Minnesota CDL Permit Test: Requirements, Paperwork, and CLP Rules

To get a Minnesota Commercial Learner’s Permit, you have to pass a written knowledge exam at a Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) exam station with a score of at least 80 percent. The Minnesota CDL permit test requirements start with a 50-question General Knowledge exam that everyone takes, plus additional written tests depending on which class of CDL you’re pursuing and what endorsements you want. You can attempt each test once per day, no appointment is needed for the written portion, and results come back on the spot.¹

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 18 to drive commercially inside Minnesota. Crossing state lines or hauling hazardous materials pushes the federal minimum age to 21.² You also need a valid Minnesota Class D driver’s license already in hand.³

Any active suspension, revocation, or disqualification, in Minnesota or any other state, blocks the application. You also cannot hold more than one driver’s license.⁴ DVS runs your record through federal databases, so problems from another state will surface.

Which Tests You Have To Take

Your CLP must match the class of CDL you’re working toward, and the class determines which written tests sit between you and the permit.

Class A covers combination vehicles with a gross combined weight over 26,001 pounds where the towed unit exceeds 10,000 pounds (tractor-trailers and most long-haul rigs).
Class B covers single vehicles at or above 26,001 pounds that don’t tow anything heavier than 10,000 pounds (dump trucks, large buses, delivery trucks).
Class C covers vehicles under 26,001 pounds that carry 16 or more passengers or haul certain hazardous materials.

Every applicant takes the General Knowledge test: 50 questions covering safe driving, cargo securement, vehicle inspection, and space management. Forty correct answers is a pass.¹ On top of that:

If your training truck has air brakes (and most commercial vehicles do), you need the Air Brakes test, 20 questions on air brake components, inspection, and stopping distances. Skip it and your CLP carries an air brake restriction that keeps you out of air-brake-equipped vehicles.
Class A applicants also take the Combination Vehicles test, 20 questions on coupling, uncoupling, rollover prevention, and multi-unit handling.

A typical Class A applicant takes three written tests in one sitting: General Knowledge, Air Brakes, and Combination Vehicles. A typical Class B applicant takes two: General Knowledge and Air Brakes.

You can add endorsement knowledge tests at the same visit. Tanker (N) covers surging liquid loads; Passenger (P) covers buses; School Bus (S) covers school transportation; Hazardous Materials (H) covers federal hazmat rules, placarding, and emergency procedures. Passing these at the CLP stage means they carry over when you convert to a full CDL. The hazmat endorsement also requires a separate TSA background check and fingerprinting, and the TSA recommends starting that process at least 60 days before you need the endorsement.⁵

Paperwork To Bring

At the exam station you need to prove three things: identity, citizenship or legal presence, and Minnesota residency. One primary document (valid U.S. passport or certified birth certificate) handles identity and citizenship. For residency, bring a utility bill, bank statement, or pay stub dated within 60 days.⁶ Check the full DVS list before you go so you don’t waste the trip.

Self-Certification Category

Every CLP applicant files a self-certification form that tells the state what kind of commercial driving you plan to do. You pick one of four:⁷

Non-Excepted Interstate: driving across state lines, meeting federal medical standards (the most common category).
Excepted Interstate: driving across state lines under a federal medical exemption (military, certain government vehicles).
Non-Excepted Intrastate: driving only inside Minnesota, meeting state medical standards.
Excepted Intrastate: driving only inside Minnesota under a state medical exemption.

Pick the wrong one and the application stalls. If you’re unsure, non-excepted interstate covers the broadest range of commercial driving work.

Medical Examiner’s Certificate

If your self-certification is non-excepted (interstate or intrastate), you need a current Medical Examiner’s Certificate, federal Form MCSA-5876.⁸ The physical must be done by a provider on the FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners; your regular doctor may not be on that list, so verify before scheduling.⁹ The exam covers vision, hearing, blood pressure, and general fitness. Bring the completed certificate with you.

At the Exam Station

CDL knowledge tests are given at DVS exam stations, and not every DVS office handles them, so use the DVS location finder first. Appointments generally aren’t required for the written tests. Testing hours typically run around 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays, though they vary by location.

First stop is a vision screening. Minnesota requires at least 20/40 visual acuity in one or both eyes, with or without correction, and a horizontal field of at least 105 degrees.¹⁰ Federal standards for interstate drivers additionally require 20/40 in each eye separately and the ability to distinguish signal colors.¹¹ Bring your glasses or contacts if you wear them.

Next you sit at a computer terminal and take your knowledge tests. The questions are multiple-choice and drawn from the Minnesota CDL manual. Results post immediately after each test. Fail one and you can retake it the next day, since Minnesota allows one attempt per test per day.¹ Retesting fees kick in starting with the third attempt at a given test; current amounts are on the DVS fee schedule.¹²

Pass everything and pay the permit fee. The clerk issues a paper CLP that you carry whenever you drive a commercial vehicle in training. The permanent card arrives by mail.

How To Study

The Minnesota Commercial Driver’s License Manual is the primary study source and is free to download from the DVS site. It’s organized by chapter: general knowledge, air brakes, combination vehicles, and each endorsement, and the test questions track its content closely.¹³ Spend most of your time on vehicle inspection procedures, air brake system components, and safe-driving math (following distance, stopping distance, speed on curves). Those are the areas where most people lose points. A solid week with the manual plus practice tests is usually enough for a first-time pass.

After You Pass: What the CLP Lets You Do

A CLP is a training permit, not a license. A CDL holder with the correct class and endorsements for the vehicle must sit in the front passenger seat next to you at all times while you drive. In a bus, that supervisor can sit directly behind you instead.¹⁴

Several hard limits apply while you hold a CLP: no hazmat loads at all, no paying passengers under a P or S endorsement (only auditors, inspectors, examiners, other trainees, and your supervisor), and empty tank vehicles only under an N endorsement. The blood alcohol disqualification threshold for commercial drivers is 0.04 percent, half the standard passenger-car limit, and it applies whether you’re on or off duty.¹⁵

The 14-Day Hold and the 180-Day Clock

You must hold a CLP for at least 14 calendar days before you’re eligible to take the CDL skills test. The clock starts on the date the CLP is first issued, not the date you finish a training course.¹⁴ Under federal rules, a CLP cannot exceed 180 days, though it can typically be renewed once. If your CLP expires before you take the skills test, you’ll have to retake the knowledge exams to get a new one.

Entry-Level Driver Training Does Not Block the Written Test

Federal Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) rules often get confused with CLP requirements. ELDT is not required before the knowledge test. You can walk into a DVS exam station, pass the written exams, and get your CLP with no formal training on your record. ELDT applies later, before the CDL skills test, if you’re obtaining a Class A or B CDL for the first time, upgrading from B to A, or adding a passenger, school bus, or hazmat endorsement for the first time.¹⁶ At that stage your training provider uploads your completion record to the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, and the state checks that database before scheduling the skills test. You can verify your own record using the Check Your Record feature.¹⁷

1
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Minnesota Commercial Driver’s License Manual
2
Minnesota Department of Education. Minnesota Commercial Driver License Information
3
Minnesota State. How to Get Started
4
South Central College. Commercial Driver’s License
5
Transportation Security Administration. HAZMAT Endorsement
6
Dodge County, Minnesota. Attention CDL Drivers
7
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Commercial Driver’s License Medical Self-Certification Form
8
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876
9
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. NRII Learning Center
10
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Rules 7410.2400 – Vision
11
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Examining FMCSA Vision Standard for CMV Drivers and Waiver Program
12
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Driver’s License and ID Card Fees
13
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Minnesota Commercial Driver’s License Manual
14
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learner’s Permit
15
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Driver Disqualified for Driving a CMV While Off-Duty With a Blood Alcohol Concentration Over 0.04 Percent
16
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
17
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Training Provider Registry