To get a Commercial Driver’s License in Alaska, you need to already hold a regular Alaska driver’s license, meet the age and medical requirements for the type of driving you’ll do, pass written knowledge tests at the DMV to earn a Commercial Learner’s Permit, complete federally-registered Entry-Level Driver Training, and then pass a three-part skills test in a vehicle that matches the class you’re after. Plan on at least $125 in state fees, plus the cost of your DOT physical, your training program, and a TSA background check if you want to haul hazardous materials.
Who Can Apply
You must be an Alaska resident with a valid non-commercial Alaska driver’s license. The minimum age is 18 to drive commercially inside Alaska only. You need to be 21 to cross state lines, haul hazardous materials, or drive a school bus.1Division of Motor Vehicles. Commercial License Types
Every applicant also picks a self-certification category describing the driving they intend to do: interstate or intrastate, and excepted or non-excepted from federal medical rules.2eCFR. 49 CFR 383.71 – Driver Application and Certification Procedures You declare your category on Form 413, which goes in with every original, renewal, or upgrade application.3Division of Motor Vehicles, State of Alaska. CDL Self-Certification Requirement If you’ll operate in both intrastate and interstate commerce, you select the interstate category. Drivers under 21 are limited to intrastate categories.
The DOT Medical Card
If you choose a non-excepted category, you need a Medical Examiner’s Certificate before you apply for your CLP. You get it by passing a physical with a provider listed on FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. The exam typically runs between $50 and $225. The card is valid for up to 24 months, and the examiner can issue a shorter certificate when a health condition calls for closer monitoring.
Keep the certification current once you’re licensed. If it lapses, Alaska will cancel your commercial driving privileges until you re-certify.4Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. State-by-State Instructions for Submitting Medical Certificates to the State Driver Licensing Agencies
Pick Your Class and Endorsements
Your license class depends on vehicle size. Class A covers combinations rated 26,001 pounds or more where the towed unit is over 10,000 pounds — most tractor-trailers. Class B covers single vehicles rated 26,001 pounds or more, or those pulling a trailer of 10,000 pounds or less, such as straight trucks, dump trucks, and large buses. Class C is for smaller vehicles that still carry 16 or more passengers or placarded hazardous materials. A Class A license lets you operate Class B and C vehicles; a Class B covers Class C. Pick the class that fits the heaviest or most complex vehicle you expect to drive, because upgrading later means more testing.
Endorsements cover specific cargo or vehicle types and each adds at least a knowledge test:1Division of Motor Vehicles. Commercial License Types
- H (Hazardous Materials): knowledge test, ELDT, TSA background check, age 21.
- N (Tank Vehicles): knowledge test.
- P (Passenger): knowledge test and road skills test.
- S (School Bus): knowledge test, ELDT, road skills test, three years of driving experience, age 21.
- T (Double/Triple Trailers): knowledge test.
- X (Combination Hazmat and Tank): combines H and N requirements.
The hazmat endorsement has a step the others don’t. Before Alaska will issue an H or X endorsement, you must pass a Transportation Security Administration security threat assessment. You submit fingerprints, provide identification, and complete a federal background check. The TSA fee is $85.25, with a reduced $41 rate for applicants who hold a valid TWIC card and are licensed in a participating state.5TSA Enrollment by IDEMIA. Hazmat Endorsement Approval runs two to eight weeks, and clearance must be renewed every five years. Without TSA approval, the endorsement will not issue regardless of your knowledge test score.
Step 1: Apply for the Commercial Learner’s Permit
You apply for the CLP in person at an Alaska DMV office. Bring your current Alaska driver’s license, proof of Alaska residency with a physical address, your Social Security number, Form D1 (the application), Form 413 (self-certification and medical verification), and your Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MCSA-5876) if you selected a non-excepted category.6Division of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
You also need one identity document proving legal name, date of birth, and citizenship: an original or certified birth certificate from a Vital Statistics office, a U.S. passport or passport card, a resident alien card, or a certificate of citizenship or naturalization. Certified informational copies of birth certificates are not accepted. Residents of a Compact of Free Association country should bring an unexpired foreign passport and Form I-94.
At the office you take the written knowledge tests. Everyone takes the General Knowledge test. Depending on class and endorsements, you may also take Air Brakes, Combination Vehicles (required for Class A), and a separate test for each endorsement. Passing is 80% on each test.7eCFR. 49 CFR 383.135 – Minimum Passing Scores
Once you pass, the DMV issues your CLP. It is valid for up to one year and cannot be extended without retaking the knowledge tests.8eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit While you hold a CLP you can practice on public roads, but only with a qualified CDL holder in the passenger seat.
Step 2: Complete Entry-Level Driver Training
Federal regulations require all first-time CDL applicants to complete Entry-Level Driver Training before taking the skills test.9Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. ELDT Applicability ELDT also applies if you hold a Class B CDL and want to upgrade to Class A, or if you’re adding a school bus, passenger, or hazmat endorsement for the first time.
Training has to come from a provider listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry at tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov, which you can search by location. The program includes classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel time for Class A and Class B applicants. Federal rules do not set a minimum number of hours; the provider must cover the full ELDT curriculum and judge you proficient before signing off.10Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Most Class A programs run several weeks. Your completion is recorded in the Training Provider Registry, and Alaska verifies it electronically.
Step 3: Pass the Skills Test
You must wait at least 14 days after your CLP is issued before taking the skills test, and your ELDT has to be complete by then.8eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit The test has three parts:
- Pre-trip inspection. You walk around the vehicle with the examiner and demonstrate that you can tell whether it is safe to operate, including brakes, tires, lights, fluid levels, and coupling devices.
- Basic vehicle control. You perform maneuvers like straight-line backing, offset backing, and parallel parking in a controlled area.
- On-road driving. You drive in real traffic while the examiner evaluates turns, lane changes, merging, speed management, and overall handling.
You have to bring an appropriate vehicle, matching the class and any endorsements you’re testing for. Your training school may provide one, or you may arrange one through an employer. Scheduling the road test takes a non-refundable $25 fee.11Division of Motor Vehicles. License Fees
What It Costs
State fees for CDL services in Alaska are:11Division of Motor Vehicles. License Fees
- CDL issuance: $100 standard, $120 REAL ID compliant.
- CDL renewal: $100 standard, $120 REAL ID.
- Commercial road test: $25, non-refundable.
Alaska now requires CDLs to be REAL ID compliant, so most applicants will pay $120. Those fees do not cover your DOT physical ($50–$225), your ELDT program, or the $85.25 TSA threat assessment for a hazmat endorsement.
Offenses That Can End a CDL Career
Some convictions cost you your CDL privileges whether you were in a commercial vehicle or your personal car at the time. A first conviction for driving under the influence, operating a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 or higher (half the standard limit), refusing a required alcohol test, leaving the scene of an accident, using a vehicle to commit a felony, or causing a fatality through negligent operation of a commercial vehicle brings a one-year disqualification — three years if you were hauling hazardous materials.12eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers A second conviction for any combination of those offenses means lifetime disqualification. Using a commercial vehicle in connection with drug trafficking is a permanent disqualification with no reinstatement.
Keeping the License Valid
Renew before your CDL expires, at the same fee as the original issuance.11Division of Motor Vehicles. License Fees Keep your medical certification current and on file with the DMV. Submit a new Form 413 whenever your self-certification category changes. If you carry a hazmat endorsement, remember that TSA clearance expires every five years and renews separately from the CDL. The background check can take up to eight weeks, and you cannot legally haul hazardous materials while waiting for renewal approval.