How to Transfer Your Commercial Driver’s License to Texas

To transfer your CDL to Texas, you have 30 days from the day you establish residency to visit a Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License office, surrender your out-of-state commercial driver’s license, and apply for a Texas CDL. If your current license is valid and in good standing, Texas waives both the knowledge and skills tests for the same class and endorsements you already hold, and you walk out with a temporary CDL the same day. The paperwork is where people get stuck, especially the medical certificate.

The 30-Day Deadline

Federal law requires any CDL holder who moves to apply for a transfer within 30 days of establishing domicile in the new state.¹ This is not a Texas rule. It applies in every state, and driving past that window on an out-of-state CDL puts you out of compliance during roadside inspections and with employers who verify credentials.

You cannot legally hold CDLs from two states at once. When Texas issues your new license, you surrender the old one, and Texas notifies your previous state.¹

Texas normally requires 30 days of in-state residency before issuing a driver’s license, but that waiting period is waived when you surrender a valid out-of-state license or apply for a CDL.² You can apply on your first day in Texas if your documents are in order.

Who Can Transfer

Your existing CDL must be valid and unexpired. If it is suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified anywhere, Texas will not issue a new one. The DPS checks your record against federal databases, so unresolved issues from other states will surface.¹

You must be at least 18 to operate a commercial vehicle entirely within Texas, and 21 to drive interstate or haul placarded hazardous materials.

You also need a current Medical Examiner’s Certificate from a provider listed on the FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.³ A valid DOT medical card from your previous state works. If yours is expired or close to expiring, book an exam with a registered provider before your DPS visit.

Documents to Bring

Missing a single document means a wasted trip. Gather all of this before you go:

Your current out-of-state CDL, which serves as identity and the license you’ll surrender.
A primary identity document such as a valid U.S. passport if you want a second form of ID.⁴
Two documents proving Texas residency, each showing your name and Texas address. A deed, mortgage statement, residential lease, or utility bill qualifies. Documents must be dated within the DPS’s required window.²
Proof of your Social Security number. The card itself is cleanest; a W-2 or 1099 also works.⁴
Your current DOT medical card, Form MCSA-5876.⁵
Current Texas vehicle registration and proof of insurance.⁶
Your completed CDL application. Fill it out online in advance to save time at the office.⁷

Pick the Right Self-Certification Category

The application asks you to self-certify into one of four categories describing your commercial driving. Rushing through this is a common mistake, and picking the wrong box can cause your CDL to be downgraded later. The categories are:

Non-excepted interstate: you cross state lines and must carry a Medical Examiner’s Certificate. Most interstate CDL holders fall here.
Excepted interstate: you cross state lines but only in specific exempt roles such as transporting school children, government employees, or emergency vehicle operators. No Medical Examiner’s Certificate needed.
Non-excepted intrastate: you drive only within Texas and must meet Texas medical qualification requirements.
Excepted intrastate: you drive only within Texas in operations Texas has exempted from medical certification.

If your driving touches both interstate and intrastate work, choose the interstate category. If it touches both excepted and non-excepted operations, choose non-excepted.⁸

At the DPS Office

Book an appointment before you go. Walk-ins are allowed, but wait times without one are long.⁷

At the counter you’ll hand over your documents, surrender your out-of-state CDL, take a vision exam, provide thumbprints, and have your photograph taken.⁷ The vision standard for commercial driving is at least 20/40 acuity in each eye, a horizontal field of vision of at least 70 degrees in each eye, and the ability to distinguish standard traffic signal colors.⁹ Bring your corrective lenses if you use them.p>

Test Waivers

If you hold a valid CDL from another state, Texas waives both the knowledge test and the skills test for the same class of license and the same endorsements you already carry. The one exception is the hazardous materials endorsement, which always requires a new written test.¹⁰ If you want to add any endorsement you did not previously hold, you’ll take the written exam for it at the DPS office.

Entry-Level Driver Training

The federal Entry-Level Driver Training rules that took effect in February 2022 do not apply if you already hold, or have ever held, the class of CDL you are transferring. Moving states alone does not trigger ELDT. If you plan to upgrade your CDL class or add certain endorsements for the first time during the transfer, ELDT requirements may apply to the new credential.¹¹

Endorsements That Carry Over

Tanker, Doubles/Triples, and Passenger endorsements move over automatically when you transfer a valid CDL, provided they appear on your current license. The one endorsement that doesn’t carry over cleanly is HazMat.

Hazardous Materials Endorsement

Transferring a HazMat endorsement means retaking the written knowledge test at DPS and passing a TSA security threat assessment that includes a background check and fingerprinting. If you completed a TSA threat assessment in your previous state, you may not need a new one, provided Texas can issue you a HazMat endorsement that expires within five years of your last assessment.¹²

If a new assessment is required, the TSA fee is $85.25 as of January 2025.¹² Start early. TSA recommends enrolling at least 60 days before you need a determination, since some cases take more than 45 days. A Texas CDL with a HazMat endorsement is valid for five years instead of the standard eight, and the license fee is $61 instead of $97.¹³

Fees

A standard Texas CDL costs $97 and is valid for eight years. With a HazMat endorsement, the license fee is $61 and validity drops to five years. Adding a motorcycle endorsement alongside your CDL costs an additional $15 for a new endorsement or $8 at renewal.¹³ Budget separately for the TSA fee if HazMat applies. Payment is accepted at the DPS office.

If You’re Coming From the Military

Veterans and active-duty service members who operated military vehicles equivalent to commercial motor vehicles get a streamlined path. If you were regularly employed in a military driving position within the past 12 months and drove the equivalent vehicle for at least two years before discharge, you qualify for a federal skills test waiver.¹⁴ The written knowledge tests still have to be passed. The waiver works for a first-time CDL as well as a transfer.

After You Apply

If everything checks out, you leave with a temporary Texas CDL the same day, valid for operating commercial vehicles while your permanent card is printed. Look it over before you leave the office. Fixing an error on a temporary is far faster than correcting a permanent card that’s already been printed and mailed.

The permanent card typically arrives by mail within two to three weeks, sometimes longer. If it hasn’t arrived after 45 days, contact the Texas DPS. Once it comes, destroy the temporary and carry the permanent card. Your old out-of-state CDL stopped being valid the moment you surrendered it at the counter.

1
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.71 – Driver Application and Certification Procedures
2
Department of Public Safety. Texas Residency Requirement for Driver Licenses and ID Cards
3
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
4
Department of Public Safety. Identification Requirements
5
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical Examiners Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876
6
Texas Department of Public Safety. Commercial Driver License (CDL) Application Requirements
7
Department of Public Safety. How Do I Apply for a Commercial Driver License
8
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
9
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Examining FMCSA Vision Standard for CMV Drivers and Waiver Program
10
Legal Information Institute. 37 Texas Admin Code 16.29 – Waivers from Skills Exam
11
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. ELDT Applicability – Training Provider Registry
12
Transportation Security Administration. HAZMAT Endorsement
13
Department of Public Safety. Driver License Fees
14
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Application for Military Skills Test Waiver