How Do You Get a Maryland CDL?
Quick answer: You pick a class (A, B or C), complete Entry-Level Driver Training with a provider on the federal registry, pass a knowledge test at 80%, hold a commercial learner’s permit, pass a skills test, and clear a DOT medical exam. Under 21, you’re limited to driving within Maryland. And the thing nobody tells you until it’s too late: a DUI in your own car, off duty, disqualifies you from driving commercially for a year. A second one is for life.
I’m David Waranch. I don’t help people get a CDL — the MVA does that. I help people keep one.
But if you’re about to spend months and real money earning a licence, you should know what the process is and what can take it away. So here’s both, and the second half is the part you won’t find on the MVA’s site.
The Three Classes
Straight from 49 C.F.R. § 383.91. Get these right — driving a vehicle outside the class your CDL authorises is itself a disqualifying offence.
| Class | What it covers |
|---|---|
| A Combination | Any combination of vehicles with a Gross Combination Weight Rating of 26,001 lbs or more, provided the vehicle(s) being towed exceed 10,000 lbs GVWR. |
| B Heavy straight | Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 lbs or more — or such a vehicle towing a unit not exceeding 10,000 lbs. |
| C Small | Anything that’s neither A nor B, but is designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is used to transport hazardous materials. |
Two things almost every guide gets wrong, including the version of this page that stood here until recently:
- It’s Gross Combination Weight Rating for Class A — not “Gross Commercial Weight Rating,” which doesn’t exist. And the 10,000 lb figure applies to what you’re towing, not the truck.
- Class C is 16 or more including the driver — fifteen passengers plus you. Not “over 16.” Get that wrong and you’re operating outside your class, which is a serious traffic violation in its own right.
Useful to know: the classes step down. A Class A licence lets you drive Class B and C vehicles; a Class B lets you drive Class C — provided you hold the right endorsements.
The Process
- Hold a regular driver’s licence first, and only one. The one-licence rule is federal: you cannot hold a CDL in Maryland and keep a driver’s licence from another state. You surrender it.
- Complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT). Mandatory since February 2022 for any first-time Class A or Class B CDL — and for a first-time School Bus, Passenger or Hazmat endorsement. The training must come from a provider listed on the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. If your school isn’t on the registry, your test doesn’t count. Most of the CDL guidance floating around online predates this rule entirely.
- Pass the knowledge test — you need 80%.
- Get your commercial learner’s permit (CLP) and practise. Only three endorsements can go on a CLP: Passenger (P), School Bus (S) and Tank (N).
- Pass the skills test in a representative vehicle for your class.
- Clear the DOT medical exam. Waivers exist for some conditions.
You’ll also need proof of identity, age and Maryland residency. Check the MVA for current fees — they change, and I’d rather send you to the source than quote you a number that’s a year out of date.
If you’re under 21
You can get a CDL, but you’re limited to intrastate driving — Maryland only. One trip across the Virginia line and you’ve breached the restriction. You also cannot carry hazardous materials until 21.
Now the Part the MVA Won’t Tell You
Getting the licence is the easy part. Keeping it is where people come unstuck, and the rules are far harsher than anything that applies to ordinary drivers.
You can lose it for something you did in your own car
This is the one that ends careers, and almost nobody knows it before it happens.
Under 49 C.F.R. § 383.51, a DUI in a non-commercial vehicle — your own car, off duty, on a Saturday, nothing to do with work — disqualifies you from driving a commercial vehicle for one year. A second major offence, in any vehicle, at any time, is a lifetime disqualification.
And the alcohol limit in a commercial vehicle is 0.04 — half of everyone else’s.
If you’re hauling placarded hazardous materials when it happens, the one year becomes three.
Ordinary tickets stack up against you
“Serious traffic violations” — 15+ mph over, following too closely, an improper lane change, driving without the proper class or endorsement — carry no disqualification on their own. But two in three years is a 60-day disqualification. Three is 120 days.
Two speeding tickets you’d have shrugged off as a car driver will put you out of work for two months.
And a PBJ will not save you
Probation before judgment is the outcome that rescues most Maryland drivers — no conviction, no points. For a CDL holder it does nothing. 49 C.F.R. § 384.226, the federal anti-masking rule, forbids a state from hiding a CDL holder’s conviction. Maryland cannot mask it, however sympathetic the judge.
Which is why I say the same thing to every commercial driver who calls me: do not pay that ticket. Paying is pleading guilty, a guilty plea is a conviction, and a conviction goes on a federal record that follows you to every carrier you’ll ever apply to.
Related Questions
- Maryland CDL endorsements — what each one costs you
- How a traffic ticket threatens your CDL
- Why a PBJ doesn’t protect a commercial driver
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a Class A and a Class B CDL?
Class A is for combinations — a tractor pulling a trailer over 10,000 lbs, with a combined rating of 26,001 lbs or more. Class B is a single heavy vehicle of 26,001 lbs or more. A Class A licence also lets you drive Class B and C vehicles.
Do I need ELDT?
If this is your first Class A or Class B CDL, yes — and it must come from a provider on the FMCSA registry. Check before you pay a school anything. Training from an unlisted provider does not count.
Can I hold a CDL and an out-of-state licence?
No. One licence only. Your Maryland CDL is your licence whether you’re hauling freight or driving the kids to school.
Can a DUI in my personal car cost me my CDL?
Yes — one year. Off duty, own vehicle, weekend, doesn’t matter. A second major offence is a lifetime disqualification. The federal rules do not care that you weren’t working.
How many passengers before I need a Class C?
16 or more, counting the driver. A great many sources say “over 16,” and they’re wrong.
If You Already Hold a CDL and You’ve Been Cited
Call me before your court date and before you pay anything. The margin for error is far smaller than it is for other drivers, and the consequences land on your livelihood, not just your licence.
Toll-free 1-877-566-2408. I represent truck drivers and commercial drivers throughout Maryland. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: July 2026