What Are the CDL Requirements in Washington State?

To meet the CDL requirements in Washington state, you need to be at least 18, hold a valid Washington driver’s license, pass a DOT medical exam, complete federally approved entry-level driver training for Class A or B, pass written knowledge tests to earn a Commercial Learner’s Permit, practice for a minimum of 14 days, and then pass a three-part skills test at the Department of Licensing. Expect several weeks from your first DOL visit to a full license, and plan on roughly $250 or more in state fees before training and medical costs.

Who Can Apply

You must be 18 or older to apply for a CDL or Commercial Learner’s Permit in Washington.¹ At 18 your driving is limited to intrastate commerce, meaning you stay inside Washington. To cross state lines or haul hazardous materials, federal law requires you to be at least 21.²

You also need a valid Washington driver’s license before you apply for the CLP. Drivers moving from another state surrender their out-of-state CDL and apply through DOL for a Washington credential.

At your first DOL visit, bring proof of identity, legal presence, and Washington residency. Identity can be shown with a valid U.S. passport or permanent resident card. Residency is usually proven through utility bills, a lease, or a similar document tied to a Washington address. Originals or certified copies only.

Medical Certification

Every commercial driver must pass a physical exam performed by a provider on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. The Medical Examiner’s Certificate you receive confirms you meet the health standards for commercial driving, and you have to submit it to DOL before your commercial driving privileges are fully active.³

You also declare how you intend to drive commercially by choosing one of four self-certification categories through DOL’s website: non-excepted interstate, excepted interstate, non-excepted intrastate, or excepted intrastate. Most long-haul drivers fall into non-excepted interstate, which requires a current medical certificate on file. Match the category to your actual driving plans, because the wrong choice can delay your application or create compliance problems later.³

Pick Your License Class

Washington groups commercial vehicles into three classes based on weight and purpose, mirroring the federal groupings in 49 CFR 383.91 so a Washington CDL is recognized nationwide.⁴⁵ Choose before you train, because knowledge tests and the skills test differ by class.

Class A (Combination Vehicle): Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, when the towed unit exceeds 10,000 pounds. Tractor-trailers and most flatbed setups.
Class B (Heavy Straight Vehicle): A single vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more, or one towing a trailer at or below 10,000 pounds. Dump trucks, large buses, concrete mixers.
Class C (Small Vehicle): Vehicles below the Class A or B weight thresholds that are either designed to carry 16 or more people (including the driver) or used to haul hazardous materials.

Entry-Level Driver Training

Federal rules require every first-time Class A or Class B applicant to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) through a provider listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry before taking the skills test.⁶ ELDT also applies when you upgrade from Class B to Class A, or when you add a passenger, school bus, or hazardous materials endorsement for the first time.

Training has two parts: theory and behind-the-wheel. Theory covers about 30 topics across basic vehicle operation, safe driving procedures, hazard perception, vehicle systems and maintenance, and non-driving activities like hours-of-service rules and post-crash procedures. There’s no federal minimum for training hours, but you need at least 80 percent on a theory assessment to show proficiency. Behind-the-wheel training puts you in the driver’s seat with an instructor for range exercises and road driving.

Costs vary. A focused Class B program may run a few thousand dollars; a comprehensive Class A course with job placement support can reach $5,000 or more. Some trucking companies sponsor training in exchange for a post-graduation employment commitment.

Knowledge Tests and the Commercial Learner’s Permit

Once your ELDT provider reports completion to the registry, you can sit for the written knowledge tests at a DOL office. Washington charges $35 per attempt.⁷ The tests you take depend on your class and any endorsements you want:

General knowledge (all classes): 50 questions, 40 to pass
Combination vehicles (Class A only): 20 questions, 16 to pass
Air brakes: 25 questions, 20 to pass
Hazardous materials: 30 questions, 24 to pass
Passenger, school bus, double/triple, and tank endorsements: 20 questions each, 16 to pass

Skip the air brakes test, or take the skills test in a vehicle without air brakes, and your CDL will carry a restriction barring you from air-brake-equipped commercial vehicles.⁸ DOL publishes the Washington CDL Manual free online as the primary study resource.⁹

Passing the knowledge tests earns a Commercial Learner’s Permit. The CLP costs $40 and is valid for up to one year.⁷ It lets you practice on public roads, but with real limits. A licensed CDL holder with the right class and endorsements must ride in the front seat beside you at all times, or directly behind you in a passenger vehicle. You cannot carry passengers other than your supervisor, trainees, and test examiners. You cannot transport hazardous materials. If your CLP has a tank endorsement, the tank must be empty.¹⁰

You must hold the CLP for at least 14 days before you can take the skills test.¹¹ That window exists so you get meaningful practice before the final evaluation.

The Skills Test

The skills test is a three-part practical exam that runs about two hours. Schedule it through DOL or with an independent third-party examiner. Either way the fee is $175, or $100 for a school bus endorsement test, and that fee covers two attempts.¹² Switch examiners after a failed first attempt and you may need to pay again.

The first segment is the vehicle inspection. You walk around the vehicle naming and describing the inspection items, including engine components, steering, brakes, lights, and coupling devices if the vehicle has them, and you perform the air supply system check. The examiner is looking at whether you can identify what would make the vehicle unsafe.¹³

The second segment is basic controls: backing exercises on a closed course. Precision counts. Clipped cones and repeated corrections cost points. Washington has adopted the AAMVA Modernized Skills Test, so study DOL’s current supplemental guide rather than older sections of the CDL manual.⁹

The third segment is the road test. The examiner rides with you and scores your lane changes, turns, merging, speed management, and overall handling in regular traffic.¹³

Pass all three and you return to a DOL office to finalize the credential. You walk out with a temporary paper license that lets you start working, and the permanent card arrives by mail within 7 to 10 days.¹⁴

What It Costs Through DOL

Washington CDL fees add up across several steps:

Knowledge test: $35 per attempt
Commercial Learner’s Permit: $40
Skills test: $175, or $100 for school bus
Adding the CDL endorsement to your license: $20 plus $17 per year remaining on your license, roughly $37 to $156 depending on when you apply

A first-time applicant moving through the full sequence pays at least $250 in DOL fees, not counting ELDT tuition, medical exam costs, or endorsement-specific fees like the TSA background check for hazmat.⁷

Endorsements and Restrictions

Endorsements expand what you can haul or who you can carry. Each requires an additional knowledge test, and some require a separate skills test.¹⁵

H (Hazardous Materials): Knowledge test plus a TSA security threat assessment with fingerprinting and background check. Required for vehicles carrying placarded hazardous materials.
N (Tank Vehicle): Knowledge test only. Required for vehicles with tanks of 1,000 gallons aggregate capacity or more.
P (Passenger): Knowledge and skills tests. Required for vehicles designed for 16 or more people, including the driver.
S (School Bus): Knowledge and skills tests. Required regardless of bus size.
T (Double/Triple Trailers): Knowledge test only.
X: Combines H and N into a single endorsement.

Hazmat deserves its own planning. You apply through a TSA enrollment center, provide fingerprints, and wait for the security threat assessment, which typically takes 30 to 60 days. The TSA fee was $57.25 for a standard application as of late 2024, and the process repeats each time the endorsement renews.¹⁶ You cannot haul hazardous materials until TSA approves you and the endorsement appears on the card.

Restrictions work in the opposite direction, based on the vehicle you tested in. Test in an automatic and you get an “E” restriction barring manual-transmission commercial vehicles. Test without air brakes and you get an “L.” Test in a combination connected by a pintle hook rather than a fifth wheel and you get an “O,” which keeps you off tractor-trailers. The only way to clear a restriction is to retake the skills test in a vehicle that doesn’t trigger it.¹⁵

Keeping Your CDL Valid

A Washington CDL is issued for either six or eight years. Renewal costs $163 for six years or $217 for eight years for a standard CDL with endorsements, and you can renew up to one year before expiration.⁷

Your medical certificate has its own expiration, typically every two years, and it does not sync with your license renewal date. If it lapses, state law requires DOL to begin downgrading your CDL within 60 days, which strips your commercial privileges and leaves you with a standard driver’s license until you get re-certified.¹⁷ A calendar reminder for the medical cert is one of the simplest ways to avoid losing driving status when you need it for work. Hazmat endorsements renew every five years and require a fresh TSA background check each cycle, so plan one to two months of lead time.

Serious driving offenses can take the license away faster than any renewal clock. Federal rules under 49 CFR 383.51 set minimum disqualification periods that Washington enforces, whether the violation happened in a commercial vehicle or your personal car.¹⁸ A first conviction for DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, using a vehicle to commit a felony, or refusing an alcohol test triggers a one-year disqualification, or three years if the offense occurred while hauling hazardous materials. A second major offense of any kind means a lifetime disqualification. Serious traffic violations such as excessive speeding (15 mph or more over the limit), reckless driving, or following too closely bring a 60-day disqualification after two convictions in three years and 120 days after three.

Once you’re hired, you also fall under the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Employers query the database before letting you drive and at least once a year after that, and you’ll face mandatory testing before your first day with a new employer, randomly, after certain accidents, and on reasonable suspicion. A violation stays on your Clearinghouse record for five years or until you finish the return-to-duty process, whichever is later, and no employer can let you drive commercially during that time.¹⁹ You can register at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to view your own record and respond to employer query requests.²⁰

1
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.71 – Driver Application and Certification Procedures
2
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. What Is the Age Requirement for Operating a CMV in Interstate Commerce
3
Washington State Department of Licensing. Medical Certificates and Self-Certification
4
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.91 – Commercial Motor Vehicle Groups
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.25 – Uniform Commercial Drivers License Act
6
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 380 Subpart F – Entry-Level Driver Training Requirements
7
Washington State Department of Licensing. Driver Licensing Fees
8
Washington State Department of Licensing. CDL Knowledge Test
9
Washington State Department of Licensing. Commercial Driver Guides
10
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.25.052 – Commercial Learner Permit
11
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25 – Commercial Learners Permit
12
Washington State Department of Licensing. Find an Independent Third-Party Examiner
13
Washington State Department of Licensing. CDL Skills Test
14
Washington State Department of Licensing. Driver License Application Ages 18 Plus
15
Washington State Department of Licensing. Endorsements and Restrictions
16
Federal Register. Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment Program Security Threat Assessment Fees
17
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.25.075 – Medical Certification
18
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers
19
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Commercial Drivers License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
20
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Clearinghouse Register