TEN EASY STEPS TO A C.D.L.

(July 2024 revision)(For Self-Study CDL applicants with some experiencein truck/bus operation)
1. OBTAIN A CDL MANUAL Locate the latest version online of theIdaho CDL manual through the Idaho Transportation Department:
https://itd.idaho.gov//wp-content/uploads/2016/06/cdl_manual.pdf
You can download the PDF file to your phone, computer, or tablet,or obtain a paper manual. Earlier versions of the manual are fine forgeneral study, but be sure to review the first chapter in the latest
version of the manual to keep up with FMCSA required changes.

2. REVIEW MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS/ OBTAIN DOT MEDICAL:
Read the applicable pages in Chapter One of the CDL manual tosee if you are required to have a medical examiner’s certificate forthe driving you intend to do. MOST commercial driving activities
require a medical certificate. The following link will take you to alist of commodities and whether they are exempt (no medical cardneeded for INTRASTATE hauling) or regulated (medical card requiredfor all commercial hauling purposes):
https://isp.idaho.gov/cvs/commodities/
A Department of Transportation (DOT)physical examination is conductedby a licensed medical provider andmay be valid for up to 24 months. The
examiner may also issue a medical
examiner’s certificate for less than 24months when it is desirable to monitor
a medical condition. The provider mustbe listed on the “National Registry ofCertified Medical Examiners”. A list ofNational Registry certified providers
in your area can be found here:
https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/home

3. STUDY THE REQUIRED PORTIONS OF THE CDL MANUAL: Near thefront of the CDL manual is a chart that will tell you what chapters to study
for the Commercial License and related endorsement(s) you desire. Your
particular equipment combination will dictate what you need to studyand test for. If you have a vehicle with air brakes, you’ll need that test. Fora class A CDL, you must take the Combination Vehicles test. The General
Knowledge test is required of all new CDL applicants. Details on testing
are below.

4. GO TO A COUNTY SHERIFF’S DRIVER’S LICENSING OFFICE:• START THE CDL PROCESS: Tell the Examiner you are
there to begin the process of obtaining a CDL. They
will have you complete an application for a CDL, andwill help you declare a driving category—a federal
rule to determine whether you plan to drive only inIdaho or interstate, and whether you are medicalcard required (“non-excepted”) or not required(“excepted”).
• BRING YOUR MEDICAL CERTIFICATE: If you arerequired to have a medical certificate, obtain it as soon as possible and take it with you to the DMV.
They will scan a copy of your medical certificate card to be incorporated into your driving record. Allcommercial drivers who are “non-excepted” must submit a medical certificate to your county DMVor ITD when obtained and upon each renewal.
*If you are for some reason ineligible to obtain a DOT Medical, you CANNOT drive a commercial
vehicle in interstate commerce, unless you plan to work for a government agency or other exceptedinterstate category. This website contains more information about CDL medical requirements:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/medical/medical.htm• BRING YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE (REQUIRED IF OBTAINABLE), US PASSPORT, or OTHER
PROOF OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCY IN THE UNITED STATES: Federal rules require allapplicants for a Commercial Learner’s Permit or CDL to present proof of legal presence in the UnitedStates to the DMV to be entered on the driver’s record. This will only need to be done one time.
• PROVIDE PROOF OF IDAHO RESIDENCY: Federal regulations require all applicants for aCommercial Learner's Permit or CDL to provide proof of Idaho residency. Proof of Idaho residency
can be a utility bill, official government tax document, mortgage/lease/rental agreement, etc.
Documentation must be dated within 1 calendar year and include the physical residence addressand your full name.
• TAKE THE REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE TESTS: When you areready, take your written knowledge tests. The written tests
are $5.00 each. Some county DMV offices have limitations ontimes they do testing, or require appointments to test. Call
your DMV to see what their testing hours are. You shouldtake and pass the General Knowledge test before attempting
to take other tests. While it is permissible to do so, mostapplicants should not attempt to take multiple tests on thesame day. Test results remain valid for one year from the datethey were passed. If you don’t obtain your CDL in that year you must re-take all the written tests.
If you fail a test, you can re-test in three days (and pay another five dollars).
• SKILLS TEST FEE: The county DMV agent will collect a skills test fee of $10 from you. All knowledge
tests required for the license you are seeking must be passed before the skills test can be administered.
The skills test fee is the county portion of your road test. The CDL Examiner will charge a separate
fee for the test payable directly to the Examiner at the time of testing.

• OBTAIN A COMMERCIAL LEARNER’S PERMIT: Youmust obtain a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) toobtain or upgrade a commercial license. The permit costs$29 and is valid for one year. It allows you to drive a truckor bus on public streets to practice driving a commercialvehicle. You must have a licensed CDL driver rated todrive the equipment you are practicing in riding with youat all times when on public streets. The licensed driver
must be sitting in the right seat (trucks) or in the row
behind the driver (busses) with you when you are practicing on public streets. Federal Rules require
you hold a CLP for at least 14 days before you can take a skills test.

5. COMPLETE ENTRY LEVEL DRIVER TRAINING: As of February 7, 2022,
CDL Applicants must comply with Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT)
regulations. These rules require that all entry-level drivers of commercial
motor vehicles (CMVs) receive training from a provider listed on FMCSA’s
Training Provider Registry. To be eligible to take required skills tests,commercial driver’s license (CDL) applicants must have completed
applicable entry-level driver training from a registered training provider.
LEARN MORE at: http://tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov or scan the code using the camera
on your smartphone.

6. PRACTICE THE VEHICLE INSPECTION: During the 14 day waiting period, practice and prepare foryour test. The pre-trip vehicle inspection must be done on any commercial vehicle you test in, regardlessof size or type. Most applicants who fail the skills test do so by not preparing well enough for the pretrip inspection. Do the following before attempting to take your skills test:• STUDY CHAPTER 11 THOROUGHLY: If acomponent is on your vehicle and in Chapter
11, you need to memorize it for the test. There
are plenty of components you are required tomemorize, so concentrate on those items. It isimperative that you know how to do the braketest on the vehicle you will be testing in. Doing
the brake check improperly will result in failingthe test. You will have 45 minutes to complete
your pre-trip inspection on test day.
• WATCH THE VIDEO(s): The videos listed below are extremely helpful to prepare you totake the test. These short productions will help show you HOW TO DO THE VEHICLE
INSPECTION; that is, what the examiner expects you to describe to him or her as you areinspecting your vehicle. This will give you a much better idea of how to conduct your inspection
on test day. Note: Watching videos alone will not thoroughly prepare you to take the skills
test. Use the videos as a helpful guide to show you how to tell the inspector what you arelooking for, in addition to studying all required inspection components listed in Chapter 11.

• TRUCK INSPECTION VIDEO: Produced by StevenLloyd, an Idaho CDL Examiner in Meridian. Steve’svideo can be found at: https://www.cdlidaho.com/
Click on the “video” link at the top of the page. It also
shows the backing exercises; it’s a very useful video.

• TRUCK INSPECTION VIDEO: Produced by Harry Packwood, anIdaho CDL Examiner in Boise. Also a very good study resource. It canbe found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PScgfTEchOE

7. •SCHOOL BUS VIDEO: There are several helpful videos on
how to inspect school busses on YouTube. Here is one thatcovers the vehicle inspection in a concise, efficient manner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOkJqDoCzak8

Note: These are public-source YouTube videos that have beenreviewed by staff at the Idaho Transportation Department
andare recommended. Thereisnocost to watch these videos.
ITD does not guarantee that this content will remain available.
PRACTICE THE BACKING MANEUVERS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER 12: Refer to the diagrams andmeasurements shown in Chapter 12, and set up a practice course in a suitable area if possible.
• The “Straight line back” and “Offset Back” maneuvers
are required of all applicants.
• The Examiner will select either the alley dock or parallelpark maneuver on test day, so you should practice bothof those maneuvers.
• Time Limits on the tests are designed to allow sufficient
time for beginning drivers (who have practiced) to complete the maneuvers without penalty.
Unprepared applicants who go over the time limit will have points added to their score, and may notpass the exercise.
• Use “looks”, pull ups, and reference markers as described in the manual if you need them during thetest. Just like in the “real world”, pulling up your vehicle or getting out to check your position during
backing is less costly than running into something!
• Excessive pull-ups are deducted from your score, but the deduction for pulling up is less than that ofcrossing a boundary line or cone and causing an encroachment.

8. PREPARE FOR THE ROAD TEST: For the road test, review Chapter 13 in the CDL manual.
• Make sure you know how to conduct a proper “Stop/Start” exercise, as described in the manual.
• Know where to stop at intersections.
• If taking a school bus test, you will need to study the student discharge requirements in Chapter 10.
• Make sure you move your head as you check your mirrors, pass through intersections, etc. so theexaminer can see that you are checking for traffic and hazards.
• Maintain frequent checks in your mirrors.
• Keep both hands on the wheel unless you are shifting.
• Know how your vehicle off-tracks. Running over curbs or other objects will result in failing the test.
• Know how to shift the vehicle you are driving. Practice until you can shift smoothly.
• Obey all traffic laws and travel at the speed limit unless weather or traffic requires an adjustment.
• Pay attention to highway signs that a commercial driver should observe. You will be tested on them!

9. SCHEDULE & TAKE THE SKILLS TEST: Contact one ofthe CDL Skills Test Examiners in your area to make an
appointment for your test. The test normally takes about
two hours. Most Idaho CDL examiners have full timejobs and do tests as a part time service to the state, soyou may have to work around their schedule. The Skills
Test fee is set by each examiner; the fee is not to exceed$190 per test per Idaho Code. Most examiners take cash
only, but some accept other payment methods. Referto the CDL Examiner list for examiners, availability ofrental vehicles, etc. The link is here: https://itd.idaho.gov/itddmv/?target=drivers-license-id-cards#cdl
IMPORTANT NOTES:• FMCSA rules require that you hold your Commercial Learner’s Permit for 14 days minimum before
testing, even if you have a CDL and are just upgrading your license• You MUST contact the examiner well in advance- Examiners are required to notify ITD a minimum of48 hours before any CDL test
• BRING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT TO THE TEST! MANY VEHICLES WILL RESULT IN A RESTRICTEDLICENSE:*“E” RESTRICTION: Testing in a truck or bus with an automatic transmission will result in arestriction being placed on your CDL that you can ONLY drive commercial vehicles with automatictransmissions.

*“O” RESTRICTION: Testing in a Class A combination that is NOT a TRACTOR-TRAILER with afifth wheel hitch will result in a restriction being placed on your CDL that you can only drive ClassA vehicles that*“L” RESTRICTION: Testing in a vehicle that does not have air brakes will result in this restriction.

• Have a CDL licensed driver go with you to the test site unless you can legally drive your commercialvehicle there under a farm or other exemption.
• Don’t forget your: Driver’s license, commercial learner’s permit, registration, and proof of insurance.
• Make sure your vehicle’s lights and equipment are working properly, or you cannot take the test inthat vehicle. Our examiners appreciate it if the interior of your truck or bus is reasonably clean on
test day.

10. OBTAIN & ADD TO YOUR CDL: Once you pass the skills test, the examiner will transmit your test
results to ITD for processing.
• You MUST return to the county DMV to have your new
Commercial License issued.
• The cost is $40 and it’s good for 4 years.
• Once you have your “base” CDL, you can later add
endorsements as needed.
• Some endorsements (or removal of restrictions) will
require additional skills tests.

TYPICAL C.D.L. ACQUISITION COSTS
ITEM

COST

WRITTEN TESTSNOTESAVERAGE TOTAL$5 EACH$15-20 depending on endorsements desired$15

SKILLS TEST

$ VARIES

Typically $ 120-150 to examiner, $10 to county, up
to $200 or more for rental truck if needed$140 if using
your ownvehicle

COMMERCIALLEARNER’S PERMIT$29

Required for all CDL tests and upgrades, and topractice on roadway prior to testing$29

LICENSING

VARIES$15 to add an endorsement after original issue;$25 to upgrade a license; $40 for 4 year CDL$40 TYPICALLYMEDICAL EXAMIFREQUIRED$60-150- costs vary widely; every two years ormore frequently if needed$125$86.50 for the Hazmat Threat Assessment
every four years+ $5 written test every 4 years
We hope you have found this information useful. For any questions email to:
CDLHelpdesk@itd.idaho.gov

HAZMAT
ENDORSEMENTIFREQUIRED$92