How to Complete the Texas CDL-1 Commercial Driver License Application

The Texas CDL-1 commercial driver license application is the form you complete, in ink, to apply for a Commercial Learner’s Permit or Commercial Driver License through the Texas Department of Public Safety. You download it from the DPS website or pick one up at any driver license office, fill in every field, sign it in front of a notary, and bring it to a DPS office along with your identity documents, Social Security verification, and medical self-certification paperwork. The form itself drives the rest of the process: the boxes you check decide your license class, your endorsements, your air brake status, and which medical category you fall into.¹

Before You Start the Form

You need a valid Texas driver license already in your possession. A CLP cannot be issued without one, and the permit itself is not valid as standalone identification. You also need a Social Security number that DPS can verify electronically with the federal government. If the verification fails, no permit or license will be issued.²

Federal law sets the minimum CDL age at 18.³ At 18 you can drive commercially only inside Texas. To cross state lines, you must be 21. That split matters when you reach the medical self-certification section, because it decides whether you file as interstate or intrastate.

Documents to Bring with the CDL-1

Along with the completed form, bring:

Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful presence, such as a passport, birth certificate, or immigration document.
A government-issued photo ID. Your current Texas driver license works.
Your Social Security card or another document showing the full SSN, in case the electronic check flags a discrepancy.
Current vehicle registration and proof of insurance for every vehicle you own. If you don’t own one, you’ll sign a statement on the form saying so.²
A document showing your Texas residential address, which federal regulations require as proof of state of domicile. A government-issued tax form is one acceptable example.³

DPS matches the names and numbers on the form against the documents you hand over. Even small mismatches, like a middle name that appears on your birth certificate but not on your Social Security card, can stall the application. Check every entry twice before you sign.

Filling Out the Form, Section by Section

The CDL-1 must be completed in ink, and every field needs a response.¹ The sections run in this order:

Applicant information: full legal name (last, first, middle, suffix, and birth surname), SSN, date of birth, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, race, ethnicity, place of birth, father’s last name, and mother’s maiden name.
Contact information: residence and mailing addresses, phone numbers, email, and optional emergency contacts.
Required questions 1 through 9: driving history, the license class you want, endorsements, and whether you want the air brake designation.
Additional questions 10 through 29: medical history, vehicle registration and insurance details, and background questions. The form carries a certification under penalty of perjury, so answer each one honestly.
Certification and notary block: your signature, the date, and a signature from a Texas notary public or other authorized officer.

Three of those sections involve decisions you should settle before you pick up the pen.

Choosing Your License Class

Federal regulations define three CDL classes by vehicle weight:

Class A covers any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, where the towed unit exceeds 10,000 pounds. Standard tractor-trailer territory.
Class B covers any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, or such a vehicle towing a trailer under 10,000 pounds. Dump trucks, large buses, box trucks.
Class C covers vehicles under the Class A and B thresholds that either carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or haul placarded hazardous materials.⁴

A Class A license lets you drive vehicles in all three classes. A Class B covers Class B and C vehicles. Mark the highest class you expect to need, because a higher class drops down freely but a lower class does not reach up.

Picking Endorsements and the Air Brake Box

If your job involves specialized cargo or vehicle types, check the matching endorsement on the form:

H for hazardous materials. Requires a knowledge test and a TSA security threat assessment.
N for tank vehicles carrying liquid or liquefied gas in bulk.
P for passenger vehicles carrying 16 or more. Requires a knowledge test and a skills test.
S for school bus. Requires a knowledge test and a skills test.
T for double or triple trailers. Available only with a Class A license.
X combines H and N into a single endorsement.⁵

Air brakes are not an endorsement. They sit in a separate box on the CDL-1. If the vehicles you plan to drive use air brakes, mark it and plan to pass the air brake knowledge test. Skip it or fail it and your license carries a restriction: an “L” bars you from any air-brake-equipped commercial vehicle, and a “Z” bars you from vehicles with full air brakes.⁵ Most Class A and Class B trucks use air brakes, so skipping the test sharply narrows the vehicles you can legally operate.

If you check the H or X box, you also go through a Transportation Security Administration background check. In Texas, you handle fingerprinting and the application at your local DPS office rather than a separate TSA enrollment center. The fee is $85.25 for new and renewing applicants, or $41.00 if you already hold a valid TWIC card and Texas accepts that threat assessment in place of the hazmat one. TSA suggests enrolling at least 60 days before you need the endorsement.⁶

Medical Self-Certification

Every CDL applicant self-certifies into one of four categories describing how and where they drive commercially. Texas uses separate self-certification forms (CDL-4, CDL-5, or CDL-10) alongside the CDL-1.² Your category decides whether you need a federal Medical Examiner’s Certificate.

Non-excepted interstate: you cross state lines for purposes beyond the narrow exemptions below. The most common category. Requires a current Medical Examiner’s Certificate on Form MCSA-5876.⁷
Excepted interstate: you cross state lines only for specific activities such as transporting school children between home and school, driving as a federal, state, or local government employee, operating a fire truck or rescue vehicle in emergencies, or certain agricultural and pipeline tasks. No federal medical certificate needed.
Non-excepted intrastate: you drive only within Texas and meet the state’s medical certification rules.
Excepted intrastate: you drive only within Texas in activities the state has decided do not require medical certification.

If your work falls into both an excepted and non-excepted category, you must choose non-excepted to be qualified for both types of operation.⁷

For non-excepted interstate drivers, the physical exam has to come from a medical professional on FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, who tests you against the physical qualification standards in 49 CFR 391.41 and, if you pass, issues Form MCSA-5876.⁸ You transfer the certificate’s expiration date and the examiner’s National Registry number onto your Texas self-certification paperwork.

Entry-Level Driver Training

If this is your first Class A or Class B CDL, an upgrade from Class B to Class A, or your first time adding a P, S, or H endorsement, federal rules require you to complete Entry-Level Driver Training from a provider on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry before you can sit for the relevant knowledge or skills test. The requirement has been in effect since February 7, 2022.⁹

ELDT has a theory portion and a behind-the-wheel portion covering range and public road. You have one year from the start of whichever portion you take first to finish both.¹⁰ Your provider certifies you as complete and submits the certification to the Training Provider Registry within two business days. Texas DPS checks the registry before letting you test, so if your training isn’t in the system, you won’t be sitting for an exam.¹¹

Submitting the Form at the DPS Office

Take the completed CDL-1, your supporting documents, and your medical self-certification paperwork to a Texas DPS driver license office. Schedule an appointment in advance; walk-in availability varies by location. At the counter, a license and permit specialist will:

Review the CDL-1 for completeness and match it against your documents.
Take your thumbprints and photograph.
Give you a vision exam.
Collect the application fee.

If the paperwork clears, you go straight into the knowledge tests. Texas administers them in a fixed order: Texas Commercial Rules first, then General Knowledge, then Combination Vehicles for Class A applicants, then Air Brakes if applicable, and finally any endorsement-specific tests you marked on the form.² These are written exams. Pass them all and you receive your Commercial Learner’s Permit.

Fees

Commercial Learner’s Permit: $25 for an original or renewal.
Commercial Driver License, ages 18 through 84: $97 for a new or renewal CDL. If you add a Hazardous Materials endorsement at the same time, the CDL fee drops to $61.
CDL for drivers 85 and older: $26.
Non-domiciled CDL: $121.
Replacement CDL or CLP: $11, which also covers address or name changes and adding or removing endorsements or restrictions.¹²

The TSA hazmat threat assessment ($85.25, or $41.00 with a valid TWIC) is paid through TSA, not DPS.⁶ ELDT tuition varies by provider and sits outside the DPS fee structure.

What the Permit Gets You

The CLP lets you practice driving a commercial vehicle on public roads, but only with a qualified CDL holder in the passenger seat. That person has to be at least 21 and hold the same class of CDL as the vehicle you’re driving.²

A Texas CLP is valid for 180 days or until your underlying Texas driver license expires, whichever comes first. You can renew it once, up to 30 days before expiration, without retaking the knowledge tests.² Federal law caps total CLP validity at one year from the original issue date.¹³ You have to hold the CLP at least 14 days before you’re eligible for the skills test.¹ Use that window for behind-the-wheel practice and, if ELDT applies to you, to finish your training certification before scheduling the road test.

1
Texas Department of Public Safety. CDL-1 – Texas Commercial Driver License Application
2
Texas Department of Public Safety. How Do I Apply for a Commercial Driver License?
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eCFR. 49 CFR 383.71 – Driver Application and Certification Procedures
4
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.91 – Commercial Motor Vehicle Groups
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Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver License Endorsements and Restrictions
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Transportation Security Administration. HAZMAT Endorsement
7
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. How Do I Determine Which of the 4 Categories of Commercial Motor Vehicle Operation I Should Self-Certify
8
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876
9
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
10
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 380 Subpart F – Entry-Level Driver Training Requirements
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Training Provider Registry
12
Texas Department of Public Safety. Driver License Fees
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eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit