CDL Requirements in Louisiana
Verified against Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetCDLLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
Louisiana licenses commercial drivers through the Office of Motor Vehicles, a program office of Public Safety Services within the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. CDL skills testing is routed to state-approved third-party testers rather than priced as an OMV service — OMV publishes it as a flat $100 charge when the applicant supplies the vehicle — and the tester network is licensed separately under Title 55 rules 117 and 119. Louisiana also splits the cost of a CDL across a license fee, a separate application fee, and a parish handling fee, with a higher license fee for Orleans Parish residents, so the total varies by where the applicant lives.
Louisiana's CDL requirements — including a $61.5 CDL fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services (see Louisiana OMV — CDL costs, fees, classes and commercial FAQs), current as of 2026-07-25.
Louisiana CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Louisianaspecifically — 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 | 14 days |
| CLP validity | 6 months |
| Age minimums | |
| Intrastate minimum age | 18 |
| Interstate minimum age | 21 (federal floor) |
| Fees | |
| Application fee | $15 |
| Initial CDL fee | $61.50 |
| Renewal fee | — |
| Renewal period | — |
| Knowledge test fee | — |
| Skills test fee | $100 |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | Yes |
| Retest waiting period | — |
Other published fees
- CDL license fee, Orleans Parish residents: $76.50
- Additional endorsement, each: $7.50
- Motorcycle (M) endorsement: $12
- Duplicate CDL: $5
- Parish handling fee, maximum: $6
- Delinquent fee, license expired more than 10 days: $15
- Hazmat fingerprinting: $85.25
OMV issues a CLP for up to 180 days with an option to extend for an additional 180 days at no charge if more training time is needed. A CLP holder "is not eligible to take the CDL skills test in the first 14 days after the initial issuance," and must be accompanied by a CDL holder valid for the class and endorsement of the vehicle, who must occupy the front seat and provide direct observation and supervision. Only three endorsements may appear on a Louisiana CLP: Tank (N), which also carries restriction 69; Passenger (P), which carries restriction 07; and School Bus (S).
OMV's New CDL page sets the floor for a Louisiana commercial learner's permit at "18 years of age or older."
Louisiana routes the CDL skills test to state-approved third-party testers, and OMV prices it on its own FAQ at $100 when the applicant provides the vehicle, noting that the cost of renting a vehicle is at the tester or examiner's discretion. Prospective testers and examiners must meet the qualifications in Title 55 rules 117 and 119 and La. R.S. 32:408, 408.1, and 408.2, pay a non-refundable application fee of $50.00 per site plus $10.00 per examiner to the Department of Public Safety, clear a background check, post a surety bond, and attend an examiner class before operating. On renewal, a Class A, B, or C license that has been expired or downgraded for at least one year requires passing the knowledge examination for the class and endorsements sought; at two years, a skills test in a vehicle of that class is also required. Louisiana states that a road skills test certificate remains valid for five years from its issue date.
Louisiana CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | $7.50 | Yes | — |
| Tank vehicle (N) | Yes | $7.50 | — | — |
| Doubles/triples (T) | Yes | $7.50 | — | — |
| Passenger (P) | Yes | $7.50 | — | — |
| School bus (S) | Yes | $7.50 | — | — |
Hazardous materials: OMV states that an applicant is "required to take and pass the knowledge test for the hazmat endorsement" on a new application, a renewal, and a change of state of record — Louisiana does not let an existing holder carry the endorsement forward without retesting. Fingerprinting costs $85.25, payable by credit or debit card, money order, certified check, or company check. A driver transferring an out-of-state CDL who wishes to retain an X or H endorsement must successfully complete the written test.
Tank vehicle: Priced at Louisiana's flat $7.50 per-endorsement fee. Tank is one of only three endorsements Louisiana permits on a commercial learner's permit, and a CLP carrying it also carries restriction 69. OMV's public pages do not itemize knowledge- or skills-test requirements for the N endorsement on its own.
Doubles/triples: Priced at Louisiana's flat $7.50 per-endorsement fee. Doubles/triples is not among the three endorsements OMV lists as available on a commercial learner's permit. OMV's public pages do not itemize knowledge- or skills-test requirements for the T endorsement.
Passenger: Priced at Louisiana's flat $7.50 per-endorsement fee. Passenger may be added to a commercial learner's permit, in which case restriction 07 is also applied. OMV's public pages do not itemize knowledge- or skills-test requirements for the P endorsement on its own.
School bus: Priced at Louisiana's flat $7.50 per-endorsement fee. School Bus is one of only three endorsements Louisiana permits on a commercial learner's permit. OMV's public pages do not itemize knowledge- or skills-test requirements for the S endorsement on its own.
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 Louisiana
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 Louisiana
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Interstate Non-excepted
- Interstate Excepted
- Intrastate Non-Excepted
- Intrastate Excepted
OMV's Self-Certification Inquiry page defines all four categories and adds a Louisiana routing rule: "If you operate in both Intrastate Commerce and Interstate Commerce, you must self-certify as Interstate Commerce." Louisiana has otherwise adopted the FMCSA regulations for both intrastate categories, and maintains a vision waiver program only — it does not offer a broader state medical waiver for intrastate excepted drivers. Completed medical examiner's certificates may be emailed to OMV_CDL_Medical@dps.la.gov, faxed to 225-925-3901, or mailed to the OMV in Baton Rouge.
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.
- What a Louisiana CDL costs depends on where you live. The license fee is $61.50, but $76.50 for Orleans Parish residents, and a separate $15.00 application fee plus a parish handling fee of up to $6.00 apply on top — so the advertised license fee is not the amount you will pay.
- The CDL skills test is not an OMV service. Louisiana routes it to state-approved third-party testers, and OMV publishes the price as $100 when you supply the vehicle; if you need to rent a testing vehicle, that cost is set at the tester's discretion and is additional.
- Louisiana requires the hazmat knowledge test every time — not just for a first-time endorsement. OMV states the test must be taken and passed on a new application, on renewal, and on a change of state of record, and a driver transferring an out-of-state CDL must pass the written test to keep an existing H or X endorsement.
- Much of Louisiana's binding CDL detail — license duration, retest windows, passing scores, and per-endorsement test requirements — is published in OMV's numbered policy documents rather than on its website, and those policies are hosted on a third-party platform linked from the OMV site. Where this page leaves a field blank for Louisiana, that policy library is usually where the answer lives.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
- Louisiana OMV — CDL costs, fees, classes and commercial FAQs
- Louisiana OMV — New CDL (CLP terms, endorsements, hazmat fingerprinting)
- Louisiana OMV — CDL Renewal (hazmat retesting, expired-license retest thresholds)
- Louisiana OMV — CDL Self-Certification Inquiry
- Louisiana OMV — CDL Third Party Testers (Title 55 rules 117/119, La. R.S. 32:408)
- Louisiana OMV — CDL Transfer
- Louisiana OMV — Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDL)
- Louisiana OMV — CDL Entry Level Driver Training
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services