Go to your State CDL Training Hub for state manuals, CDL requirements, Schools Directory, and more... all in your state.
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Jump straight to your state's CDL hub.
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Prepare for the written exams by studying the CDL Manual along with our Free CDL Practice Tests. After each question, you’ll be given the exact CDL manual reference for that question. This is very helpful in learning the material!
The following CDL Manual is good for every state Take one of the first and most important steps in your journey to becoming a licensed CDL driver!
The Most Recent CDL Manual By the FMCSA (03/25)
Life Before the CDL (If You're Feeling Nostalgic)
Find your state manual, view and/or download it, and use it together with the Practice Mode of our CDL Practice Tests.
All questions are taken right from the official CDL manual, which is what you’re tested on. Each state tests on the same information, which comes directly from Federal regulations. These regulations do not change from state to state – despite what some other websites would have you believe!
We DO recommend that you read YOUR State CDL manual, where you’ll find information specific to your state – like fees, testing locations, and more.
Before 1986, the trucking industry was more or less a present day Wild West Show. Requirements for driving a CMV (commercial motor vehicle) were no different from standard driver’s license testing, and it was relatively easy to obtain multiple licenses from multiple states in order to avoid losing your job or license due to your driving record or legal history. Well, those days are gone forever!
Since The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, the Federal government has been issuing guidelines to dictate the minimum standards states are required to have in place to ensure that all CMV drivers meet or exceed those Federal minimums. In January of 2000, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was established as the regulating agency for the trucking industry. You can go to their site to learn more about how the CDL program is ran from both the Federal and state perspective, which types of CDL licenses would be best for the job you want, and what kinds of driving or legal history could possibly prevent you from obtaining your CDL license.
This information is also available in each state’s CDL Manual. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 not only established Federal guidelines, it also confirmed that each state would retain their CDL license issuing authority. While the Federal government has handed down industry-wide standards that allow most CDL holders (depending on your age and state’s licensing procedures) to drive in all fifty states and Canada, each state may have little differences within their individual CDL program. For this reason, we recommend you get to know your own state’s particular manual, and defer to the laws within it above any information you may find within our CDL practice tests.
