CDL Requirements in Connecticut

Verified against Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles · 2026-07-25

Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetCDLLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →

Connecticut DMV administers CDL knowledge and skills tests itself at its own hub/branch offices — no third-party testing program was found. Its self-certification system offers only two of the four FMCSA-defined categories (Non-Excepted Interstate and Non-Excepted Intrastate), folding 'excepted' status into the intrastate category via its own K and W restriction codes instead. Connecticut also runs a separate, non-CDL 'Public Passenger Endorsement' (PPE, $12/year) for taxi, livery, and bus drivers that layers on top of — but is distinct from — the CDL Passenger (P) endorsement itself.

Connecticut's CDL requirements — including a $20 commercial learner permit fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (see Connecticut DMV — Get a Commercial Driver's License (CDL)), current as of 2026-07-25.

Connecticut CDL Requirements at a Glance

This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Connecticutspecifically — for the full step-by-step process see how to get a CDL, and for what Class A, B, and C each permit see CDL classes.

CLP, age, fee, renewal, and testing requirements for a commercial driver’s license in Connecticut
Commercial learner’s permit (CLP)
CLP fee	$20
Minimum holding period before skills test	14 days
CLP validity	12 months
Age minimums
Intrastate minimum age	18
Interstate minimum age	21 (federal floor)
Fees
Application fee	—
Initial CDL fee	$70
Renewal fee	$70
Renewal period	4 years
Knowledge test fee	$16
Skills test fee	$30
Testing rules
Third-party testers allowed	No
Retest waiting period	7 days

Other published fees

CDL upgrade (change of class): $22
License change fee (applies to CDL upgrades/downgrades, in addition to the upgrade fee): $30
Duplicate/replacement CDL or CLP: $30
CDL renewal late fee: $25

Fee is waived if the applicant is a school bus driver who presents a letter of employment from a school bus company. The CDL Manual requires holding the CLP at least 14 days before the skills test (matching, not exceeding, the federal floor). The CLP is valid for one year; all knowledge tests must be retaken if a CDL is not obtained before it expires.

DMV's own CDL Manual states applicants must be 18 to obtain a CLP or CDL, 21 to drive interstate, 21 to haul hazardous materials, and — a Connecticut-specific floor above the general intrastate minimum — 21 to drive a school bus.

All CDL knowledge and skills testing is scheduled and administered by DMV itself at its own offices; no third-party testing company program was found. Skills-test appointments are booked by phone; a failed skills test requires a new application (Form R-229a) and a new $30 fee, and at least 7 days must pass before retesting. After passing, DMV requires a 2-business-day wait to issue the new license while results are entered into the system.

Connecticut CDL Endorsements

Hazmat, tanker, doubles/triples, passenger, and school bus endorsement availability, fees, and testing in Connecticut
Endorsement	Available	Fee	Knowledge test	Skills test
Hazardous materials (H)	Yes	$5	Yes	No
Tank vehicle (N)	Yes	$5	Yes	No
Doubles/triples (T)	Yes	$5	Yes	No
Passenger (P)	Yes	$5	Yes	Yes
School bus (S)	Yes	$5	Yes	Yes

Hazardous materials: Renewals (as opposed to first-time or re-applications) can only be processed at eight designated full-service DMV offices (Bridgeport, Danbury, Hamden, Norwalk, Old Saybrook, Waterbury, Wethersfield, Willimantic) by appointment. A 90-day temporary endorsement is available at renewal only (not for first-time or re-applications) upon passing the knowledge test and presenting proof the fingerprinting process has been completed.

Tank vehicle: Requires a Class A or B CDL. Covers tanks with an individual rated capacity over 119 gallons and an aggregate capacity of 1,000 gallons or more.

Doubles/triples: Requires a Class A CDL.

Passenger: Skills test is performed in a representative passenger vehicle. Distinct from Connecticut's separate, non-CDL Public Passenger Endorsement (PPE) — a $12/year add-on to the underlying driver's license required (in addition to the CDL P endorsement) for vehicles designed to carry 16 or more passengers, and required on its own for taxi/livery drivers who don't need a CDL at all.

School bus: Requires the Passenger (P) endorsement as a prerequisite. Connecticut sets the minimum age for driving a school bus at 21. The knowledge test, skills test, and CLP fees are all waived for applicants who present a letter of employment from a school bus company.

For what each endorsement permits, the federal knowledge/skills testing baseline behind it, and hazmat’s separate TSA security threat assessment, see CDL endorsements.

Federal requirements that apply in Connecticut

These are set by federal regulators and are the same in every US jurisdiction. Full detail here.

Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT). Since February 2022, first-time CDL applicants — and drivers upgrading to Class A or seeking a first-time school bus, passenger, or hazmat endorsement — must complete Entry-Level Driver Training with a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry before testing.
DOT medical certificate. Most CDL holders who operate in interstate commerce must hold a valid DOT medical examiner's certificate, issued by an examiner listed on the FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
Interstate minimum age. Federal rules set 21 as the minimum age to drive commercially across state lines; states set their own intrastate minimum, commonly 18.
Hazmat security threat assessment. A hazardous materials endorsement additionally requires a TSA security threat assessment, which is a federal process separate from the state endorsement.

Self-certification in Connecticut

Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:

Non-Excepted Interstate
Non-Excepted Intrastate

Connecticut's own DMV self-certification system offers only two categories: (NI) Non-Excepted Interstate, for drivers 21+ operating without a K or W restriction whose commercial driving crosses the state line; and (NA) Non-Excepted Intrastate, for drivers under 21, drivers holding/requiring a medical waiver (W restriction), or drivers who choose an intrastate-only (K) restriction. Connecticut does not offer separate 'Excepted Interstate' or 'Excepted Intrastate' self-certification categories — conditions that would elsewhere fall under an 'excepted' category are folded into Non-Excepted Intrastate via the K/W restriction codes instead.

Source Notes

Where a source is stale, conflicting, or required a judgment call, we document it here rather than presenting a single confident-sounding number. See our methodology for how these calls are made.

Connecticut's DMV self-certification system offers only two categories — Non-Excepted Interstate and Non-Excepted Intrastate — not the four categories FMCSA defines nationally. Drivers who would elsewhere self-certify as 'excepted' (e.g., government or farm-exempt operators) are instead captured under Non-Excepted Intrastate using Connecticut's own K (intrastate-only) and W (medical waiver) restriction codes.
Connecticut waives the CDL knowledge test, skills test, and CLP fees entirely for applicants who present a letter of employment from a school bus company — a fee break not extended to other CDL applicants.

means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.

Sources

Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles