The ELDT regulations were issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is part of the US DOT. The ELDT rules set the minimum Federal requirements for training that entry-level drivers must complete before being permitted to take certain commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills or knowledge tests on or after February 7, 2022.
ELDT applies to individuals applying to:
- Obtain a Class A CDL or Class B CDL for the first time;
- Upgrade an existing Class B CDL to a Class A CDL;
- Obtain a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous materials (H) endorsement for the first time.
The ELDT requirements apply to individuals who obtain a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) on or after February 7, 2022 (as long as the CLP has not expired).
The ELDT regulations are not retroactive; individuals who were issued a CDL (or an S, P, or H endorsement) prior to February 7, 2022 are not required to complete training for the respective CDL or endorsement.
The FMCSA has established the Training Provider Registry (TPR), which has a searchable database of CDL training providers that have registered with FMCSA. Only CDL training providers listed on the TPR can provide ELDT CDL training.
There are no specific hours of training required for ELDT. Instead drivers must receive training in 30+ “theory” (knowledge) topics, and receive hands on driving “skills” training until the driver is “proficient” in skills, as determined by the training provider. Skills training includes things like vehicle inspection, backing maneuvers and road driving.
Upon completion of ELDT training, the training provider will upload completion information directly to FMCSA. The TPR will retain a record of which applicants for a CDL have completed the ELDT training. The student driver cannot provide ELDT training completion information to FMCSA or a CDL tester.
Drivers will not be able to take the CDL Class A or Class B test, or take the Hazmat knowledge test, until they have completed ELDT CDL training by an approved training provider. CDL Testers will check in an FMCSA computer system to confirm completion of ELDT training. If training has not been completed by a driver, the CDL test will not be administered to the driver.
Some states may have additional CDL training or testing requirements.
SAGE Truck Driving Schools are TPR-approved CDL training providers, and ProDriverU is an approved CDL theory training online platform.
For more information about the ELDT regulations, the Training Provider registry, and FAQs, visit https://tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov
