How to Get a CDL in Arkansas: Permit, Training, and Skills Test

To get a CDL in Arkansas, you need to be at least 18, hold a valid regular driver’s license, pass a DOT physical, obtain a Commercial Learner’s Permit from a Department of Finance and Administration Revenue Office, complete federally required Entry-Level Driver Training, and pass a three-part skills test. The license itself costs $50 for five years,¹ but training, medical exams, and endorsement fees push the real cost much higher.

Pick Your Class and Endorsements First

Arkansas issues CDLs in three classes tied to the vehicle you plan to drive. Class A covers combination vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, when the towed unit is over 10,000 pounds — tractor-trailers and heavy hauling rigs. Class B covers single vehicles rated at 26,001 pounds or more, or that vehicle towing 10,000 pounds or less, so dump trucks, straight trucks, and large buses fall here. Class C covers smaller vehicles designed to carry 16 or more passengers or used to haul placarded hazardous materials.² A Class A license lets you operate Class B and C vehicles as well, but a Class B holder cannot move up to a combination rig without upgrading.

Endorsements are added to the base license and each requires its own knowledge test. The most common are Hazardous Materials (H), Tanker (N), Passenger (P), School Bus (S), and Doubles/Triples (T), with a combined HazMat-Tanker endorsement (X) available. The HazMat endorsement also requires a fingerprint-based security threat assessment through the Transportation Security Administration, which costs $85.25 for new applicants.³

One restriction to plan around: if you take the skills test in a vehicle without air brakes, or you fail the air brake section of the knowledge test, your CDL carries an “L” restriction that bars you from any vehicle equipped with air brakes.⁴ Since most commercial trucks and buses use air brakes, that restriction cuts off most of the job market. Test in a full air brake vehicle and study the air brake material.

Confirm You’re Eligible

Arkansas will not issue any class of CDL to anyone under 18.² At 18 you can drive commercially inside Arkansas, but federal rules require you to be 21 to operate a commercial vehicle across state lines. The FMCSA runs a Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot that lets 18- to 20-year-olds haul interstate loads while accompanied by an experienced CDL holder through an approved apprenticeship.⁵

You also need a valid, non-suspended regular driver’s license. A revoked, canceled, or disqualified license in any state disqualifies you. When you apply, you must list every state where you held any driver’s license during the previous ten years so your driving history can be checked.⁶

Get a DOT Medical Card and Self-Certify

Every CDL applicant needs a valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate, the DOT medical card, from a certified examiner listed on the FMCSA’s National Registry. The physical checks vision, hearing, blood pressure, and general fitness to operate a commercial vehicle.⁷ Plan on $75 to $150 out of pocket.

Arkansas also requires you to self-certify what type of commercial driving you do. The four categories break interstate from intrastate, and within each, whether you are “excepted” or “non-excepted” from federal or state medical requirements. Most drivers fall into non-excepted interstate and must keep a current DOT medical card on file with DFA. You can submit the card at any revenue office, by email to cdl.helpdesk@dfa.arkansas.gov, or by mail.⁸

Apply for the Commercial Learner’s Permit

The first in-person step is applying for a Commercial Learner’s Permit at an Arkansas DFA Revenue Office. Bring proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency (a passport or certified birth certificate works), proof of your Arkansas address, your Social Security number, and your DOT medical card.

At the counter you take the CDL general knowledge test, which covers traffic laws, vehicle safety, cargo handling, and basic operating procedures. It runs 50 questions and requires 80% to pass. If you want endorsements, you take those knowledge tests during the same visit. The air brake knowledge test is separate, and failing it locks in the air brake restriction.

A CLP is valid for up to one year from issuance under federal rules.⁹ You cannot take the skills test until at least 14 days after the permit is issued, but nothing forces you to wait the full year.

While driving on a CLP, a licensed CDL holder with the correct class and endorsements must ride in the front passenger seat, keeping you under direct observation. You cannot carry passengers beyond that supervisor, examiners, and other trainees, and you cannot transport hazardous materials at all. If you hold a tank endorsement on your CLP, you can only operate an empty, purged tank.¹⁰

Complete Entry-Level Driver Training

Before you can take the skills test, federal law requires most new applicants to complete Entry-Level Driver Training through a provider registered on the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. ELDT applies to first-time Class A or Class B applicants, drivers upgrading from Class B to Class A, and anyone adding a passenger, school bus, or hazardous materials endorsement for the first time.¹¹

ELDT combines classroom theory with behind-the-wheel instruction. The provider must report your successful completion to the Training Provider Registry before the state will let you schedule the skills test. This is where the real money goes. Programs range from a few thousand dollars for a short course to $10,000 or more for comprehensive Class A programs, depending on the school. Verify any program appears in the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry search tool before you enroll. An unregistered program cannot certify your training, and you will not be allowed to test.¹²

Pass the CDL Skills Test

Once your ELDT is on file and at least 14 days have passed since your CLP was issued, you can schedule the skills test.⁹ In Arkansas, skills testing is done by appointment at Arkansas State Police locations and at approved third-party sites. You must test in a vehicle that represents the class of license you want.

The exam has three parts. The vehicle inspection walks you through a systematic safety check where you name components and explain what you’re looking at, including the full air brake or hydraulic brake check; failing to correctly demonstrate the brake check is an automatic failure. Basic vehicle control tests four maneuvers: a forward stop, straight-line backing, forward offset tracking, and reverse offset backing. The road test puts you on public roads while the examiner evaluates turns, lane changes, merging, and speed management. Any unsafe act during the test, including something as simple as forgetting to set the parking brake before exiting the cab, can end the exam on the spot.¹³

Military Skills Test Waiver

Active-duty service members and recent veterans with at least two years of experience safely operating trucks or buses equivalent to civilian commercial vehicles can apply to waive the skills test. You must apply within one year of leaving a military position that required commercial vehicle operation, and your commanding officer must endorse your safe driving record. You still take every knowledge test and meet every other CDL requirement; the waiver only covers the behind-the-wheel portion.¹⁴

Pay the Fees and Pick Up the License

After passing the skills test, take your results to a DFA Revenue Office and apply for the CDL. Arkansas charges $50 for a five-year commercial license.¹ Endorsement knowledge tests carry their own fees, and HazMat adds the $85.25 TSA threat assessment on top.³

The license fee is the smallest line item. Add the DOT physical, ELDT tuition, and third-party skills testing fees if you don’t test through Arkansas State Police. Private third-party examiners typically charge $100 to $400 for the skills test.

Keep Your CDL: What Gets It Taken Away

A CDL is harder to hold than a regular license. Federal rules impose mandatory disqualification periods for violations committed while driving a commercial vehicle, and they apply nationwide regardless of where the offense happens. A single conviction for driving under the influence, an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or higher, refusing an alcohol test, leaving the scene of an accident, using the vehicle to commit a felony, or causing a fatality through negligent driving triggers a one-year disqualification. A second conviction for any combination of those offenses results in a lifetime disqualification. Using a commercial vehicle in a felony involving controlled substance manufacturing or distribution, or severe human trafficking, brings an immediate lifetime ban with no possibility of reinstatement.¹⁵

Serious traffic violations sit a tier below. Two convictions within three years while driving commercially mean a 60-day disqualification; a third in three years raises that to 120 days. The list includes speeding 15 mph or more over the limit, reckless driving, improper lane changes, following too closely, texting, handheld phone use, and driving a commercial vehicle without the proper CDL or endorsements.¹⁵

Medical certification also has to stay current. If your DOT medical card lapses, your CDL status is marked “Not Certified.” More than 60 days past expiration and DFA downgrades your CDL, ending your commercial driving privileges. Let the downgrade sit for a year or longer and you have to retake every CDL exam from scratch.⁸

1
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Recent Changes in the Law
2
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-23-111 – Commercial Driver License Requirements
3
TSA Enrollment by IDEMIA. HAZMAT Endorsement Threat Assessment Program
4
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Air Brake Restrictions (383.95)
5
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. FMCSA Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program
6
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.71 – Driver Application and Certification Procedures
7
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical
8
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Medical Certification/SPE/Waiver and Exemptions
9
Federal Register. Commercial Learner’s Permit Validity
10
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
11
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
12
Department of Transportation – FMCSA. Find a Provider – Training Provider Registry
13
Arkansas Department of Public Safety. CDL Driver Manual Supplement
14
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Military Skills Test Waiver Program
15
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties