CDL Requirements in Florida
Verified against Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetCDLLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
FLHSMV bundles CDL costs into flat, undifferentiated class-based fees ($75 for an original or renewal commercial license) rather than itemizing knowledge- and skills-test charges separately. Florida outsources all CDL skills testing exclusively to FLHSMV-monitored Third Party Administrators and Testers rather than administering it at its own offices, and it flatly prohibits triple-trailer combinations on Florida roads even though the state still issues a 'Doubles/Triples' endorsement (which in practice functions as doubles-only).
Florida's CDL requirements — including a $75 CDL fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (see Florida Statutes §322.21 — Driver License and CDL Fees), current as of 2026-07-25.
Florida CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Floridaspecifically — 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.
| Commercial learner’s permit (CLP) | |
|---|---|
| CLP fee | — |
| Minimum holding period before skills test | — |
| CLP validity | — |
| Age minimums | |
| Intrastate minimum age | 18 |
| Interstate minimum age | 21 (federal floor) |
| Fees | |
| Application fee | — |
| Initial CDL fee | $75 |
| Renewal fee | $75 |
| Renewal period | — |
| Knowledge test fee | — |
| Skills test fee | — |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | Yes |
| Retest waiting period | — |
Other published fees
- Original/renewal School Board Commercial Driver License: $48
- Each endorsement (Fla. Stat. §322.21): $7
- Knowledge (written) retest: $10
- Skills (driving) retest: $20
- Hazmat background-check fee (in addition to standard issuance/endorsement fees): $91
No FLHSMV page or statute publishes a CLP fee distinct from the general $75 commercial-license fee, so no separate CLP fee is stated here rather than assumed. Only Passenger (P), School Bus (S), and Tank Vehicle (N) endorsements may be added to a CLP, per the CDL Manual. Florida does not state a minimum CLP holding period before the skills test or a CLP validity period in months on any fetched page, so neither is stated here rather than assumed to equal the federal 14-day floor.
Confirmed directly on FLHSMV's own CDL page and CDL Manual: applicants must be at least 18, and those under 21 are restricted to intrastate operation only.
FLHSMV states it is 'responsible for compliance' with 49 CFR Part 383 and Chapter 322, Florida Statutes, by monitoring all Third Party Administrators (contracted companies) and Third Party Testers (FLHSMV-certified individuals) who actually administer the CDL skills test — no page describes FLHSMV directly administering skills tests itself. Knowledge tests are given at FLHSMV/tax collector driver license offices. No fixed day-based retest waiting period is published; only the $10 knowledge-retest and $20 skills-retest fees are stated.
Florida CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | $91 | Yes | No |
| Tank vehicle (N) | Yes | $7 | Yes | No |
| Doubles/triples (T) | Yes | $7 | Yes | No |
| Passenger (P) | Yes | $7 | Yes | Yes |
| School bus (S) | Yes | $7 | Yes | Yes |
Hazardous materials: FLHSMV charges a $91 state background-check fee (set by rule under Fla. Stat. §322.61, capped at $100) in addition to the standard $7 per-endorsement fee that applies to every CDL endorsement. Florida also issues a combined Hazmat & Tank Vehicle (X) endorsement for drivers who need both H and N.
Tank vehicle: Required for any CMV tank with an individual rated capacity over 119 gallons and an aggregate capacity of 1,000+ gallons; knowledge exam only, no skills test. May be added directly to a CLP.
Doubles/triples: Knowledge exam only; no skills test required. Florida's CDL page states plainly that 'triple trailers are not allowed on Florida roads,' so despite the endorsement's federal 'Double/Triple Trailers (T)' name, it functions in Florida only for double-trailer combinations.
Passenger: Required for vehicles designed to carry 16 or more people including the driver; skills test must be performed in an actual passenger vehicle. May be added directly to a CLP.
School bus: Requires the Passenger (P) endorsement also be held; applies to applicants seeking to drive a school bus under a Class A, B, or C CDL. May be added directly to a CLP.
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 Florida
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 Florida
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Non-Excepted Interstate
- Non-Excepted Intrastate
- Excepted Interstate
- Excepted Intrastate
FLHSMV's CDL medical-certification page defines all four FMCSA self-certification categories in the FMCSA's own category language. As of June 23, 2025, medical examiners must transmit DOT medical exam results electronically, after which a driver is not required to carry a paper Med Card (though FLHSMV suggests carrying it roughly two weeks post-submission to confirm the record updated).
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.
- Florida still issues a 'Doubles/Triples' endorsement using the federal name and knowledge exam, but FLHSMV's own CDL page states that triple trailers are not allowed on Florida roads at all — in practice, this endorsement functions in Florida as a doubles-only credential.
- The Hazmat endorsement's cost is not a single number: FLHSMV charges a $91 state background-check fee (capped at $100 by rule) in addition to the standard $7 endorsement fee that applies to every other CDL endorsement.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
- Florida Statutes §322.21 — Driver License and CDL Fees
- FLHSMV — Commercial Driver License (requirements, classes, endorsements)
- FLHSMV — Driver License and ID Card Fee Schedule
- FLHSMV — Commercial Driver's License Manual (PDF, Version July 2022)
- FLHSMV — Hazmat Endorsement Information
- FLHSMV — CDL Medical Certification and Self-Certification
- FLHSMV — Commercial Driver License Third Party Testing
- FLHSMV — Renew or Replace Your Florida Driver License or ID Card
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles