Regulations explained

Each of these pages is written against the text of the regulation itself, retrieved from the electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Every factual claim names the section it comes from in the sentence that makes it, and each page ends with the list of sections used and the currency date of the text. Federal regulations are public domain, which is why this can be done properly rather than paraphrased from somebody else's summary.

Tools

Hours of service calculatorLive 11, 14, 8 and 60/70-hour clocks from the duty statuses you tap. Saved on your phone.
CDL practice testsGeneral Knowledge, Air Brakes, Combination Vehicles, HazMat, Tanker, Doubles and Triples, Passenger and School Bus, every answer explained.

DOT Physicals

The DOT physical: every standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)The thirteen physical qualification standards a commercial driver has to meet, who may perform the exam, which forms are used, and how long the…
How a medical examiner gets on the National RegistryThe eligibility, training, testing and renewal requirements for listing on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, and the grounds for…
How often you need a DOT physical: the eight cases in 49 CFR 391.45The 24-month default and the seven situations that shorten it, including insulin-treated diabetes, the vision alternative standard, exempt intracity…
The CDL medical card: self-certification, how it reaches the state, and what happens when it expiresThe four CDL self-certification categories, how the medical certificate now reaches the state electronically, why there is no grace period, and the…
What happens at a DOT physical, and does it include a drug test?The DOT physical step by step: the MCSA-5875 health history, pulse, blood pressure, urinalysis, vision, hearing and the body-systems exam, what to…
What a DOT drug test tests for, and what it does notThe five drug classes in the DOT panel under 49 CFR 40.82, the urine and oral fluid cutoffs, why alcohol, fentanyl, kratom and hair tests are outside…
Marijuana, CBD and the CDLWhy CDL drivers cannot use marijuana even where it is legal, what the April 2026 Schedule III order changed and did not change, how CBD products…
Which medications can CDL drivers take?How 49 CFR 391.41(b)(12) and 382.213 treat prescriptions: Schedule I never, Schedules II to V only under the prescription exception, and…
DOT physical blood pressure limitsThe blood pressure numbers examiners use, where they come from (the Medical Advisory Criteria, not the rule itself), what Stage 1, 2 and 3 mean for…
Sleep apnea and the DOT physicalThere is no FMCSA sleep apnea regulation. How obstructive sleep apnea is judged under the respiratory standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(5), what FMCSA…
Diabetes, insulin and the CDLCan you get a CDL with diabetes? Yes. How non-insulin diabetes is handled, the insulin-treated diabetes standard in 49 CFR 391.46 (MCSA-5870, 45…
DOT vision and hearing requirementsThe DOT vision standard (20/40 each eye and both eyes, 70-degree fields, red, green and amber), the alternative vision standard for one-eyed drivers…
The DOT return-to-duty process after a failed or refused testThe steps after a positive, 0.04 alcohol result or refusal: the SAP evaluation, education or treatment, the follow-up evaluation, the observed…

HazMat Training

HazMat employee training: the five parts required by 49 CFR 172.704The five training components every hazmat employee needs, the 90-day grace period for new hires, the three-year recurrent cycle, and the five things…
Hazmat placard requirements: the 1,001-pound rule and the two tablesWhen a truck needs hazmat placards: any amount of a Table 1 material, 1,001 lb or more of Table 2 materials, and every bulk packaging. The DANGEROUS…
Which hazmat cannot be loaded together? The segregation table explainedHow to read the highway segregation table in 49 CFR 177.848: what X, O, A and * mean, the combinations that are never allowed on one truck, the…

Vehicle Inspection

The annual DOT inspection: what 49 CFR 396.17 actually requiresWhat the federal annual inspection covers, who may perform it, what paperwork has to be on the vehicle, and how long records must be kept. Written…
Who is qualified to perform a DOT annual inspectionThe federal qualification standard for annual inspectors and for brake inspectors: what counts as training, what counts as experience, and what…
Driver vehicle inspection reports: what 49 CFR 396.11 requiresThe daily report, what it has to cover, when a driver does not have to write one, who has to certify repairs, and the three retention periods people…
The new entrant safety audit: what FMCSA checks and how to passHow the new entrant program works under 49 CFR Part 385 subpart D: the 18-month monitoring period, when the audit happens, the 16 automatic-failure…

CDL & ELDT Training

ELDT: who needs entry-level driver training and who does notWho the entry-level driver training rule applies to, the February 2022 grandfather dates, the one-year window to finish theory and behind-the-wheel…
The Training Provider Registry: what a listed CDL school has committed toThe seven conditions for listing on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, the biennial update and 30-day change reporting, the records a provider…
How to get a CDL: the steps, the age rules, the time and the costThe federal steps to a commercial driver’s license in order: the medical exam and self-certification, the learner’s permit and 14-day wait…
Do you need a CDL? Box trucks, RVs, dump trucks, trailers and personal semisWhen a box truck, dump truck, tow truck, pickup and trailer, bus, RV or privately owned semi needs a CDL, measured against the 26,001-pound…
How much do truck drivers make? Pay by state, percentile and pay typeTruck driver pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 survey: national median $58,640 for heavy and tractor-trailer drivers, the 10th to 90th…
CDL schools by state: registered training providers per million residents4,119 CDL training providers on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry, ranked by state per million residents. Which states have the most and fewest…

CDL Testing & DMV

CDL classes A, B and C, endorsements and restriction codesWhat Class A, B and C cover by weight and passengers, the six endorsement codes (H, N, P, S, T, X) and which need a skills test, and the restriction…
Commercial learner’s permit rules: the 14-day wait and what you can driveWhat a commercial learner’s permit lets you do, who must ride with you, the 14-day wait before the skills test, the one-year limit and the…
The CDL skills test: pre-trip, basic control and road test explainedWhat the three segments of the CDL skills test cover, the order, what causes automatic failure, the 80 percent knowledge test pass mark and how the…
CDL disqualifications: which offenses cost a CDL, and for how longThe major offenses that disqualify a CDL holder for one year, three years or life, the serious traffic violations that bring 60 and 120-day…
Can you get a CDL with a DUI or a felony on your record?What federal rules say about applying for a CDL with a DUI or felony on your record: which offenses disqualify and for how long, what the state…
CDL pre-trip inspection checklist for Class A and BThe pre-trip inspection as the CDL vehicle inspection test scores it, in order: in-cab and engine start, the four-part air brake check, lights…
The Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse for drivers: consent, your record, and getting a violation removedWhat the FMCSA Clearinghouse holds about a CDL driver, why you must register to give consent, how long a violation stays visible, how to correct an…
Interstate vs intrastate: which trucking rules apply to youHow FMCSA defines interstate and intrastate commerce (including trips that never cross a state line), what changes for intrastate drivers and…
Speeding tickets and your CDL: serious violations, personal-vehicle tickets and maskingWhat a speeding ticket does to a CDL: the 15 mph serious-violation line in 49 CFR 383.51, the 60 and 120-day disqualifications, tickets in your own…
CDL test sites by state: where the skills test is easiest to reach3,992 CDL skills test locations ranked by state per million residents, and how many registered schools each test site serves.

TSA HazMat & TWIC Enrollment

Hazmat endorsement background check: TSA disqualifying offenses and timingWhy a hazmat endorsement needs a TSA security threat assessment, the permanent and interim disqualifying offenses, the 7 and 5-year look-back, the…
How to get a hazmat endorsement: steps, cost and timelineThe four steps to an H endorsement: entry-level hazmat theory training, the state knowledge test, the TSA security threat assessment ($85.25 as of…
TWIC card: who needs one, how to apply, cost and renewalThe Transportation Worker Identification Credential: when a truck driver needs one to enter port facilities, how to apply, the current TSA fees ($124…

BOC-3 Process Agents

Hotshot trucking requirements: CDL, DOT number, medical card, ELD and insuranceWhat federal rules require of a hotshot operation: when the pickup and trailer need a CDL, why 10,001 pounds brings a DOT number, medical card and…
How to get your own trucking authority, step by stepThe full sequence for a new for-hire carrier: USDOT and MC application, the $300 fee, the 10-day protest period, insurance and BOC-3 filings, drug…
USDOT number vs MC number: what each one is and which you needWhat the USDOT number and the MC docket number each do, who needs one or both, what they cost, marking rules, biennial updates, inactive numbers, and…
Trucking insurance requirements: the federal minimums and the filings behind themThe federal public liability minimums for trucks ($750,000, $1 million, $5 million, and $300,000 for small vehicles), the MCS-90 and BMC-91 filings…
UCR registration: who pays, how much, and how the fleet is countedUnified Carrier Registration explained from 49 U.S.C. 14504a and 49 CFR Part 367: who must register, the six fee brackets for 2026 and the higher…
Form 2290 and the heavy vehicle use tax: due dates, amounts and proof of paymentWho files Form 2290, the due date for every month of first use in the July 2026 to June 2027 period, the $100 to $550 tax, taxable gross weight, the…
Owner-operator vs company driver, and leasing on vs your own authorityHow to become an owner-operator, what a lease with a carrier must contain under 49 CFR 376, what changes with your own authority, and the expenses…
Truck driver tax deductions: what company drivers and owner-operators can claimWhich trucking expenses are deductible, why company drivers lost most of theirs after 2017, the 80 percent meal rule, the $80 per diem for…

Truck Parking

Truck driver hours of service: the 11, 14, 30-minute and 60/70-hour rulesThe four limits that decide when a property-carrying driver must stop, the 34-hour restart, the two-hour adverse conditions allowance and the…
Split sleeper berth: how the 7/3 and 8/2 splits workHow a property-carrying driver can split the 10 hours off into two periods, which period stops the 14-hour clock, and how the limits are…
Truck parking by state: public spaces and truck stops, countedHow many public truck parking spaces each state has, which interstates carry the most, and where the truck stop chains are, counted from the federal…
Personal conveyance rules: how far, when, and what gets drivers citedWhen a truck or bus driver may log a move as off-duty personal conveyance, why there is no federal mileage limit, the laden-vehicle and safe-location…
The short-haul exemption: 150 air-miles, 14 hours and the time recordThe two short-haul exceptions in 49 CFR 395.1(e): the 150 air-mile rule for any driver and the 14/16-hour rule for non-CDL trucks, what they exempt…
The adverse driving conditions exception: two extra hours, and what qualifiesHow the adverse driving conditions exception in 49 CFR 395.1(b)(1) adds up to 2 hours of driving and 2 hours to the duty window, what counts as…
Yard moves: what counts and how to log themWhen moving a truck in a yard can be logged as on-duty not driving instead of driving, how the ELD yard move category works under 49 CFR 395.28, what…
The agricultural exemption from hours of serviceHow the agricultural exception in 49 CFR 395.1(k) removes hours-of-service rules within 150 air-miles of the source during state planting and…
Paper logbooks: when you may use one and how to fill in the gridWho may still use a paper log instead of an ELD under 49 CFR 395.8, including the 8-days-in-30 rule, pre-2000 vehicles and ELD malfunctions, and how…
Hours-of-service violations: fines, out-of-service orders and CSA pointsWhat happens when a driver breaks the 11, 14 or 60/70-hour rules or keeps a false log: the out-of-service order in 395.13, the 2026 federal civil…
Public truck parking by state: spaces per 100 miles of interstate39,803 public truck parking spaces at 1,915 rest areas, ranked by state per 100 interstate miles and per 100,000 residents. Method and full table.

Weigh Stations

DOT inspection levels I to VIII explainedWhat each of the eight North American Standard roadside inspection levels covers, from the full Level I to the electronic Level VIII, who performs…
Weigh stations: who has to stop, how bypass works, and what happens insideWho has to pull into a weigh station (a question of state law), what the federal rules require states to enforce, how bypass services like PrePass…
Truck weight limits: 80,000 pounds, axle limits and state exceptionsThe federal Interstate weight limits in 23 CFR 658.17 and 23 U.S.C. 127: 20,000 lb single axle, 34,000 lb tandem, 80,000 lb gross and the bridge…
CSA scores and your PSP report, explainedWhat a CSA score is, why it belongs to the carrier and not the driver, the seven BASICs, the planned SMS changes, how long violations show on your…
Do truck drivers have to speak English? The English proficiency rule in 2026The English requirement in 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2), why it has been an out-of-service violation since 25 June 2025, how the two-step roadside assessment…
IFTA explained: who needs it, the quarterly deadlines and how the return worksWhat IFTA means in trucking, the qualified motor vehicle test (26,000 lb or 3 axles), license and decals, the four quarterly due dates, how the…
IRP registration and apportioned platesWho must register under the International Registration Plan, how apportioned fees are split by distance, base jurisdiction rules, what the…
GVWR, GCWR and GAWR: the weight numbers that trigger DOT rulesWhat GVWR, GCWR and GAWR mean, where to find them, and the two thresholds that matter: 10,001 lb (federal safety rules apply) and 26,001 lb (a CDL is…
Weigh stations: which states publish their locations, and how dense they areOnly 17 states publish weigh station and port of entry locations as open data. The 381 published sites ranked per 100 miles of interstate, and the…

ELD Devices

The ELD rule: who needs one, the exceptions, and what to carryWhich carriers and drivers must use an electronic logging device, the four exceptions including pre-2000 engines and the 8-in-30-days rule, the…

Getting a CDL, state by state

How much does a CDL cost? State fees comparedEach state’s own fee schedule, with sources.

Get told when the register changes

Licenses lapse and get renewed constantly: in the current data nearly a quarter of the records in one state register have already expired. We re-check the registers and email a short summary of what moved.