How to get your CDL
To obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), you must meet a set of prerequisites, offer documents and pass through a series of test steps. Commercial vehicles are those who weigh £ 26,001. Or more, those designed for the transport of 16 or more people (including the driver), school buses, and mobile cranes, decoupled tractors and most tow trucks. There is also a special license for vehicles that require signs of hazardous materials to display. Commercial driving licenses are separated into three different classes (A, B and C) with Class A licenses used for heavier vehicles.
How to get your CDL
• Check the prerequisites and procurement documents required to obtain a CDL at the nearest Driver’s License office. For an intra CDL, applicants must be at least 18 years old, while interstate commercial drivers must be 21 years of age or older. Provide your full, regular driver’s license, Social Security number and proof of age, identity and residence and pass a vision test and routine knowledge to receive instruction from your commercial pilot permit (the learner).
• Find your nearest truck driving school and book your first truck driving lesson. Take a learner’s license from your commercial vehicle training because it allows you to take commercial driving training when accompanied by a CDL holder who has deemed the license for two years or more a driver’s license Regular for at least five years and holds a relevant license classification for the commercial vehicle you wish to drive (A, B or C). Your employment license is valid for six months, but you cannot drive a commercial vehicle for classified hazardous materials, regardless of who is with you.
• Study the theory of commercial driving while learning the practical elements of truck driving. Although the CDL test is weighted primarily toward being physically able to drive a commercial vehicle, there is also a pre-trip inspection that tests your knowledge of truck maintenance and basic mechanical functions.
• Organize your CDL test once you have completed your truck driving training. Find out if your school is approved for CDL testing, or have your test run with a local CDL test center.
• Perform the CDL test and learn how in this guide
Complete the pre-trip inspection of the commercial vehicle, answer all the questions asked by the inspector and demonstrate your knowledge of the basic functions and features of your vehicle. Your pre-trip inspection does not last more than 45 minutes. Progress in the testing of basic vehicle control skills, where you have to perform a series of simple maneuvers. Maneuvers take up to 10 minutes each to complete. Carry out the CDL test by conducting the road test phase – here you drive in everyday traffic accompanied by an evaluator, who will test your skills in routine driving situations.
