By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
Quick answers for West Virginia 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
- 12
- Skills testing
- state-certified third-party testers
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, CDL Division.
Use the agency testing notes below.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a West Virginia CDL costs
These are the license-side fees West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, CDL 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), issued after the knowledge tests
- The DMV publishes no separate CLP issuance charge. The CLP issues once the knowledge tests are passed, and those tests are paid through the 25 dollar CDL testing fee recorded under tests, plus the 7.50 dollar duplicate license fee the manual adds (its Typical DMV Transaction Fees table prices the knowledge test package, three attempts at general knowledge, air brakes and combination, at 32.50 dollars including the duplicate fee). The live CDL page says the permit may not exceed one year and cannot be renewed; the 2023 manual prints 180 days, renewable once within two years. The live page is recorded as the term.Term: Up to one year, not renewable
- Commercial driver's license, standard five-year license
- $43.75 (5 years under the DMV's five-year birthday cycle; a first license can run 3 to 7 years to phase in)The manual's CDL Fee Chart prices the license by the years it will be valid, set by the last digit of the applicant's calculated age (current year minus birth year): 4 years 35.00 dollars, 3 years 26.25, 7 years 61.25, 6 years 52.50, 5 years 43.75, which works out to 8.75 dollars a year. Under 21 the license runs to 30 days after the 21st birthday and costs 26.25 dollars at 18, 17.50 at 19 and 8.75 at 20. W. Va. Code 17E-1-12(e) sets the expiration rule: a license expires on the birthday in a year when the holder's age divides evenly by five, runs three to seven years, and is renewed for five. The live CDL page says the testing fee comes on top of standard driver's licensing fees and does not print them itself.
- Commercial driver's license renewal (five years)
- $43.75 (5 years, expiring on the birthday in a year when the holder's age divides evenly by five)Renewal uses the same fee chart as the original license. Bring the renewal notice and required documents to a DMV office, or complete a CDL-1 application if no notice arrived. An expired license costs a 5.00 dollar late fee on top; a CDL expired less than three years renews with that extra 5.00 dollars, and one expired three years or more must go through initial issuance again, including all knowledge and road skills tests (W. Va. Code 17E-1-12(e)(4)). A hazmat endorsement holder must retest at renewal.
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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W. Va. Code 17E-1-23(b) has the Commissioner set the license fee and the knowledge and road testing fees to cover program costs, and the money goes to the Motor Vehicle Fees Fund. A first-time applicant pays the DMV the testing fee, any endorsements and the license fee from the chart, and pays the Third-Party Examiner separately for the road test.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: West Virginia 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 West Virginia
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- Knowledge tests are taken at DMV regional CDL testing sites named on the test card the DMV mails after it receives the application and fees. Every road skills test is given by an authorized Third-Party Examiner, whom the applicant contacts directly after holding the CLP at least 14 days; the CDL page lists examiners by county. W. Va. Code 17E-1-9(b) lets the Commissioner authorize third parties to give the skills test when it is the same test the state would give and the party has an agreement meeting 49 CFR 383.75, and 17E-1-9(d) allows the skills test waiver of 49 CFR 383.77 for qualifying military drivers. After passing the road test, the applicant takes the results, current license, CLP, DOT medical card and one proof of West Virginia residency to a designated exam center or DMV regional office, where the CDL may be issued.
- Scheduling
- There is no central online scheduler. The DMV mails a test card for the knowledge tests, and the road test is booked by phone with a Third-Party Examiner from the county list on the CDL page.
- Before you apply
- An applicant must be at least 18 with at least one year of driving experience, hold a valid operator's or class D license, and pass the vision, physical standards and knowledge tests before a CLP issues. A CLP applicant must have held a Level 3 Graduated Driver's License or a Class E license. Drivers under 21 get the K restriction (West Virginia only), and their license expires 30 days after the 21st birthday. A CDL holder must be a West Virginia resident (W. Va. Code 17E-1-9(a)). Non-excepted interstate drivers need a DOT medical certificate from an examiner on the FMCSA National Registry, submitted electronically by the provider. The CLP holder may operate a commercial vehicle only with a CDL holder for that vehicle type in the passenger seat and must carry both the CLP and the regular license.
- Intrastate medical waiver
- A driver who cannot be medically certified under the federal standards may apply to the DMV for an intrastate medical waiver by calling (304) 926-3801; the license then carries the K restriction, Intrastate Driving, WV only. Interstate waivers are federal and handled through the number the CDL page gives, (304) 347-5935.
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 West Virginia'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.
The CDL page requires Entry Level Driver Training of anyone who never held a CDL before February 7, 2022, and of first-time P, S or H endorsement applicants, and links the DMV's ELDT applicability flowchart. That is the federal rule in 49 CFR part 380, subpart F; nothing read adds a West Virginia 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: West Virginia Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Rules and Regulations Manual (Rev. 08/2023). 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 West Virginia.
If you searched for West Virginia 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 West Virginia startup sequence