How to Get Your Class A CDL in Minnesota

To get a Class A CDL in Minnesota, you pass a DOT medical exam, earn a commercial learner’s permit by passing three written knowledge tests, complete federally required entry-level driver training, and then pass a three-part skills test in a qualifying combination vehicle. A Class A license covers combination vehicles with a gross combination weight rating above 26,000 pounds where the towed unit exceeds 10,000 pounds, meaning tractor-trailers and heavy truck-and-trailer rigs.¹ State fees run under $100 all told. Training is where the real money goes.

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 18 to hold a Minnesota Class A CDL, and that license only lets you drive within the state. Crossing state lines, hauling hazardous materials, or carrying passengers interstate requires age 21.² Many employers won’t hire under-21 drivers at all, so the practical floor is often higher than the legal one.

You also need a valid Minnesota Class D driver’s license before you can apply for a commercial learner’s permit. An expired, suspended, or out-of-state Class D has to be resolved first.

Step One: The DOT Medical Exam

Every CDL applicant needs a current medical examiner’s certificate, usually called a DOT medical card. The exam must be done by a provider on the FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. Your regular doctor cannot sign off unless they are on that list.

For vision, you need at least 20/40 acuity in each eye (corrected is fine), a horizontal field of at least 70 degrees in each eye, and the ability to recognize standard traffic signal colors. For hearing, you need to perceive a forced whisper from at least five feet, with hearing aids allowed. The exam also screens for cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, epilepsy, insulin-treated diabetes (with limited exceptions), and any impairment of the limbs that would interfere with safe operation.³ Plan on 30 to 45 minutes in the office and roughly $75 to $150 out of pocket.

When you apply for the permit, you’ll choose a self-certification category describing how you plan to drive. Most new CDL holders certify as non-excepted interstate, which is the standard category for general commercial driving across state lines. If you’ll do any interstate work at all, you must pick an interstate category because federal standards apply.⁴

Step Two: The Commercial Learner’s Permit

The commercial learner’s permit (CLP) opens the door to training and the skills test. You get it by passing written knowledge tests at a DVS exam station and paying $26.75.⁵

The Three Knowledge Tests

A Class A permit requires passing three written tests, each with a minimum score of 80%:

General knowledge, covering safe driving practices, cargo handling, inspection basics, and general commercial rules.
Combination vehicles, focused on coupling and uncoupling trailers, rollover prevention, and tractor-trailer handling.
Air brakes, covering system components, inspection, and emergency braking. Skip this test or fail it and your CDL carries an air brake restriction that limits which vehicles you can drive.

Minnesota’s CDL manual, free on the DVS website, covers every topic that appears on these exams. The combination and air brake tests are more technical than most first-timers expect.

Documents to Bring

Walk into the exam station with all of the following. Missing one means a wasted trip.

Proof of identity and legal presence, such as a U.S. passport, certified birth certificate, or permanent resident card.
Your Social Security number, shown on your card or a document like a W-2.
Proof of Minnesota residency, such as a utility bill, lease, bank statement, or pay stub showing your current address.
Your DOT medical examiner’s certificate.
Your valid Minnesota Class D license.

Legal presence and residency must come from two separate documents; one piece of paper can’t satisfy both. If you’re not a Minnesota resident, check the current status on the DVS website before you go. As of late 2025, Minnesota paused issuing non-domiciled CDLs at federal DOT direction.⁶

What the Permit Lets You Do

Your CLP allows you to practice on public roads with a licensed CDL holder in the front passenger seat. The accompanying driver must hold the correct class and endorsements for the vehicle. No solo driving. No carrying passengers. No hauling hazmat. A tanker endorsement on a CLP permits practice with an empty tank only.⁷

You have to hold the permit for at least 14 days before you’re eligible to test.⁷ In practice, completing your training takes longer than 14 days, so this minimum rarely becomes the bottleneck. The permit itself is valid for up to one year. Let it expire before you pass the skills test and you’ll retake every knowledge test and pay again.

Step Three: Entry-Level Driver Training

Federal law requires entry-level driver training (ELDT) before you can take the Class A skills test. The rule applies to anyone who got a CLP on or after February 7, 2022, including upgrades from Class B and first-time applicants for the passenger, school bus, or hazardous materials endorsements. There is no grandfather clause for experienced drivers who never held a CDL.⁸

Training has three parts: classroom theory, behind-the-wheel on a closed range, and behind-the-wheel on public roads. The federal curriculum does not set a minimum hour count for any part. The provider decides when you’ve covered every required topic and can demonstrate proficiency, but you must score at least 80% on the theory assessment.⁹ Topics range from pre-trip inspections and coupling to skid recovery, hours-of-service rules, and hazard perception.

Your training provider must be registered on the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. If a school isn’t listed at tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov, its training won’t count toward the requirement.⁸ Costs vary widely, but a complete Class A program typically runs several thousand dollars. This is the biggest expense in the whole process by a wide margin.

Step Four: The Skills Test

The skills test is one appointment with three parts, taken in sequence:

Pre-trip vehicle inspection. You walk around the truck and explain what you’re checking and why. Pointing at parts isn’t enough; the examiner wants to hear the function behind each check.
Basic vehicle control. You perform maneuvers in a controlled area, including straight-line backing, offset backing, and alley docking. Pulling forward to readjust is allowed but costs points. Hitting cones or crossing boundaries can fail you outright.
On-road driving. You drive in actual traffic while the examiner evaluates turns, lane changes, merging, speed management, and awareness. Expect intersections, highway segments, and railroad crossings on the route.

You bring the vehicle. DVS does not provide trucks, and whatever you bring has to qualify as a Class A combination. Most people arrange this through their training school or a prospective employer. Minnesota allows third-party skills testing, so you may not need to test at a DVS exam station at all. Your training provider can tell you what’s available locally.

Step Five: Applying for the License

After you pass the skills test, you apply for the Class A license at a DVS office. The license costs $65, or $45 if you’re under 21. The license is valid for four years. Renewal is $60 and requires a current medical certificate, so DOT physicals continue throughout your driving career.⁵

Endorsements Worth Considering

A base Class A covers standard freight. Specific cargo and vehicle types require endorsements, and the better-paying jobs usually ask for at least one. Each endorsement knowledge test costs $2.50 at DVS.⁵

Hazardous materials (H), required for any placarded hazmat load. Needs a knowledge test and a TSA security threat assessment with fingerprinting, which runs $85.25 (or $41 with a qualifying TWIC). TSA recommends starting at least 60 days before you need the endorsement.¹⁰
Tanker (N), required for bulk liquid or gas loads. Knowledge test only.
Doubles/triples (T), required to pull double or triple trailers. Knowledge test only.
Passenger (P), required for vehicles carrying 16 or more passengers. Needs both a knowledge test and a skills test in a passenger vehicle.
School bus (S), required to drive a school bus. Needs both a knowledge test and a skills test in a school bus.

You can add endorsements when you first apply or at any point afterward.

Military Skills Test Waiver

Current or recently separated service members with the right experience can skip the three-part skills test. To qualify, you must have operated a military vehicle equivalent to a commercial motor vehicle for at least two years immediately before leaving the military and been regularly employed in a position requiring that operation within the past 12 months. Your driving record during those two years must be free of disqualifying offenses, including DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, using a vehicle to commit a felony, and causing a fatality through negligent vehicle operation.¹¹ You still pass the knowledge tests. Submit a Commanding Officer’s certification of your commercial driving experience along with your application at a DVS exam station.

Offenses That Can End Your CDL

Certain convictions cost you the license entirely, and some are permanent. The consequences are harsher than for a regular driver, and they can follow a single mistake.

Offenses committed while operating a commercial vehicle that trigger disqualification include leaving the scene of an accident, using a commercial vehicle to commit a felony, serious traffic violations such as excessive speeding (15 mph or more over the limit) and reckless driving when they accumulate, railroad crossing violations, and violating an out-of-service order (with harsher penalties if you were hauling hazmat or passengers at the time). Manufacturing, selling, or distributing controlled substances using a commercial vehicle brings a lifetime disqualification with no possibility of reinstatement.¹²

Out-of-state convictions count. If another state reports a conviction that would be disqualifying under Minnesota law, the commissioner disqualifies your CDL as if the offense happened here.¹² A DUI in your personal vehicle can also affect your CDL even though you weren’t driving commercially. Commercial driving privileges carry a higher standard across the board.

1
Minnesota Department of Transportation. Minnesota Trucking Regulations – Section 10 Commercial Driver’s License
2
Minnesota Department of Transportation. Minnesota Trucking Regulations Section 08 – Driver Qualification Rules
3
eCFR. 49 CFR 391.41 – Physical Qualifications for Drivers
4
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. How Do I Determine Which of the 4 Categories of CMV Operation I Should Self-Certify
5
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Driver’s License and ID Card Fees
6
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
7
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)
8
Training Provider Registry. ELDT Applicability
9
Training Provider Registry. ELDT Curricula Summary
10
Transportation Security Administration. HAZMAT Endorsement
11
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Military CDL Road Test Waiver – 49 CFR 383.77
12
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 7409.0200 – Disqualification