How to Get a CDL Learner’s Permit in Florida: Tests and Fees

To get a CDL learner’s permit in Florida, you need a valid Florida Class E driver’s license, you must be at least 18, and you have to pass a DOT medical exam, bring identity and residency documents to a DHSMV service center or county tax collector office, pay a $75 fee, and pass the written knowledge tests for the class of CDL you want. The permit itself is a paper document that lets you practice driving a commercial vehicle under supervision while you work toward the full license.

Who Qualifies

You must already hold a valid Florida Class E operator’s license, the standard non-commercial license. The state will not process a commercial permit application without one.¹

The minimum age is 18. If you’re between 18 and 20, your CLP and any CDL that follows will carry an intrastate-only restriction, meaning you can drive commercially inside Florida but cannot cross state lines for work until you turn 21.² The age-21 floor for interstate driving comes from federal regulation.³

Florida residency is checked more strictly for commercial applicants than for regular drivers. You need one document showing at least six consecutive months of Florida residency. A Class E license or state ID held for more than six months counts, as does a residential lease or mortgage signed more than six months ago, a Florida voter registration card, or a homestead tax exemption filing.¹

Get Your DOT Physical and Self-Certify

Federal rules under 49 CFR Part 391 set physical standards for commercial drivers.⁴ The exam has to be done by a provider listed on the FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. A regular family doctor cannot do the exam unless they appear on that registry. The physical covers vision, hearing, blood pressure, and other conditions that could affect safe operation of a large vehicle. Plan on paying roughly $60 to $200 out of pocket, depending on the provider.

When you pass, the examiner issues a Medical Examiner’s Certificate (Form MCSA-5876). You submit that certificate to the DHSMV so it posts to your driving record. If the certification lapses, Florida will downgrade or cancel your commercial driving privileges.

Before issuing a permit, Florida also requires you to self-certify which type of commercial driving you plan to do: non-excepted interstate, excepted interstate, non-excepted intrastate, or excepted intrastate.⁵ A non-excepted interstate certification requires the medical certificate. Some excepted categories, such as certain farm operations over short distances, may not. The DHSMV’s CDL Medical Information page walks through the self-certification choice.⁶

What to Bring to the Office

Florida Statute 322.08 spells out the identification required for any driver license application, including a CLP.⁷ Bring originals of each of the following:

Proof of identity, such as a valid U.S. passport or certified U.S. birth certificate.
Your Social Security card or an official document showing your full Social Security number.
One document from the CDL residency list showing at least six months at a Florida address.
Your Medical Examiner’s Certificate, if your self-certification category requires it.
Your current Florida Class E license.

Photocopies will not be accepted. The clerk reviews each document before entering your information. One missing item means a second trip.

Which Knowledge Tests You’ll Take

Every applicant takes the General Knowledge test, which covers safe driving, vehicle inspection, cargo handling, and the traffic laws that apply to commercial vehicles.⁸ Additional tests depend on the class of CDL you’re after:

Class A (combination vehicles): General Knowledge plus the Combination Vehicles test, with the Air Brakes test added if the vehicle has air brakes.
Class B (straight trucks, buses): General Knowledge, plus Air Brakes if applicable.
Class C (hazmat transport or passenger vehicles under 26,001 pounds): General Knowledge plus the endorsement-specific test for your cargo or passenger type.

You can also test for endorsements at the permit stage, but federal law limits CLP endorsements to three: Passenger (P), School Bus (S), and Tank Vehicle (N). Hazardous Materials (H) and all other endorsements are not available on a CLP.⁹ Each endorsement costs $7.¹⁰

Tests are computerized and taken on-site. The Florida CDL Handbook, free from the DHSMV, is the standard study resource and covers every topic the exams draw from.

Fees and the Office Visit

Apply in person at a DHSMV service center or an authorized county tax collector office. Appointments cut the wait substantially at busier locations. Walk-ins are accepted.

Florida Statute 322.21 sets the fee for an original commercial driver’s license at $75.¹¹ Knowledge test retakes are $10 each. Skill test retakes, which come later in the CDL process, run $20.¹² Endorsements add $7 apiece.

Pass the knowledge tests, clear the document check, and the office issues a paper CLP. Keep it on you whenever you’re driving a commercial vehicle during training.

What You Can Do With the Permit

A CLP is a practice permit, not a license to drive alone. Any time you operate a commercial vehicle, a fully licensed CDL holder must be in the front passenger seat (or, in a passenger vehicle, directly behind you). That person must hold the correct class and endorsements for the vehicle you’re driving: a Class B holder cannot supervise you in a Class A combination.⁹

CLP holders cannot transport hazardous materials of any kind. If you hold the tank (N) endorsement on your permit, any tank you practice in must be completely empty and purged of hazardous residue.¹³ If you hold a Passenger or School Bus endorsement, you cannot carry regular passengers; the only people allowed on board are federal or state auditors, test examiners, other trainees, and your supervising CDL holder.

A CLP can be valid for up to one year from issuance, and it can be renewed within that window without retesting; after a year from the original issue date, you’d need to retake the knowledge tests.⁵ One rule catches most new applicants off guard: you cannot take the CDL skills test during the first 14 days after your CLP is issued, no matter how experienced you are.⁹

Finish Entry-Level Driver Training Before the Skills Test

Holding the permit is not enough to schedule the skills test. Since February 2022, federal regulations require most first-time CDL applicants to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) through an FMCSA-approved provider before testing for a Class A or Class B CDL, or adding a Passenger, School Bus, or Hazardous Materials endorsement for the first time.¹⁴

ELDT has a theory portion and a behind-the-wheel portion. There are no federal minimum hours, but your provider must cover every topic in the FMCSA curriculum, you must score at least 80 percent on theory assessments, and the behind-the-wheel training has to happen in a real vehicle on a range and on public roads.¹⁵ Simulators do not satisfy the requirement.

Pick your provider from the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry at tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov.¹⁶ When you finish, the provider submits your training certification to the FMCSA by midnight of the second business day after completion. Check the registry to confirm your record posted before you schedule the skills test. If the certification is not in the system, the examiner will not test you.

What Can Block Your Permit

The FMCSA runs a national Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse that tracks violations by CDL and CLP holders. As of November 18, 2024, states must query the Clearinghouse before issuing or renewing a CLP or CDL.⁵ If you have an unresolved violation on record, you’ll be in prohibited status, and Florida will not issue your permit until you complete the federal return-to-duty process.¹⁷ You can create a free driver account on the Clearinghouse website to check your own record before you apply.

Certain offenses also disqualify you from commercial driving entirely. A DUI conviction typically carries at least a one-year disqualification. Using a commercial vehicle in a felony, drug trafficking, and refusing a required chemical test carry similarly serious consequences. These rules apply during the permit phase, not just after you earn the full CDL.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Commercial Driver License
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers
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eCFR. 49 CFR 391.11 – General Qualifications of Drivers
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eCFR. 49 CFR Part 391 – Qualifications of Drivers and Longer Combination Vehicle (LCV) Driver Instructors
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eCFR. 49 CFR 383.73 – State Procedures
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. CDL Medical Information
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Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.08 – Application for License; Requirements for License and Identification Card Forms
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Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.12 – Examination of Applicants
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eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.21 – License Fees; Procedure for Handling and Collecting Fees
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Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.21 – License Fees; Procedure for Handling and Collecting Fees
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
13
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Drivers
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. ELDT Entry-Level Driver Training Minimum Federal Curricula Requirements
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Training Provider Registry
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse