $125.00, sets a minimum age of 18, gives it a 180 day validity, and requires the applicant to already hold a New Jersey Class D driver license. The CDL pages call the same charge the commercial examination test receipt fee and state it is non-refundable, including when a medical or background result disqualifies the applicant. There is no limit on knowledge or road test attempts inside the 180 days, but once the receipt expires it is renewed at the same $125.00.
- Commercial driver license, initial
- $42 (Four years, except that a first CDL is prorated to expire with the applicant's current New Jersey Class D license)$42.00 plus $2.00 for each CDL endorsement. The MVC fee table prints the same figure for initial and renewal.
- Commercial driver license, renewal
- $42 (Four years)$42.00 plus $2.00 for each CDL endorsement, payable at the agency by credit or debit card, cash, check, or money order made out to NJMVC. Federal regulation forces the renewal in person at a motor vehicle agency; the MVC states renewal by mail is not an option.
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 Jersey prices the test, not the license. The $125.00 commercial examination test receipt is the single largest state charge in the whole sequence and it buys the Commercial Permit as well; the four-year license behind it is $42.00 plus $2.00 an endorsement. No MVC page checked publishes a road test fee, a per-endorsement test fee, or a separate vision test fee, so none is recorded.
Who gives the skills test in New Jersey
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 MVC gives both tests itself. Knowledge tests are multiple choice on a computer terminal at one of the MVC Driver Testing Centers the CDL FAQ names, the general test runs 50 questions, a passing grade is 80 percent, and the general test has to be passed before any endorsement test. Tests are offered in English or Spanish except the hazmat test, which is English only; interpreters and audio tests are not allowed. Scores stay good for 360 days. An MVC safety specialist rides along for the skills test and scores three portions: the pre-trip inspection, vehicle control, and on-road driving. The applicant supplies a commercial motor vehicle matching the class applied for, with a current inspection sticker, valid registration, legible GVWR placards, and no cargo; the MVC does not supply vehicles. A CLP holder waits at least 14 days after the permit issues before the road test unless the wait is waived, and 14 days again after a failure. Repeated failures can draw a six month wait. Pre-trip scores can be banked for one 180 day permit cycle, and the retest can be taken at any CDL test site.
- Scheduling
- Both the knowledge test and the road test need an appointment, booked through the MVC's online scheduling portal. No third-party skills tester program appears on any current MVC CDL page. The only third-party testing material the MVC still publishes is a procurement notice for a one year pilot with three private vendors, whose proposal deadlines ran in 2017 and 2018, so it is recorded as history rather than as an available channel. telegov.njportal.com/njmvc
- Before you apply
- An applicant must be a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident, at least 18 years old, already hold a New Jersey Class D driver license, have at least 20/40 vision in each eye with or without glasses, be able to tell red, green, and amber apart, and be physically fit. Endorsement applicants add 70 degrees of peripheral vision in each eye, and interstate work, hazmat, school bus, or passenger endorsements require age 21 with three years of driving experience. Every CLP and CDL holder files the CDL Holder Self-Certification document and, where the self-certified category calls for it, keeps a valid medical examiner certificate on file with the FMCSA National Registry. Under 21, a New Jersey CDL is intrastate only, the self-certification has to show commerce category 3 or 4, and hazmat and passenger endorsements are off the table.
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 Jersey'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 Jersey restates the federal entry-level driver training rule and adds nothing of its own. Effective February 7, 2022 the applicant completes ELDT from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry: before the knowledge test for a hazmat endorsement, and before the skills test for a first Class A, B, or C, for any first endorsement, and for a CDL upgrade. No New Jersey hour count, state curriculum, or state provider list appears on the MVC pages read.
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 Jersey Commercial Driver's License Manual, Version March 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 New Jersey.
If you searched for New Jersey 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 Jersey startup sequenceFrequently asked questions
Who gives the CDL skills test in New Jersey?
- The MVC gives both tests itself. Knowledge tests are multiple choice on a computer terminal at one of the MVC Driver Testing Centers the CDL FAQ names, the general test runs 50 questions, a passing grade is 80 percent, and the general test has to be passed before any endorsement test. Tests are offered in English or Spanish except the hazmat test, which is English only; interpreters and audio tests are not allowed. Scores stay good for 360 days. An MVC safety specialist rides along for the skills test and scores three portions: the pre-trip inspection, vehicle control, and on-road driving. The applicant supplies a commercial motor vehicle matching the class applied for, with a current inspection sticker, valid registration, legible GVWR placards, and no cargo; the MVC does not supply vehicles. A CLP holder waits at least 14 days after the permit issues before the road test unless the wait is waived, and 14 days again after a failure. Repeated failures can draw a six month wait. Pre-trip scores can be banked for one 180 day permit cycle, and the retest can be taken at any CDL test site.
Does New Jersey require training beyond the federal ELDT rule?
- New Jersey restates the federal entry-level driver training rule and adds nothing of its own. Effective February 7, 2022 the applicant completes ELDT from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry: before the knowledge test for a hazmat endorsement, and before the skills test for a first Class A, B, or C, for any first endorsement, and for a CDL upgrade. No New Jersey hour count, state curriculum, or state provider list appears on the MVC pages read.
Where do the New Jersey CDL fees on this page come from?
- Every dollar amount renders from New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission's own published fee schedule, cited beside the figure. When the agency publishes no figure for a line, this page shows the agency's own note instead of a guess.
Do I need my CDL before starting a trucking company?
- They are separate tracks: the CDL licenses the driver, while operating authority licenses the business. Most owner-operators finish the CDL first because revenue depends on it, then file the business-side registrations. The state startup guide linked on this page covers that second track in order.
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.