How to get a hazmat endorsement: steps, cost and timeline

To get a hazmat (H) endorsement you need a CDL, then four things: entry-level hazmat theory training from a provider on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry (for a first H endorsement), a passing score on your state’s hazmat knowledge test, a TSA security threat assessment with fingerprints (the TSA fee is $85.25 for new and renewing applicants as of September 2026), and issuance by the state once TSA sends a Determination of No Security Threat. TSA recommends starting the background check at least 60 days before you need the endorsement, and the endorsement must be renewed at least every five years.

This page is the process from start to finish. The background check itself, including the list of disqualifying crimes and how renewal notices work, has its own detailed page.

Do you need one?

Under 383.93(b)(4), a driver must have the H endorsement to operate a commercial motor vehicle used to transport hazardous materials as defined in 383.5: material that must be placarded under Part 172 Subpart F, or any quantity of a select agent or toxin listed in 42 CFR part 73. The same definition makes a vehicle of any size a CMV when it hauls placarded hazmat. If your freight is never placarded, you do not need it for that freight. The placard thresholds are explained on the placard requirements page.

A driver who needs both the tank (N) and hazmat (H) endorsements gets the code X on the license (383.153(a)(9)(v)). The H endorsement cannot be placed on a commercial learner’s permit; only P, S and N are allowed there (383.93(a)(2)).

Eligibility before you start

• Age. For interstate driving, 391.11(b)(1) sets a minimum of 21. Intrastate age rules are set by each state.
• Immigration status. TSA’s standard in 1572.105(a) covers U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees and certain lawful nonimmigrant categories. A lawful permanent resident must also give the state the USCIS alien registration number (383.71(b)(8)). TSA’s HME page adds that your state may have citizenship or lawful presence rules stricter than TSA’s.
• Criminal history. The permanent and interim disqualifying offenses are in 1572.103, covered in detail in the threat assessment guide.
• Mental capacity. An adjudication of lacking mental capacity, or an involuntary commitment, is disqualifying unless waived (1572.109, 1572.5(a)(4)).
• CDL disqualification. If records show an offense that would disqualify you under 383.51, TSA will not issue its determination until the state or FMCSA decides you are not disqualified (1572.5(c)).

Step 1: hazmat theory training (first H endorsement only)

Since 7 February 2022, 380.609(b) requires anyone seeking the H endorsement for the first time to complete the hazmat curriculum from a provider listed on the Training Provider Registry, and 383.71(b)(11) makes it a condition for taking the hazmat knowledge test. The key features:

• Theory only. Appendix E to Part 380 has no behind-the-wheel part and no minimum number of hours, but the provider must cover every topic.
• 13 units, including basic HM requirements (shipping papers, marking, labeling, placarding), loading and unloading and segregation, bulk packages and rollover prevention, emergency response, tunnels and railroad crossings, routes, and hazmat safety permits.
• 80 percent overall minimum score on the theory assessment (380.715(a)).
• No one-year window. The rule that theory and behind-the-wheel must be finished within a year of starting does not apply to the H endorsement (380.603(c)(3)).
• Grandfathered drivers. A driver who held an H endorsement issued before 7 February 2022 does not need this training for it (380.603(b)).

Some providers teach the hazmat theory online. Providers near you, including online ones, are in the hazmat training directory, and the ELDT rules as a whole are on the ELDT page.

Step 2: the state knowledge test

383.93(c)(4): the hazmat endorsement requires a knowledge test and no skills test. 383.121 lists what it covers, drawn from Parts 171, 172, 173, 177, 178 and 397:

• the regulations: the Hazardous Materials Table, shipping papers, marking, labeling, placarding, packaging, definitions, reporting accidents, tunnels and railroad crossings;
• handling: forbidden materials, loading and unloading, cargo segregation, buses and hazmat, attendance, parking, routes, cargo tanks and safe havens;
• emergency equipment and emergency response, including the special requirements for Class 1.1 and 1.2 explosives.

The pass mark is 80 percent (383.135(a)(1)). A state may give the test in a foreign language but may not use an interpreter (383.133(b)(3)), and must use a different version when you retake a failed test (383.133(b)(4)). You can practise with the hazmat practice test, and find state test offices in the CDL testing directory.

Step 3: the TSA security threat assessment

383.141(b): a state may not issue, renew, upgrade or transfer an H endorsement unless TSA has determined you do not pose a security risk, or you hold a valid TWIC. 1572.13(a) says the same from TSA’s side. The assessment includes a fingerprint-based criminal history check, an intelligence-related check and a final disposition (1572.15(a)).

How to apply

According to TSA’s HME page (read 27 September 2026), you can pre-enroll online or complete everything at an enrollment center, where you provide documents and fingerprints and pay. Appointments can be made online or by phone, and walk-ins are accepted, with appointments taking priority. Drivers licensed in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin apply and give fingerprints through their state licensing agency instead. Enrollment centers are listed in the TSA enrollment directory.

What it costs

The TSA fee is non-refundable and the TSA page describes it as valid for five years. Under 1572.405(c)(3) TSA issues no refunds. Fees change by Federal Register notice (1572.405(a)(2)), so check the TSA page before you pay.

How long it takes

TSA’s page says its goal is to give applicants a status within 60 days, that some processing times may exceed 45 days because of demand, and recommends enrolling at least 60 days before you need the determination. TSA does not send approval letters; it notifies your state, and the state issues the endorsement. Applicants in most states can check status online; the eight state-run states above cannot.

Step 4: issuance

Once the state receives the Determination of No Security Threat and you have passed the knowledge test, it issues the license with the H (or X) endorsement. Within 15 days of receiving TSA’s determination, the state must update your record and notify the national CDL information system (1572.13(d)).

The TWIC shortcut

383.141(b)(2) lets a state issue the H endorsement to a driver who holds a valid TWIC. TSA’s page explains that states may use the TWIC to verify the threat assessment, that the HME issued this way will not expire later than the TWIC, and that you should check with your state whether it offers this. Separately, holders of a TWIC threat assessment with enough time left (one year or four years depending on the state, per TSA’s list) may pay the reduced $41.00 HME fee. More on the card is on the TWIC page.

How long the endorsement lasts, and renewal

• Five years at most. States must require renewal every 5 years or less, so the security check is repeated at least every five years (383.141(d)).
• Notice. The state must notify you at least 60 days before expiry (383.141(c), 1572.13(b)).
• When to start. The rules are not uniform: 383.141(c) and 1572.15(b)(1) say to begin no later than 30 days before expiry, while 1572.13(b) says no later than 60 days. TSA’s recommendation is 60 days. Starting at least 60 days out satisfies all of them.
• Knowledge test again. To keep the H endorsement at CDL renewal, you must meet the TSA requirement and pass the hazmat knowledge test (383.71(d)(3)). TSA’s page notes states may require the written test for new, renewed or transferred endorsements.
• Late determination. If TSA has not decided by the expiry date, the state may extend the endorsement by 90 days (1572.13(c)).

Moving to another state

A CDL must be transferred within 30 days of establishing a new domicile (383.71(c)). To keep the H endorsement, you must meet the TSA requirements and the new state’s requirements (383.71(c)(3)). Under 1572.13(e) a transferring driver does not need a new threat assessment until the renewal period set by the first state runs out, which may not exceed five years; TSA’s page says the same in plain words. Some states also require the knowledge test on transfer.

Keeping it: your continuing duties

1572.11(b): you must surrender the endorsement to the state within 24 hours if you are convicted of, wanted for, under indictment or complaint for, or found not guilty by reason of insanity of a disqualifying offense; if you are adjudicated as lacking mental capacity or committed; if you renounce or lose citizenship or permanent residence; or if you violate your immigration status or are ordered removed. TSA can also direct a state to revoke an endorsement immediately (1572.5(b)).

Worked example: a first H endorsement

Example, applying the steps above. A Class A driver in Ohio decides on 1 March to add hazmat. On 2 March she enrolls with TSA online, gives fingerprints at an enrollment center on 6 March and pays $85.25. The same week she starts an online hazmat theory course from a registered provider and passes its assessment with 86 percent on 14 March; the provider reports completion to the registry. On 20 March she passes the state hazmat knowledge test with 84 percent, above the 80 percent pass mark. She now waits for TSA; its goal is a status within 60 days. When the state receives the determination, it issues her license with the H endorsement. Had she also passed the tank vehicle test, the license would show X. Her endorsement will run for no more than five years, and at renewal she will need new fingerprints and, under 383.71(d)(3), the knowledge test again.

Is it worth it?

The regulations do not set pay, and we have not found an official source that publishes a hazmat pay rate, so this page does not quote one. What the endorsement changes is what you may legally haul: any placarded load, including fuel in cargo tanks when combined with N. It also brings obligations: the five-year check, the knowledge test at renewal, the attendance, parking and routing rules in Part 397, and the segregation rules explained on the segregation table page. TSA’s page adds one side benefit: eligible HME holders can use their CDL number as a Known Traveler Number for TSA PreCheck.

Common mistakes

• Taking the knowledge test before the theory training. For a first H endorsement the training must come first (383.71(b)(11)).
• Starting the TSA check too late. Processing can take longer than 45 days; start 60 days or more ahead.
• Expecting a letter from TSA. TSA notifies the state, not you.
• Forgetting the renewal knowledge test. 383.71(d)(3) requires it to keep the endorsement.
• Using a TWIC-based HME without checking dates. The HME will not outlast the TWIC.
• Not surrendering after a disqualifying event. 1572.11(b) gives 24 hours.