How to Get a CDL in Georgia: Requirements, Tests, and Costs

To get a CDL in Georgia, you’ll apply through the Department of Driver Services (DDS): hold a regular Georgia driver’s license, pass a DOT medical exam, finish federally registered entry-level driver training, pass the written knowledge tests to receive a Commercial Learner’s Permit, wait at least 14 days, and then pass a three-part road skills test. Budget roughly $177 for a standard eight-year Class A or B license with no endorsements, and plan on two to three weeks minimum from your first DDS visit to a license in hand.

Pick the Class You Need

Georgia issues three CDL classes under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-150, and the one you need depends on what you’ll drive.

Class A: Combination vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more where the towed unit is over 10,000 pounds. Tractor-trailers and most flatbed rigs.
Class B: Any single vehicle at 26,001 pounds or more, or one towing a unit of 10,000 pounds or less. Dump trucks, large buses, straight trucks.
Class C: Vehicles under the Class A and B weight thresholds that either carry 16 or more passengers (counting the driver) or haul placarded hazardous materials.

A higher class covers the lower ones, so a Class A holder can drive Class B and C vehicles. You’ll still need the right endorsements for passengers, school buses, tanks, or hazmat.¹

Confirm You’re Eligible

You need a valid non-commercial Georgia driver’s license before DDS will process a CDL application. Age sets the ceiling on where you can drive: at 18 to 20, you can get a CDL restricted to intrastate work only, meaning loads that stay inside Georgia. At 21, you can walk into any DDS Customer Service Center and have the “Georgia Only” restriction lifted to drive interstate.²

Get Your DOT Physical

Every applicant needs a current Medical Examiner’s Certificate (Form MCSA-5876), issued by a certified examiner on the FMCSA’s National Registry. The certificate is good for up to two years, but the examiner can set a shorter period if a health condition calls for closer monitoring.³

You’ll also self-certify into one of four categories describing how you’ll use the CDL: interstate non-excepted, interstate excepted, intrastate non-excepted, or intrastate excepted. Most drivers land in a non-excepted category and must carry the medical card. If the certificate expires and you don’t send DDS an updated one, Georgia removes your commercial privileges until you catch up.⁴

Complete Entry-Level Driver Training

Since February 2022, federal law requires entry-level driver training (ELDT) before you can take the CDL skills test. It applies if you’re pursuing a first-time Class A or B CDL, upgrading from Class B to Class A, or adding your first H (hazmat), P (passenger), or S (school bus) endorsement.⁵

Your provider must appear on the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. There are no federally mandated minimum hours — the provider must cover every curriculum topic, and completion time varies by student. You need to score at least 80 percent on the theory assessment. Your provider uploads your certification to the Registry by midnight of the second business day after you finish, and DDS checks that record before scheduling your skills test.⁶

Documents to Bring to DDS

Georgia applies Real ID rules to CDL applications. Pull these together before your first visit:

Proof of identity: a valid U.S. passport, certified birth certificate, or other accepted identity document.
Social Security verification: your Social Security card, a W-2, a 1099, or a pay stub showing the full number.
Two Georgia residency documents from separate sources, each dated within the last six months and showing your name and residential street address (utility bills, phone bills, signed lease, mortgage statement, and similar).
Your Medical Examiner’s Certificate (Form MCSA-5876). You’ll be asked for the examiner’s name, license number, and the certificate’s expiration date.
A completed self-certification form choosing one of the four commerce categories.

DDS accepts a range of documents in each category; the full checklist is on the Secure ID page. Confirm your two residency documents come from different sources and that neither shows only a P.O. box, because that single detail sends people home.⁷⁸

Pass the Knowledge Tests and Get Your Permit

At the Customer Service Center you’ll take written exams covering general commercial driving, plus a separate test for each endorsement you want. Passing score is 80 percent.⁹

Pass, and DDS issues your Commercial Learner’s Permit. You must hold the CLP for at least 14 days before taking the skills test, and the permit itself is good for 365 days. Let it expire without passing the skills test and you’ll have to reapply and retest from the start.¹⁰¹¹

Pass the Road Skills Test

The skills test has three parts, and you need to pass all three in one sitting:

Vehicle inspection, where you walk around the vehicle naming components and explaining their safety role. Preparation matters more here than mechanical experience; the sequence is memorizable.
Basic control maneuvers: backing, parking, and other low-speed exercises in a controlled area.
On-road driving in actual traffic, with the examiner scoring lane changes, turns, merging, and overall safe operation.

Bring a vehicle in the correct class for the license you want. If your test vehicle has an automatic transmission or lacks air brakes, your license will come with a matching restriction code until you retest in a properly equipped vehicle.¹⁰

If you fail the knowledge or skills test on your first try, you wait one day to retest. A second failure means a seven-day wait. If you fail the road test because of an accident or traffic violation during the exam, ticketed or not, the wait is 30 days. Each road skills attempt costs $50.¹²

What It Costs

CDL fees are set by O.C.G.A. § 40-5-25 and don’t shift with DDS policy.

Application fee: $35
Commercial Learner’s Permit: $10
License issuance, eight-year term with road test: $82
License issuance, up to five-year term with road test: $70
Road skills test: $50 per attempt
Endorsement added after initial licensing: $5 each

Endorsements included at initial issuance are bundled into the license fee. A standard eight-year CDL with no extra endorsements runs about $177 total: $35 application, $10 permit, $82 license, $50 skills test. Hazmat adds the separate TSA fee below.¹³

Endorsements

Specialized cargo and passenger operations require endorsements, each with at least a knowledge test and some with a skills test as well.

H (Hazardous Materials): knowledge test plus a TSA security threat assessment. Not available on a learner’s permit.
N (Tank Vehicles): knowledge test only. Available for Class A and B.
P (Passenger): knowledge and skills tests. Does not authorize school bus operation.
S (School Bus): knowledge and skills tests. Available for Class A, B, and C.
T (Double/Triple Trailers): knowledge test only, Class A only, and only after you hold the full CDL.
X: combines H and N in one endorsement. Knowledge test only. Not available on a permit.

Endorsements added later cost $5 apiece.¹⁴

Hazmat Adds a TSA Step

The H and X endorsements require a federal security threat assessment through the Transportation Security Administration, separate from the DDS knowledge test. You’ll go to an application center for fingerprints and identity documents (a current U.S. passport, or a driver’s license plus birth certificate). TSA recommends starting at least 60 days ahead because processing can exceed 45 days.¹⁵

The non-refundable fee is $85.25 as of January 2025, or $41 if you already hold a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The threat assessment is good for five years, which is why any CDL carrying H or X is capped at a five-year term rather than the standard eight.¹⁵

Military Applicants Can Skip the Skills Test

Active-duty service members and veterans honorably discharged within the past year can apply to waive the CDL skills test if they operated a commercial-class vehicle for at least two years immediately before separation. Your commanding officer signs a Certificate of Commercial Driving Experience confirming the vehicle types and duration. You’ll still take the knowledge tests and need to score 80 percent or higher.⁹

Allow at least 30 days for DDS to process the waiver. Bring your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), a valid military license, your operator’s qualification record, and your Real ID documents. Fees are $35 for the application and $32 for the license, and veterans with combat status on their license may have fees waived entirely. Some military occupational specialties also qualify for the Even Exchange Program, which waives the knowledge test alongside the skills test.⁹

1
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-150 – Contents of License; Classifications; Endorsements and Restrictions
2
Georgia Department of Driver Services. How Do I Apply for a Commercial (CDL) License (Class A, B, C)?
3
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. For How Long Is My Medical Certificate Valid?
4
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical – Self Certification FAQs
5
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
6
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Training Provider Registry
7
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Georgia REAL ID Information
8
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876
9
Georgia Department of Driver Services. How Do I Apply for a Military CDL Skills Test Waiver or Even Exchange
10
Georgia Department of Driver Services. CDL Licensing Information FAQs
11
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Fees and Terms
12
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Test and Exams Information
13
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-25 – Applications; Fees
14
Georgia Department of Driver Services. Adding CDL Endorsements
15
Transportation Security Administration. HAZMAT Endorsement