Renewing your Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

Human traffickers often use truck stops, bus stations, rest areas, and transit centers for coordinating and moving victims. Signs of human trafficking may include:

• Citizens band (CB) radio chatter about a “commercial company,” "sale," or flashing lights in response
• A suspicious vehicle parked in an unusual location or often seen dropping off or picking up individuals from other trucks or vehicles
• Signs of physical and emotional trauma, such as extreme submissiveness, fear or distress, nervousness, or injuries such as bruising and branding
• An individual appearing disoriented and confused. Traffickers often deny their victims food, water, and medical care as a means of controlling and dominating them
• The same individual appearing at multiple locations

If something looks suspicious, trust your instincts, and contact local authorities by a call or text (calls may be made anonymously). If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Never attempt to confront a trafficker or victim.

When reporting a suspected human trafficking situation, describe specifically what you observed, including:

• Who or what you saw (such as physical identifiers or nicknames overheard)
• When you saw it (date and time)
• Where it occurred (where you noticed the suspicious activity and any movement, if applicable)
• Why it's suspicious

More information is available at the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Call (888) 373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree at 233733. The NHT hotline is a non-governmental agency funded by the federal government. It is not a law enforcement or immigration authority.

In addition to the appropriate CDL group designation, endorsements are required for the following:

• T – Double or Triple Trailers – (Triple trailer combinations aren’t permitted in Michigan.)
• P – Passenger – For vehicles designed to carry 16 or more people (including the driver)
• N – Tank Vehicles – For vehicles designed to haul liquids or liquefied gases in bulk in permanently mounted tanks or portable tanks rated at 1,000 gallons or more
• H – Hazardous Materials – To carry hazardous materials in amounts requiring placards
• X – Appears on the license instead of the H and N codes when an applicant receives both the tank and hazardous materials endorsements
• S – School Bus – For commercial motor vehicles used to transport pre-primary, primary, or secondary school students from home to school, school to home, or to and from school-sponsored events

• $18 for a for a new photo license ($33 if you have an enhanced license)
• $5 for each endorsement

All Secretary of State offices can accept payment by cash, credit or debit card (additional fees apply), or money order or check made payable to the State of Michigan.

You will need to pass knowledge exams about any CDL endorsements for which you are applying. To help you prepare the exams, the Michigan Commercial Driver's License Manual is available on our website.

Michigan Commercial Driver's License Manual

If you are applying for a hazardous materials (hazmat) endorsement, you will need proof of U.S. citizenship (certified birth certificate, U.S. passport, etc.) or proof of your immigration status. Immigration documents must be verified through the federal government’s SAVE application. Verification may take more than one day.

Beginning February 7, 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires customers applying for a first-time CDL or upgrading a CDL to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) through an approved driver education provider. Information about finding a provider can be found on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry.

ELDT must be completed before you can take a hazardous materials endorsement knowledge test. For other CDL classes and endorsements, you may take knowledge tests and obtain a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) but you must complete ELDT before scheduling a CDL skills test through a driver testing business.

Proof of completion of ELDT will show up in our system automatically through the federal government’s Commercial Skills Test Information Management System.

FMCSA Training Provider Registry

There are no minimum training hours for completing entry-level driver training. For more information about specific classes, contact an approved provider listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry.

FMCSA Training Provider Registry

You cannot apply for a hazardous materials endorsement and request a federal background record check if:

1. Your driving privilege is currently suspended, revoked or denied.
    
2. You do not meet the federal standards established by the USA PATRIOT Act or you have a federal disqualification. The disqualifications are listed beginning in 49 C.F.R. 1572.103 and at the TSA website.

Universal Enrollment Services (UES) is responsible for coordinating the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved fingerprint office locations in Michigan. Please visit UES at universalenroll.dhs.gov/ or you may call the UES call center at their toll-free number 855-347-8371 to help you preregister for a background record check, inquire about enrollment statuses, or answer any questions. UES' call center hours of operation are from 8:00am to 10pm Eastern, Monday through Friday.
 
You should complete a federal background record check application 45-60 days before you need your hazardous materials endorsement. However, you will first be required to complete ALL of the following before the TSA fingerprint collection offices listed at universalenroll.dhs.gov/ can collect your fingerprints:

1. Preregister online at universalenroll.dhs.gov/ or call UES' call center at their toll-free number: 855-347-8371.  
    
2. If you do not pay the required fingerprint fee when you pre-register, you will be required to pay the fee at the *in-person enrollment before you will be fingerprinted. You may pay with a credit card or money order, company check, or certified/cashier's check payable to MorphoTrust USA. Enrollment centers accept Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express, and Discover credit cards. Cash and personal checks are NOT accepted.
    
3. Appear in person at a TSA approved fingerprint office to have your fingerprints collected. The fingerprint office will ask you to present acceptable enrollment document(s) listed at: tsa.gov/for-industry/hazmat-endorsement before the technician can take your fingerprints
   
   
4. Upon completing the preregistration for a federal background records check, you will be given a confirmation number for your records and to use if you need to contact MorphoTrust after you have pre-enrolled.
    
5. Before going to a fingerprint office, please also visit universalenroll.dhs.gov/ to ensure you have everything you need to be fingerprinted and to check for any fingerprint office alerts.

* Walk-in renewals are also accepted. The customer service agent will confirm that the membership is eligible for renewal, upload identity verification documents, make any necessary updates to the individual’s biographic information, and process payment.

Yes. Entry-level driver training is required by the federal government to add an original hazardous materials endorsement to your CDL.

Entry-level driver training isn’t required if you’re renewing a CDL that already has a hazardous materials endorsement.

If you already have a CDL, you don’t need to complete entry-level driver training to add a tanker (N) endorsement, or double / triple trailer (T) endorsement.

For passenger and school bus endorsements, you can take the required knowledge exams and apply for a commercial learner’s permit. You must then complete entry-level driver training before scheduling a CDL skills test through a driver testing business.

For hazardous materials endorsements, entry-level driver training must be completed before you take a knowledge exam to apply for an original endorsement.

If you dropped the endorsement within the last two years, you can reapply for the endorsement without taking a CDL knowledge exam.

If your license is misplaced, you will need to provide multiple documents to prove your identity (U.S. passport, birth certificate, etc.) and your citizenship.

The commercial driver’s license (CDL) knowledge skills test and on-road driving skills test requirements are waived for military service members who are trained and have been employed in the past year to operate the military equivalent to a commercial vehicle. Eligible veterans and service members may apply to convert their Michigan license to a CDL Class A or B at any Secretary of State office by completing the Application for Military Waiver Even Exchange.

The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (DACH) is an online database administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Its primary objective is to provide law enforcement, state licensing agencies (DMV), and employers in the transportation industry with up-to-date compliance information regarding drug and alcohol program violations of commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders.

Yes. Beginning November 18, 2024, the State of Michigan will be required to check the DACH prior to completing licensing transactions, such as the issuance, renewal, transfer, and upgrade of a CLP or CDL.

A driver's Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP) or Commercial Driver's License (CDL) will be required to be downgraded by the State of Michigan upon notification of a Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (DACH) violation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 

A CDL driver who tests positive on a DOT test or refuses to take a DOT test, must successfully complete the return-to-duty (RTD) process with a DOT qualified substance abuse professional (SAP).  The requirements for the RTD are found in [49 CFR Part 40, Subpart O].

For more information visit clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov or call the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, 1-844-955-0207. For a more detailed FMCSA overview of the DACH process for employers visit DACH Employer Instructions.