CDL Requirements in Virginia
Verified against Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles ·
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 →
Virginia DMV prices its CDL per year of validity ($8/year, so a standard 8-year CDL with no endorsements runs $64) rather than a single flat issuance fee, and layers a modest $1-per-year charge on top for each endorsement held. DMV also certifies outside businesses, government entities, and Class A driver-training schools as Third-Party Testers to administer the CDL skills test, and — unusually — lets a driver operate a school bus built for fewer than 16 occupants on an ordinary (non-CDL) driver's license carrying only the school bus endorsement.
Virginia's CDL requirements — including a $3 commercial learner permit fee and an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (see Virginia DMV — Fee Chart (DMV 201)), current as of 2026-07-25.
Virginia CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for Virginiaspecifically — 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 | $3 |
| 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 | $64 |
| Renewal fee | $64 |
| Renewal period | 8 years, expiring on the holder's birthday (5 years instead for a CDL holder required to register with Virginia's Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry) |
| Knowledge test fee | — |
| Skills test fee | — |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | Yes |
| Retest waiting period | — |
Other published fees
- CDL endorsement(s), per year of CDL validity (e.g., $8 total held across a standard 8-year term): $1
- CDL skills test missed-appointment fee (if the examiner isn't notified in advance): $50
- Replacement CDL (or driver's/motorcycle license): $50
- Replacement commercial learner's permit: $2
Valid one year and cannot be renewed — the applicant must reapply. First-time CDL applicants must hold a CLP for a minimum of 14 days (time held on an out-of-state CLP counts toward this) before taking the skills test; DMV's own CDL Skills Test Eligibility page states this 14-day hold can alternatively be satisfied by evidence of having previously held a CDL, in addition to the standalone requirement to complete Entry-Level Driver Training for first-time applicants.
Virginia DMV states the federal floor directly: 18+ to hold any CDL, 21+ to cross state lines, transport hazardous materials, or carry interstate freight within the state. Drivers under 21 are issued a CDL with a 'K' restriction limiting operation to within Virginia.
Virginia's Third-Party Tester Program certifies CMV-operating businesses (minimum 1 year operating in Virginia and at least 50 CMV drivers employed in the prior 12 months, though the driver-count minimum can be waived on request), government entities, and Class A driver-training schools to administer the pre-trip inspection and road skills test through a DMV-certified examiner. Knowledge exams may be taken only once per business day; a passed knowledge test is valid for one year and a passed skills test for six months before it must be retaken. DMV's current CDL manual supplement and website both state, in near-identical wording, that a third failure of the CDL general knowledge exam or the behind-the-wheel test — tied to language reading 'prior to February 7, 2022' in both currently-published sources — bars a fourth attempt until the applicant completes the corresponding classroom or in-vehicle component of a DMV-approved driver training school and presents a certificate of completion; no day-based cooling-off period is published separately from this training requirement.
Virginia CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | $83 | Yes | No |
| Tank vehicle (N) | Yes | $1 | Yes | No |
| Doubles/triples (T) | Yes | $1 | Yes | No |
| Passenger (P) | Yes | $1 | Yes | Yes |
| School bus (S) | Yes | $1 | Yes | Yes |
Hazardous materials: Requires a fingerprint-based background check at a DMV customer service center equipped to process it; the non-refundable fee is $83, reduced to $41 (fingerprinting waived) for applicants using TWIC-card comparability. Cannot be transferred from another state or foreign country — a driver moving to Virginia must pass Virginia's own HAZMAT knowledge exam, and if the prior state's background check can't be verified by DMV, must also redo the fingerprint-based check in Virginia.
Tank vehicle: Priced at Virginia's standard $1-per-year endorsement fee. Special knowledge exam only; no separate skills test.
Doubles/triples: Addable only to a Class A license for pulling double or triple trailers; priced at Virginia's standard $1-per-year endorsement fee; knowledge exam only.
Passenger: Road test must be taken in the class of vehicle the applicant wishes to operate; priced at Virginia's standard $1-per-year endorsement fee. A driver required to register with Virginia's Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry may hold a P endorsement only with a restriction barring transport of children to or from school or daycare activities.
School bus: Applicant must be 18+ and hold a valid CDL (Class B or C depending on the bus). A driver required to register with Virginia's Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry is fully ineligible for an S endorsement for as long as that registration requirement applies. Virginia is also structurally unusual here: a bus built for fewer than 16 occupants can be driven on an ordinary, non-CDL driver's license carrying the school bus endorsement — a full CDL is required only for buses designed to carry 16 or more occupants.
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 Virginia
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 Virginia 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.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Before paying any provider, confirm it is listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry; only registered providers can submit your completion.
Self-certification in Virginia
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Non-Excepted Interstate
- Non-Excepted Intrastate
- Excepted Interstate
- Excepted Intrastate
Virginia DMV requires certification to one of the four FMCSA categories on every original, renewal, or replacement CDL/CLP application; certifying to either intrastate category adds a 'K' restriction limiting the driver to operation within Virginia.
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.
- Virginia currently allows a school bus built to carry fewer than 16 occupants to be driven on an ordinary (non-CDL) driver's license bearing the school bus endorsement — a full CDL is required only for buses designed for 16 or more occupants.
- As of DMV's live guidance, Virginia has paused all issuance of non-domiciled CDLs and CLPs (new, renewal, transfer, and replacement) following a September 29, 2025 federal rule change on non-citizen CDL eligibility, with no announced date for resuming issuance.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
- Virginia DMV — Fee Chart (DMV 201)
- Virginia DMV — Apply for a CDL or Commercial Learner's Permit
- Virginia Supplement to the Commercial Driver's License Manual
- Virginia DMV — CDL Classifications, Endorsements and Restrictions
- Virginia DMV — Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME)
- Virginia DMV — CDL Knowledge Exams
- Virginia DMV — CDL Skills Tests
- Virginia DMV — Third-Party Tester Program
- Virginia DMV — CDL Skills Test Eligibility Requirements
- Virginia DMV — Commercial Learner's Permit
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles