CDL Requirements in Nebraska

Verified against Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles · 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 →

Nebraska DMV prices CDLs and CLPs on a single duration-scaled fee table that also covers its Restricted Commercial Driver's License (RCDL) — a state-specific credential letting seasonal agricultural operators (custom harvesters, ag suppliers, livestock feeders) drive a Class B or C CMV up to 210 days a year within 150 miles of their employer without a full CDL. The state licenses a broad third-party skills-testing network — 23 authorized organizations statewide, including several community colleges — alongside its own DMV-administered testing. For a first-time hazmat knowledge test specifically, Nebraska requires the applicant to proactively email the DMV and wait for confirmation that the federal Training Provider Registry shows ELDT completion before a test appointment can even be scheduled, a state-specific administrative step layered on the standard federal verification process.

Nebraska's CDL requirements — including a $15 commercial learner permit fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (see Nebraska DMV — Get a Commercial Driver's License (CDL), fees & requirements), current as of 2026-07-25.

Nebraska CDL Requirements at a Glance

This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Nebraskaspecifically — 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 Nebraska
Commercial learner’s permit (CLP)
CLP fee	$15
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	$60
Renewal fee	$60
Renewal period	5 years (shorter if issued to an applicant under 21, whose CDL instead expires on their 21st birthday; also shorter for Hazmat endorsement holders, whose CDL expires when their TSA security threat assessment expires)
Knowledge test fee	—
Skills test fee	—
Testing rules
Third-party testers allowed	Yes
Retest waiting period	1 day

Other published fees

Replacement CDL/CLP: $16
Change of class, endorsement, or restriction: $15

Valid 1 year. Only the Passenger (P), School Bus (S), and Tank Vehicle (N) endorsements may be added to a CLP; Hazmat and Doubles/Triples cannot. If the CLP expires before all three skills-test segments (pre-trip inspection, basic controls, road test) are passed, every previously passed segment becomes invalid and the entire skills test must be retaken.

21+ for interstate operation, 18+ for intrastate-only — stated directly on Nebraska DMV's CDL page and in the CDL Driver's Manual, and consistent with the DMV's own Category A–D self-certification chart.

Nebraska DMV administers CDL knowledge and skills tests directly (skills tests by appointment only, 402-471-7983) and separately certifies third-party testers — 23 organizations statewide as of this review, including four community colleges — to give the skills exam under Title 247 NAC Chapter 8; third-party appointments must be booked at least two business days out. Nebraska residents renewing a CDL that has been expired up to one year, and new residents surrendering a valid out-of-state CDL, are not required to retake any knowledge or skills test previously passed — except the hazmat knowledge test, which must always be retaken new.

Nebraska CDL Endorsements

Hazmat, tanker, doubles/triples, passenger, and school bus endorsement availability, fees, and testing in Nebraska
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 TSA security threat assessment (pre-enrollment plus fingerprinting at a TSA-designated collection site); the screening fee is set and collected by TSA's third-party agent, not the Nebraska DMV. No separate DMV endorsement fee is published — endorsement changes are covered by the state's flat $15 class/endorsement/restriction change fee. Adding Hazmat resets the CDL's expiration to match the security threat assessment's expiration date.

Tank vehicle: Knowledge test only; no separate DMV endorsement fee is published (covered by the flat $15 class/endorsement/restriction change fee).

Doubles/triples: Knowledge test only, addable to a Class A CDL; no separate DMV endorsement fee is published (covered by the flat $15 class/endorsement/restriction change fee).

Passenger: Skills test performed in a vehicle representative of the class sought; addable to a CLP (code P). No separate DMV endorsement fee is published (covered by the flat $15 class/endorsement/restriction change fee).

School bus: Requires the driver to hold or simultaneously obtain the Passenger (P) endorsement; addable to a CLP (code S). Nebraska's military CDL skills-test waiver program explicitly excludes transfer of the School Bus (S) and Passenger (P) endorsements even when the underlying skills test is otherwise waived. No separate DMV endorsement fee is published (covered by the flat $15 class/endorsement/restriction change 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 Nebraska

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.

Nebraska-specific: For a first-time hazmat knowledge test only, Nebraska DMV requires the applicant to proactively email DMV.HazTPRCheck@nebraska.gov and wait for DMV confirmation that the federal Training Provider Registry shows ELDT completion before a knowledge-test appointment can be scheduled. ELDT verification for every other CDL category or endorsement happens automatically when the driver calls to book a skills appointment.

Self-certification in Nebraska

Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:

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

Nebraska DMV's own Self-Certification chart (Categories A–D) requires interstate applicants to be 21+ and intrastate applicants 18+. Category B (Interstate Excepted) and Category D (Intrastate Excepted) cover government/political-subdivision employees, custom harvesters, beekeepers, and private motor carriers of passengers operating for non-business purposes (churches, private schools, civic groups); Category D also covers any operator who has held a Nebraska CDL continuously since before July 30, 1996. Choosing Category C or D places a 'K – Intrastate Only' restriction on the CDL.

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: Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles