Download State CDL manuals instantly from our directory below. Prepare for the written exams by studying manuals together with our Free CDL Practice Tests. Having your state CDL guide handy will also work together nicely with the Practice Mode version of our tests. You’ll find out after each question exactly where in the official CDL manual the question comes from. This is very helpful in learning the material!
Go directly to your state’s CDL manual now. Find your state manual, view and/or download it, and use it together with the Practice Mode of our CDL Practice Tests. Take one of the first and most important steps in your journey to becoming a licensed CDL driver!
The 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, however, recommend that you read your state’s CDL manual. You’ll find information specific to your state – like fees, testing locations, and more.
Life Before the CDL
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.