How to Get a CDL Permit in Indiana: Tests, Documents, and Classes

To get a CDL permit in Indiana, you need to be at least 18 (21 if you plan to drive across state lines), hold a valid Indiana driver’s license, pass a DOT physical, bring proof of identity and residency to a BMV branch, and pass the written knowledge tests for the vehicle class you want to drive. The commercial learner’s permit costs $17, and you must hold it for at least 14 days before you can take the skills test for a full CDL.¹²

Who Can Apply

You need a valid Indiana driver’s license, a valid Social Security number, and proof that you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Lawful permanent residents must present a valid Form I-551 (green card).³⁴

The age cutoff depends on where you plan to drive. For intrastate driving, you can apply at 18. For interstate driving (anything that crosses state lines), the minimum is 21.³ An 18-year-old with an intrastate credential cannot legally cross into Ohio or Illinois with a load, even for a short run.

Get a DOT Physical

Every applicant must pass a DOT physical with a medical examiner on the FMCSA’s National Registry.⁵ The exam covers vision, hearing, blood pressure, and your overall ability to operate a commercial vehicle safely. If you pass, the examiner issues a Medical Examiner’s Certificate.

One recent change matters here. Since June 23, 2025, Indiana BMV branches no longer accept paper copies of the certificate. The examining physician transmits it electronically to the National Registry, which forwards it to the BMV to post on your driving record.³ Bring your Medical Examination Report form to the branch, but don’t expect to hand over a paper certificate.

Pick a Self-Certification Category

Along with the physical, you tell the BMV what kind of commercial driving you intend to do by selecting one of four categories.⁶ The choice determines whether a federal or state medical certificate applies:

Interstate non-excepted: you cross state lines and must carry a current federal medical certificate.
Interstate excepted: you cross state lines only for specific exempt activities (such as transporting school students or working as a government employee).
Intrastate non-excepted: you drive only within Indiana and meet state medical requirements.
Intrastate excepted: you drive only within Indiana in activities the state has exempted.

If you do both excepted and non-excepted work, you must choose non-excepted. If you drive both interstate and intrastate, choose interstate.⁷ Picking the wrong category creates licensing complications later, so get it right the first time.

Choose Your Vehicle Class

Your permit is tied to one of three vehicle classes, and the class determines which written tests you have to pass.⁸

Class A combination vehicles: any combination with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more where the towed vehicle weighs more than 10,000 pounds. Tractor-trailers fall here.
Class B heavy straight vehicles: a single vehicle of 26,001 pounds or more, or one towing a vehicle of 10,000 pounds or less. Dump trucks, large buses, and bigger delivery trucks.
Class C small vehicles: vehicles below the Class A and B thresholds that are designed to carry 16 or more passengers (including the driver) or transport hazardous materials.

Pass the Knowledge Tests

Every applicant must pass the General Knowledge test, which covers commercial driving rules, vehicle inspection, and safe driving practices. A Class A applicant also takes the Combination Vehicles test, which covers coupling, uncoupling, and handling a tractor pulling a loaded trailer. Anyone who plans to drive a vehicle with air brakes must take the Air Brakes test. Skip the air brakes test and your CDL will carry a restriction that bars you from air-brake-equipped vehicles.

The tests are multiple choice, taken on a computer at the BMV branch. Indiana’s CDL manual is free on the BMV website and covers every topic that appears on the exams. Preparation is the difference between leaving with a permit and leaving with a wasted morning.

Endorsements You Can Add at the Permit Stage

Endorsements expand what you are allowed to haul or carry, but federal rules only allow three on a CLP: P (passenger), S (school bus), and N (tank vehicle). You add them by passing the relevant knowledge test when you apply.⁹¹⁰ The hazmat endorsement, the doubles/triples endorsement, and the combined hazmat/tank endorsement are added only after you earn your full CDL.

What To Bring to the BMV

You need documents proving your identity, Social Security number, and Indiana residency. For identity, bring a certified birth certificate, a valid passport, or other proof of citizenship. Your Social Security number is verified through BMV systems, but keeping the card accessible helps if questions come up.

For residency, bring two separate documents showing your Indiana address.¹¹ The BMV accepts:

Utility, credit card, doctor, or hospital bills that are computer-generated and dated within 60 days of your visit
Bank statements
Pre-printed pay stubs
Medicaid or Medicare benefit statements

If you cannot produce two residency documents, an Indiana Residency Affidavit (State Form 50879) can work instead. Another Indiana resident you live with must sign it at the branch and present their own identification and residency documents.¹¹

At the Branch

Go to any Indiana BMV branch that handles commercial licensing. The clerk verifies your documents, you complete a vision screening, and then you sit for your knowledge tests. If you wear glasses or contacts while driving, wear them for the screening.¹²

The permit fee is $17.¹ Once you pass and pay, the BMV issues a paper interim permit so you can start supervised driving right away. Your permanent card arrives by mail.

The Clearinghouse Check

Before issuing your permit, the BMV checks your status in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Since November 18, 2024, anyone with a prohibited status is denied a CLP or CDL outright.¹³ Prohibited status means you failed or refused a drug or alcohol test and have not completed the return-to-duty process. If that’s your situation, finish the process first; the BMV will not issue the permit otherwise.

What the Permit Lets You Do

A CLP is not a CDL, and the restrictions are strict:

A licensed CDL holder with the correct class and endorsements must sit in the front passenger seat the entire time you are driving. They have to actively supervise; sleeping or riding in the back is not allowed.¹⁴
You cannot operate any vehicle carrying hazardous materials, regardless of endorsements.
If you hold a passenger endorsement on your CLP, the only people allowed on board are federal or state auditors, test examiners, other trainees, and your supervising CDL holder.
You must hold the permit at least 14 days before taking the CDL skills test.²
The CLP is valid for no more than one year. If it expires before you earn your CDL, you have to retake the knowledge tests.⁹

After the Permit: Training and the Skills Test

Holding the permit is not enough to schedule the skills test. Federal rules require most new commercial drivers to complete Entry-Level Driver Training through a provider on the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry.¹⁵ ELDT applies if you are earning a Class A or Class B CDL for the first time, upgrading between classes, or adding a passenger, school bus, or hazmat endorsement.

Training has two parts: theory instruction and behind-the-wheel training on a closed range and public roads. There are no federally required minimum hours for either, but the instructor must cover every topic in the approved curriculum and document that you demonstrated proficiency. You need at least 80 percent on the theory assessment to pass, and simulators cannot substitute for actual behind-the-wheel time.¹⁶ Once your provider certifies you, the certification is transmitted electronically to the registry, and the BMV verifies it there before letting you schedule the skills test. A certification from a provider not listed on the registry will not count.

When the 14-day holding period is up and your training is complete, you can schedule the skills test at one of Indiana’s third-party testing sites. Test in a vehicle that matches the class and endorsements you want. Pass, take your results to a BMV branch, and the full CDL is yours.

1
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. BMV Fee Chart
2
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
3
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Driver’s License Overview
4
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program
5
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 391 – Qualifications of Drivers and Longer Combination Vehicle (LCV) Driver Instructors
6
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical
7
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. How Do I Determine Which of the 4 Categories of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Operation I Should Self-Certify To With My State Driver Licensing Agency (SDLA)?
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.91 – Commercial Motor Vehicle Groups
9
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.73 – State Procedures
10
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Driver’s License Endorsements and Restrictions
11
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Real ID Overview
12
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Vision Screening
13
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Clearinghouse II and CDL Downgrades – State Compliance Begins
14
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
15
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training
16
FMCSA Training Provider Registry. ELDT Curricula Summary