CDL Requirements in Maryland

Verified against Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) · 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 →

Maryland licenses commercial drivers through the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), part of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), rather than a standalone DMV or DPS. The MVA administers all CDL skills tests itself — it does not run a third-party testing program and will not test out-of-state CLP holders — but does accept skills tests Maryland CLP holders complete in other states through AAMVA's Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS). Maryland CDL holders under 21 carry a 'K' (intrastate-only) restriction, and the School Bus (S) endorsement uniquely requires the Medical Examiner's Certificate to be renewed annually rather than on the standard up-to-two-year cycle.

Maryland's CDL requirements — including a $106 commercial learner permit fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) (see Maryland MVA — License & ID Fees (Commercial licenses)), current as of 2026-07-25.

Maryland CDL Requirements at a Glance

This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Marylandspecifically — 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 Maryland
Commercial learner’s permit (CLP)
CLP fee	$106
Minimum holding period before skills test	14 days
CLP validity	—
Age minimums
Intrastate minimum age	18
Interstate minimum age	21 (federal floor)
Fees
Application fee	—
Initial CDL fee	—
Renewal fee	$64
Renewal period	8 years
Knowledge test fee	—
Skills test fee	—
Testing rules
Third-party testers allowed	No
Retest waiting period	1 day

Other published fees

CDL Learner's Permit (CLP): $106
CDL Skills Retest: $20
CDL HAZMAT Background Check (BRC): $109.25
CDL with Hazmat Endorsement (5-year cycle): $30
CDL Conversion, out-of-state to MD, same class (8-year): $64
CDL Conversion, out-of-state to MD, with Hazmat (5-year): $40
Add Motorcycle Class to CDL: $45
CDL Duplicate: $30
CDL Correction (without renewal): $30

The MVA's own CDL pages state a CLP must be held for 'at least 14 days' before the CDL skills (road) test, matching (not exceeding) the federal floor. No fetched MVA page states a CLP validity period in months. To remove an Automatic Transmission (E), Air Brakes (L), Air-over-Hydraulic (Z), or Tractor-Trailer/fifth-wheel (O) restriction, a driver must obtain a new CLP, hold it 14 days again, and pass the relevant knowledge and skills tests in appropriately equipped equipment.

Stated directly on the MVA's own 'Get or Renew a CDL' page: applicants must be at least 18 to drive commercially within Maryland only (intrastate), or at least 21 to drive across state lines, transport hazardous materials, or transport passengers.

The MVA administers all CDL knowledge and skills tests itself; no private third-party testing program was found. Maryland CLP holders may complete their skills test in another state (results transmitted back via AAMVA's CSTIMS system), but the MVA does not perform CDL skills tests for permit holders from other states, and out-of-state temporary CDLs are neither issued nor recognized. After a first skills-test failure, retesting is possible as soon as one day later depending on appointment availability; a second or subsequent failure requires at least a 7-day wait. All CDL skills tests are given only in English; the knowledge tests may be taken in English or Spanish, and interpreters are not permitted for either.

Maryland CDL Endorsements

Hazmat, tanker, doubles/triples, passenger, and school bus endorsement availability, fees, and testing in Maryland
Endorsement	Available	Fee	Knowledge test	Skills test
Hazardous materials (H)	Yes	$109.25	Yes	No
Tank vehicle (N)	Yes	—	Yes	No
Doubles/triples (T)	Yes	—	Yes	No
Passenger (P)	Yes	—	Yes	Yes
School bus (S)	Yes	—	Yes	Yes

Hazardous materials: Requires the MVA's own $109.25 HAZMAT Background Check (BRC) process through the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, or presentation of a TWIC card in lieu of a new background check. Not transferable when converting an out-of-state CDL — the knowledge test and background check must be redone in Maryland.

Tank vehicle: Knowledge test only, no background check or skills test required; no separate MVA fee published beyond the standard CDL/CLP cycle.

Doubles/triples: Knowledge test only. The MVA's own FAQ notes that triples are not allowed under Maryland law even though the T (Doubles/Triples) endorsement can still be earned via the knowledge test.

Passenger: Requires a CLP with the P endorsement first, then a written test and skills test. Needed for vehicles carrying 16 or more passengers including the driver. Holders of an MVA intrastate medical waiver are not eligible for this endorsement.

School bus: Requires both the Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) knowledge tests plus a dedicated School Bus Skills Test; a CLP with the S endorsement is required first. Uniquely among Maryland's endorsements, the underlying Medical Examiner's Certificate must be renewed annually (not on the standard up-to-two-year cycle) to keep the S endorsement — missing the annual renewal by more than a year removes the endorsement and requires reapplying. Holders of an MVA intrastate medical waiver are not eligible for this endorsement.

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 Maryland

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 Maryland

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:

Non-Excepted Interstate
Excepted Interstate
Non-Excepted Intrastate
Excepted Intrastate

The MVA's CDL medical certification page lists all four FMCSA self-certification categories (NI, EI, NA, EA). Excepted Interstate and Excepted Intrastate drivers must re-certify every so often at renewal; Non-Excepted Interstate and Non-Excepted Intrastate drivers who do not maintain active medical certification are automatically downgraded to a non-commercial Class D license.

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.

As of June 23, 2025, a Medical Examiner's Certificate is no longer required to be carried physically by CDL holders in Maryland; certification is verified electronically between the medical examiner, FMCSA, and the MVA.

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: Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA)