By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 27, 2026
Quick answers for North Dakota 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
- agency offices or approved third-party testers
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from North Dakota Department of Transportation, Driver License Division.
Booking points to nqa3.nemoqappointment.com/Booking/Booking/Index/5KIDD4bc.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a North Dakota CDL costs
These are the license-side fees North Dakota Department of Transportation, Driver License Division 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)
- $15 (Up to one year)NDCC 39-06.2-19(2)(b) sets 15 dollars for an application for a commercial driver's license or permit, and the NDDOT cost list prices the CLP at 15 dollars (20 dollars for a non-domiciled applicant). Under NDCC 39-06.2-07(6)(b) the permit may not run longer than one year; after that the director may issue a letter of authority to travel to the road test, or the holder retakes the knowledge test for another one-year permit. The knowledge tests are charged separately.
- Commercial driver's license application
- $15 (Expires at midnight on the birthday anniversary in the second following year whose last digit matches the odd or even last digit of the holder's birth year)NDCC 39-06.2-19(2)(b) prices an application for a commercial driver's license at 15 dollars, and NDCC 39-06.2-08(2) requires the application to carry that fee. The NDDOT cost list names the permit, test, and endorsement charges but prints no separate line for issuing the CDL after the road test, so the statute is the source for this amount. The term comes from NDCC 39-06-19(3), which governs CDLs through NDCC 39-06.2-09(6).
- Commercial driver's license renewal application
- $15 (Renewable no earlier than ten months before the expiration date)NDCC 39-06.2-09(7) requires a renewal applicant to complete the application form of NDCC 39-06.2-08(1), and NDCC 39-06.2-08(2) requires that application to carry the 15 dollar application fee listed in NDCC 39-06.2-19. A driver keeping a hazardous materials endorsement must take and pass the written hazmat test again at renewal. NDCC 39-06-19(5) bars filing the renewal more than ten months before expiration. NDDOT's renewal page lists the documents to bring (proof of legal presence, the current North Dakota CDL, and one proof of North Dakota residence address) and prints no separate fee.
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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All money collected under chapter 39-06.2 goes monthly to the state highway fund (NDCC 39-06.2-19(1)). A first-time applicant's state cost is the sum of the permit application, one knowledge test fee per test taken, any endorsements, and the road test fee.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: North Dakota 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 North Dakota
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- NDCC 39-06.2-07(1) has the director prescribe and conduct the knowledge and skills tests, and NDCC 39-06.2-07(2) lets the director authorize third-party testing when the test matches the state's and the third party has an agreement meeting 49 CFR 383.75. NDDOT's third-party testing page confirms it monitors Third Party Programs and certified Third Party Testers who administer the vehicle inspection, control skills, and road tests. A road test cannot be scheduled without a CLP issued at least fourteen days earlier. The 2025-2027 CDL manual announces the Modernized CDL Skills Test from December 1, 2025, phased in across North Dakota road-testing sites through 2026, changing the brake check, vehicle inspection, and control skills sections.
- Scheduling
- NDDOT's CDL page links this appointment scheduler for all commercial driver license business. Testing happens at North Dakota driver license sites or with an authorized third-party program. nqa3.nemoqappointment.com/Booking/Booking/Index/5KIDD4bc
- Before you apply
- An applicant must be at least 21 to operate a CMV across state lines; 18 to 20 year olds may apply for an intrastate-only CDL, and a CDL restricted to custom harvesting may issue at 16 (NDCC 39-06.2-09(8)). The applicant must be a North Dakota resident (NDCC 39-06.2-07(1)) unless applying for a non-domiciled license (NDCC 39-06.2-09(2)), read, write, and speak English, and meet the federal medical standards of 49 CFR 391. A CLP needs a valid class D license plus the vision and written tests (NDCC 39-06.2-07(6)(a)) and must be held fourteen days before the road test. The handbook's K restriction marks a CDL valid for intrastate operation only.
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 North Dakota'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.
NDCC 39-06.2-06(7) bars issuing a CDL to a CLP holder who has not met 49 CFR part 380, subpart F, the federal entry-level driver training rule, citing 49 CFR 384.230. NDDOT's apply page requires the training before the road test through the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, and the Highway Patrol handbook describes the same federal rule. Nothing read adds a North Dakota training requirement on top of it.
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: 2025-2027 North Dakota Commercial Driver License Manual. 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 North Dakota.
If you searched for North Dakota 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 North Dakota startup sequence