CDL Requirements in West Virginia
Verified against West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), WV Department of Transportation ·
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 →
West Virginia CDL licensing runs through the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), part of the state Department of Transportation. WV ties its CDL/CLP fee to the same age-based fee chart used for regular Class E driver's licenses rather than publishing one flat CDL price, and it relies on a statewide roster of individually named third-party examiners (not testing companies) to administer skills tests across most counties.
West Virginia's CDL requirements — including an intrastate minimum age of 18 — are verified against West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), WV Department of Transportation (see West Virginia DMV — Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Rules and Regulations Manual (Rev. 08/2023)), current as of 2026-07-25.
West Virginia CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for West 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 | — |
| 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 | — |
| Renewal period | — |
| Knowledge test fee | $25 |
| Skills test fee | $100 |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | Yes |
| Retest waiting period | 7 days |
Other published fees
- Duplicate/issuance fee (added to most endorsement and class transactions): $7.50
- Class upgrade requiring a new knowledge test (includes duplicate fee): $32.50
- Class upgrade with no knowledge test required (duplicate fee only): $7.50
- Combined Hazardous Materials + Tank (X) endorsement: $20
- Expired-license (3+ years) additional fee: $5
- Skills-test no-show fee (paid to the Third Party Examiner): $50
Issued to holders of a valid WV operator's or Class D license who are at least 18 and have held a driver's license for a minimum of one year; must pass all applicable knowledge tests first. Only Tank (N), Passenger (P), and School Bus (S) endorsements may be added to a CLP (a Class C CLP with the N endorsement also carries the X 'no cargo in tank' restriction). The accompanying CDL holder supervising a CLP driver must be at least 21. WV's own primary sources conflict on validity: the live DMV CDL page states the permit 'may not be issued for a period to exceed one year' and 'cannot be renewed,' while the CDL Rules and Regulations Manual (Rev. 08/2023) states it 'may not be issued for a period to exceed 180 days' with 'only one (1) renewal or re-issuance... granted within a two (2) year period.' Because these two official DMV sources disagree, no single validity-in-months figure is asserted here.
Must be at least 18 with at least one year of licensed driving experience to qualify for a CDL or CLP — a WV-specific add-on to the federal age floor. Drivers under 21 receive a 'K' restriction limiting them to intrastate WV-only CMV operation; interstate operation before age 21 requires a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (WV DMV: 304-347-5935).
DMV administers CDL knowledge tests directly (general knowledge, air brakes, combination); the $25 testing fee covers up to 3 attempts, and a driver who fails any section must wait 7 days before retesting. Skills tests are administered exclusively by DMV-listed third-party examiners (named individuals across most counties, largely testing evenings/weekends); no day-based wait is published for a skills-test retest, only the $100 fee due again per attempt.
West Virginia CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | $10 | Yes | No |
| Tank vehicle (N) | Yes | $10 | Yes | No |
| Doubles/triples (T) | Yes | $10 | Yes | No |
| Passenger (P) | Yes | $10 | Yes | Yes |
| School bus (S) | Yes | $10 | Yes | Yes |
Hazardous materials: A separate, non-refundable background-check fee is paid directly to the TSA's fingerprinting vendor, not to WV DMV. On renewal, a HAZMAT holder gets 3 attempts to pass the knowledge test on a non-expired license; an expired license requires obtaining a new test card from the Charleston CDL office first. Also available combined with Tank as the single 'X' endorsement ($20).
Passenger: Addable to a CLP; skills test performed in a passenger-type vehicle.
School bus: Addable to a CLP; skills test performed in a school-bus-type vehicle.
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 West 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 West 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 West Virginia
West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), WV Department of Transportation administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Non-Excepted Interstate
- Excepted Interstate
- Non-Excepted Intrastate
- Excepted Intrastate
WV DMV's CDL manual lists the standard four FMCSA self-certification statements; excepted-status applicants (e.g., school bus drivers, government-agency CDL holders) are exempt from the FMCSA medical requirements.
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.
- West Virginia DMV's own sources disagree on how long a CDL instruction permit (CLP) is valid: the live 'Commercial Driver's License' page states permits are issued for up to one year and cannot be renewed, while the CDL Rules and Regulations Manual (Rev. 08/2023) states permits are valid 180 days with one renewal allowed within a two-year window. Confirm current validity directly with a WV DMV regional office before relying on either figure.
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: West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), WV Department of Transportation