CDL Requirements in Virginia
Verified against Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources 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.
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.
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