CDL Requirements in Louisiana
Verified against Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services ·
Compiled and verified against each state's own licensing agency and statutes 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. Veterans and current service members with military driving experience may qualify for a skills-test waiver — see military & veteran CDL pathways.
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.
DLA Academy · Sponsored
Getting a Class A or B CDL in Louisiana for the first time? The theory half of ELDT can be completed online with a registered provider; behind-the-wheel training must be done in person.
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Before paying any provider, confirm it is listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry; only registered providers can submit your completion.
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