What Class Is a Chauffeur License in Michigan: Test and Endorsements

To get a chauffeur license in Michigan, you must be at least 18, hold a valid Michigan operator’s license, apply in person at a Secretary of State office, pass a vision screening and a written knowledge test, and pay a $35 fee.¹ The license itself is required if you drive as a motor carrier of property or passengers, if your job’s principal purpose is driving a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more, or if you operate a bus or school bus.² The Michigan chauffeur license requirements sit between a standard operator’s license and a full commercial driver license, and the overlap with the CDL is where most people get confused.

Who the License Covers

Michigan’s chauffeur definition catches three groups. The first is anyone operating a vehicle as a motor carrier of property or passengers. The second is anyone employed principally to drive a vehicle rated at 10,000 pounds GVWR or more, regardless of what’s in the truck. The third is any bus or school bus driver.²

The statute treats “employed for the principal purpose” of driving as covering work that customarily involves transporting merchandise for display, sale, or delivery. Route salespeople, delivery drivers, and freight haulers all fit.²

Who Doesn’t Need One

Several groups people assume are covered are actually exempt. Taxi drivers, limousine drivers, and transportation network company drivers such as Uber and Lyft do not need a chauffeur license. Carrying passengers for hire, on its own, is not the trigger.²

Other exempt categories include farmers and farm employees driving exclusively for farming operations, firefighters and EMS personnel operating an ambulance, state transportation department employees driving heavy vehicles solely for highway and bridge maintenance, county road commission employees hauling road materials in employer-owned vehicles, volunteer drivers who receive only reimbursement for operating costs, anyone driving a motorhome for personal pleasure, and parents (or their designees) transporting students to school or school events.²

Chauffeur License or CDL?

The chauffeur license and the CDL are separate credentials, and the weight rating is what separates them. The chauffeur license covers vehicles rated at 10,000 pounds or more. A CDL becomes mandatory once you cross 26,001 pounds for a single vehicle, or for a combination vehicle towing a unit over 10,000 pounds when the gross combination weight rating is 26,001 pounds or more.³ A CDL is also required for any vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or for transporting placarded hazardous materials.

When a CDL applies, the vehicle group designation sits on top of the chauffeur license. Group A covers combination vehicles at 26,001 pounds or more with a towed unit over 10,000 pounds. Group B covers single vehicles at 26,001 pounds or more. Both require written knowledge tests and road skills tests that meet federal standards under 49 CFR Part 383.³

If you drive a vehicle between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds without hazmat placards and without carrying 16 or more passengers, the chauffeur license by itself is enough. That range covers most delivery trucks, utility vehicles, and smaller commercial rigs.

Applying at the Secretary of State

Michigan will not issue a chauffeur license to anyone under 18.⁴ The minimum age for CDL group designations and endorsements is also 18, except for the hazardous materials endorsement, which requires the driver to be at least 21 and approved by the Transportation Security Administration.⁵

You have to apply in person. Online, mail, and self-service station options aren’t available for this transaction.⁶ Bring your current Michigan driver’s license and proof of citizenship or legal presence. The Secretary of State accepts a valid U.S. passport, a certified birth certificate with a raised seal, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Permanent Resident Card, or a valid Employment Authorization Document, among other documents.

If you want an enhanced chauffeur’s license, bring proof of your Social Security number as well. A document showing the last four digits may be accepted, and you provide the full number verbally.⁶

At the office you’ll complete a vision screening and the written knowledge test. The fee is $35.¹ Drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked are ineligible.

What’s on the Written Test

The chauffeur knowledge exam goes beyond the standard operator’s test. It covers rules of the road, adjusting for traffic and weather, and commercial-vehicle-specific regulations. The Secretary of State publishes a study guide, and the numbers on it are specific.⁷

A truck grossing 10,000 pounds or more may not exceed 65 mph on a freeway posted above 70 mph.
Outside city or village limits, vehicles over 5,000 pounds must keep at least 500 feet of following distance except when passing.
Cargo extending 4 feet or more past the rear of the vehicle bed requires a red flag at least 12 inches square during the day, or a red light at night.
The maximum vehicle height on Michigan roads is 13 feet, 6 inches.
Commercial vehicles rated at 1,000 pounds or more capacity must have one outside rearview mirror on each side.
Warning devices for a disabled vehicle go 100 feet in front of and behind the vehicle, and within 10 feet of the front or rear at the road’s edge.

The test expects you to know these figures precisely.⁷

Endorsements for Specialized Vehicles

Certain vehicles require an endorsement on top of the chauffeur license. Each has its own knowledge test, and several require a skills test. All endorsement tests must meet the minimum federal standards under 49 CFR Part 383.³

P (Passenger) for any vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, other than a school bus. A skills test in a passenger vehicle of that size and federal entry-level driver training under 49 CFR Part 380 are both required.
S (School Bus) for school bus operators, separate from the P endorsement.
H (Hazardous Materials) for transporting placarded hazmat. The driver must be at least 21, complete entry-level driver training, and be approved by the Transportation Security Administration.⁵
T (Double/Triple Trailers) for pulling doubles with the appropriate group designation.
N (Tank Vehicle) for tank vehicles.
F (Farm) for drivers 18 or older operating Group A or B vehicles exclusively for farming.

Medical Self-Certification

If your chauffeur license carries a CDL vehicle group designation, you must self-certify into one of four medical categories. Two require you to hold a current DOT medical card:

Non-excepted interstate: you drive commercially outside Michigan.
Non-excepted intrastate: you drive commercially only within Michigan.

The other two categories are “excepted” and cover specific federal exemptions such as certain farm operations and fire trucks; drivers in those categories aren’t required to carry a medical card. If you no longer meet the federal qualification requirements under 49 CFR Parts 380, 383, and 391, the Secretary of State cancels all vehicle group designations.⁵

How Long the License Lasts

A Michigan chauffeur license expires on your birthday in the fourth year after issuance. No chauffeur license is issued for longer than four years.⁸ Renewal costs $35, the same as the original application.¹ If you’re out of state when your license expires, you can apply for an extension of up to 180 days past expiration or two weeks after you return to Michigan, whichever comes first. For endorsements, the knowledge test can be taken any time in the 12 months before expiration, and results stay valid for 12 months.

Penalties for Driving Without the Right License

Operating a vehicle that requires a chauffeur license or a CDL designation without holding the correct credential is a misdemeanor. A first offense carries up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. A repeat offense raises the maximum to one year and $1,000.⁹

Driving a commercial motor vehicle without the correct group designation is a separate offense: up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $100, or both.⁹ A first-offense conviction typically also results in the Secretary of State canceling the vehicle’s registration plates.

Employers and vehicle owners share the exposure. Knowingly allowing an unlicensed person to operate your vehicle carries the same misdemeanor penalties as driving unlicensed. If the unlicensed driver causes serious bodily injury, the person who authorized them faces a felony punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $5,000. If the unlicensed driver causes a death, the felony carries up to 5 years and the same fine range.⁹ For anyone running a business with commercial drivers, verifying each driver’s chauffeur license, group designation, and endorsements is the compliance step that keeps that liability off your desk.

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.811 – Fees for Operator’s License, Chauffeur’s License, or Minor’s Restricted License
2
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.6 – Chauffeur Defined
3
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.312e – Vehicle Group Designation or Endorsement
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Vehicle Code Chapter 257 – MCL 257.303
5
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.312f – Vehicle Group Designation or Endorsement on Operator’s or Chauffeur’s License
6
State of Michigan. Chauffeur’s License
7
State of Michigan. Your Michigan Chauffeur’s License
8
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.314 – Operator’s or Chauffeur’s License Duration and Expiration
9
Michigan Legislature. MCL 257.904 – Operating Vehicle if License Suspended, Revoked, or Denied