CDL Requirements in Montana
Verified against Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetCDLLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
Montana's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), a division of the Department of Justice, issues CDLs and CLPs directly at its own Driver License Exam Stations; no third-party skills-testing program comparable to some other states' formal contractor programs was confirmed. Rather than a flat per-class license fee, Montana ties both the CDL fee and its validity period (1 to 4 years) to the applicant's age so the license expiration lines up with the underlying driver license's birth-year renewal cycle, and folds every endorsement's testing cost into that single age-tiered fee rather than itemizing per endorsement. Montana also offers a state-specific Montana Medical Card (MMC) that lets a driver who cannot meet the federal medical certification standard, but can meet Montana's own medical standard, hold an intrastate-only CDL.
Montana's CDL requirements — including an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division (see Montana MVD — Getting a New CDL in Montana (steps, ELDT, and fee tables)), current as of 2026-07-25.
Montana CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Montanaspecifically — 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 | 12 months |
| Age minimums | |
| Intrastate minimum age | 18 |
| Interstate minimum age | 21 (federal floor) |
| Fees | |
| Application fee | — |
| Initial CDL fee | — |
| Renewal fee | — |
| Renewal period | 1–4 years, varying by applicant age so the CDL's expiration aligns with the underlying driver license's birth-year renewal cycle (4 years for the standard 21–71 age band; shorter 1–3 year cycles apply at ages 18–20 and 72–74) |
| Knowledge test fee | — |
| Skills test fee | — |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | No |
| Retest waiting period | — |
Other published fees
- Intrastate CDL, ages 21–71 and 75+ (standard 4-year cycle): $35.54
- Interstate CDL, ages 21–71 and 75+ (standard 4-year cycle): $41.72
- Missed test appointment without prior cancellation (reappointment fee): $20
Issued after passing the vision and written knowledge test(s) and presenting a valid Medical Examiner's Certificate (or qualifying excepted/Montana Medical Card status); valid for one year from the date of issuance. Must be held a minimum of 14 days before the skills test (testable on the 15th day) — matches, not exceeds, the federal floor. Only the Tank (N), Passenger (P), and School Bus (S) endorsements may be added to a CLP; a CLP carrying P or S also receives a mandatory 'no passengers' restriction, and one carrying N receives a mandatory 'no cargo in tank' restriction, until the full CDL is issued. No CLP-only fee separate from the CDL fee table is published on any fetched MVD page.
Matches the federal floor exactly: Interstate applicants must be at least 21; Intrastate (Montana-only) applicants must be at least 18 (CDL Manual, 'Minimum Driver Ages / Certification'). Intrastate CDL holders cannot be involved in hauling goods in interstate commerce.
All CDL knowledge and skills testing is administered directly by MVD examiners at Driver License Exam Stations; both require an appointment. A failed knowledge or endorsement test may be retaken the next business day the exam station is open. The three-part skills test (pre-trip inspection, basic control skills, on-road drive) must be passed in order — failing the pre-trip or basic-control step ends the test and requires a minimum 1-day wait to reschedule, while failing the on-road portion requires a minimum 7-day wait. A missed appointment without prior cancellation carries a $20.00 reappointment fee. MVD's own 'Getting a New CDL in Montana' page separately references a CDL testing option through Helena College; no MVD page states whether this operates as a distinct third-party tester or an MVD-staffed site, so it was not treated as evidence of a formal third-party testing program.
Montana CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | — | 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 a special knowledge exam on hazardous materials handling (49 CFR §383.5); Montana's CDL Manual states this knowledge test must be passed again at every renewal or transfer of the endorsement, not only at first issuance. Not addable to a CLP. No separate MVD endorsement fee is published — cost is folded into the same age-tiered base CDL fee that also covers every other endorsement.
Tank vehicle: Special knowledge exam covering tank vehicles carrying more than 119 gallons individually or 1,000 gallons in aggregate; addable to a CLP (with a mandatory 'no cargo in tank' restriction while permit-only). Drivers hauling placarded hazardous materials in a tank vehicle must also hold the combination Hazmat + Tank (X) endorsement, which requires passing both specialized knowledge exams. No separate MVD fee published; bundled into the base CDL fee.
Doubles/triples: Special knowledge exam on multi-trailer handling; Montana's CDL Manual describes it as required for drivers who pull double or triple trailers in Class A or B vehicles. Not addable to a CLP. No separate MVD fee published; bundled into the base CDL fee.
Passenger: Special knowledge exam on passenger-transport safety plus a skills test performed in a representative passenger vehicle; addable to a CLP, which then carries a mandatory 'no passengers in a CMV bus' restriction until the full CDL is issued. Required as a prerequisite for the School Bus endorsement. No separate MVD fee published; bundled into the base CDL fee.
School bus: Special knowledge exam on school-bus passenger safety plus a skills test performed in an actual school bus; applies across Class A, B, or C. Requires holding, or simultaneously obtaining, the Passenger endorsement. Addable to a CLP, which then carries the same mandatory 'no passengers' restriction as the Passenger endorsement. No separate MVD fee published; bundled into the base CDL fee.
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 Montana
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 Montana
Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Non-Excepted Interstate
- Excepted Interstate
- Non-Excepted Intrastate
- Excepted Intrastate
Montana MVD's CDL Manual and Form 21-1201 (CDL Self-Certification Classification and Medical Documentation) both list all four FMCSA self-certification categories; applicants first choose Interstate vs. Intrastate operation, then certify Excepted vs. Non-Excepted medical status. Non-Excepted drivers must hold a Medical Examiner's Certificate; an Intrastate driver who cannot meet the federal medical standard but can meet Montana's own medical standard may instead qualify for a Montana Medical Card (MMC), restricting them to intrastate-only operation.
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.
- Montana's CDL fee is not flat: it varies by the applicant's age (from about $9 to about $42) and by validity period (1 to 4 years), timed to align the CDL's expiration with the underlying driver license's birth-year cycle — check the current MVD fee table for your exact age bracket.
- Montana offers a state-specific Montana Medical Card (MMC) that lets an applicant who cannot meet the federal medical certification standard, but can meet Montana's own medical standard, hold an intrastate-only CDL.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
- Montana MVD — Getting a New CDL in Montana (steps, ELDT, and fee tables)
- Montana MVD — Commercial Driver License Manual (Revised June 2026)
- Montana MVD — Commercial Driver License (CDL) program overview
- Montana MVD — Commercial Pre-Trip, Skills, and Road Test Requirements (Form 20-0200)
- Montana MVD — Forms & Manuals: Licensing (CDL Self-Certification, Application, School Bus Supplemental Manual)
- Montana Department of Transportation — Motor Carrier Services: Licenses & Registrations
- FMCSA — Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Requirements
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division