49 CFR 383.23: When a commercial driver's license is required

What the cited provisions say

Section 383.23(a)(1) identifies subparts F, G, and H as the federal testing standards and links those standards to the CMV the person operates or expects to operate. Section 383.23(a)(2) requires the CDL itself to meet subpart J standards, with paragraph (b) qualifying the domicile-based licensing rule.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Under § 383.23(b)(1), read with the non-domiciled credential definition in § 383.5, an individual domiciled in a foreign country whose testing and licensing standards the Administrator has not recognized as conforming or similar may obtain a non-domiciled CLP or CDL from a State complying with subparts F, G, and H, provided the individual meets § 383.71(f); however, the footnote to § 383.23(b)(1), invoking § 383.21, prohibits holders of a commercial driver's license issued under the Canadian National Safety Code or a new Licencia Federal de Conductor issued by Mexico from obtaining a non-domiciled CDL or any other driver's license from a State or other jurisdiction in the United States. Section 383.23(b)(2) permits an individual domiciled in a State prohibited from issuing CDLs under § 384.405 to obtain a non-domiciled credential from a compliant State electing to issue it, again subject to § 383.71(f). Section 383.23(b)(3) authorizes a CLP holder to operate the vehicle class provided by that permit in accordance with § 383.25.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Who and what the provisions cover

Section 383.3(a) applies part 383 to people operating CMVs in interstate, foreign, or intrastate commerce, their employers, and all States. Section 390.3T(b) likewise identifies interstate and intrastate CMV operation and the operators' employers, expressly using the CMV definition in § 383.5.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Section 383.5 defines a CDL as a credential issued under part 383 standards by a State or other jurisdiction of domicile that authorizes operation of a CMV class. Section 383.5 defines non-domiciled credentials through the alternative conditions in § 383.23(b)(1) and (b)(2), and identifies the Administrator as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Section 383.5 defines State as a State of the United States and the District of Columbia; § 390.5T separately includes political subdivisions in its State definition. The supplied CMV definition in § 390.5T addresses highway use in interstate commerce, but the saved § 383.5 CMV definition is absent. The supplied CDL definition appears in § 383.5, but its CMV definition is absent; the supplied § 390.5T CMV definition does not establish the content of the § 383.5 definition expressly referenced in § 390.3T(b).^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Conditions and exceptions

Section 383.3(c) requires States to exempt CMV operation for military purposes by active duty military personnel, military reservists, national guard members on active duty, including full-time duty and part-time training, dual-status military technicians as defined in the cited statute, and active duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Under § 383.3(d)(1), a State may exempt operators of farm vehicles controlled and operated by a farmer, including operation by employees or family members, used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm, not used in for-hire motor-carrier operations except for an exempt motor carrier as defined in § 390.5, and used within 241 kilometers (150 miles) of the farmer's farm; § 383.3(d) limits use of this waiver to the driver's home State unless a reciprocity agreement exists with adjoining States. Section 383.3(d) limits that waiver to the home State unless adjoining States have a reciprocity agreement.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Section 383.3(h) excludes drivers of covered farm vehicles as defined in its referenced § 390.5. Section 383.3(b) expressly prevents reliance on § 390.3(f) exceptions for part 383 unless § 383.3 otherwise provides. Neither referenced definition nor the non-temporary § 390.3(f) text is supplied here.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Related provisions in the saved sources

The footnote to § 383.23(b)(1), invoking the single-license provision of § 383.21, states that a driver holding a commercial driver's license issued under the Canadian National Safety Code or a new Licencia Federal de Conductor issued by Mexico is prohibited from obtaining a non-domiciled CDL or any other driver's license from a State or other jurisdiction in the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Under § 383.3(d)(2), a State may exempt firefighters and other operators of CMVs necessary to preserve life or property or execute emergency governmental functions, provided the vehicles have audible and visual signals and are not subject to normal traffic regulation; § 383.3(d) limits use of the waiver to the driver's home State unless a reciprocity agreement exists with adjoining States. Under § 383.3(d)(3), a State may exempt a driver employed by an eligible unit of local government who operates a CMV within that unit's boundaries to remove roadway snow or ice by plowing, sanding, or salting, if the properly licensed employee who ordinarily operates a CMV for those purposes is unable to operate the vehicle or the employing government determines that a snow or ice emergency requires additional assistance; the exemption does not preempt State laws and regulations concerning safe CMV operation, and § 383.3(d) limits waiver use to the driver's home State unless a reciprocity agreement exists with adjoining States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Source date and limits

The saved-source date is 2026-11-06. This entry uses only the supplied eCFR units attributed to the National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register. Its statute-only scope is limited here to the saved federal regulatory text. It does not represent verification of the law on a later date, address judicial interpretation, or determine how a State has exercised a discretionary option.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The saved collection also contains § 383.3(e), (f), (g), and (i), concerning Alaska credentials, farm-service credentials, pyrotechnic credentials, and a fuel-related endorsement exemption, together with § 383.77(a) and (b), concerning military-experience test waivers. Their detailed eligibility and operating conditions are outside this condensed explanation. The references to § 383.71(f), § 383.25, § 384.405, and the licensing subparts are not substitutes for their unsupplied text. This discussion of § 383.23 is general reference information rather than legal advice or an individualized conclusion about permission to operate a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

See also

• FMCSA and federal trucking rules

On related publications

• Texas truck accident statistics (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyers.wiki)
• Georgia DPS adoption of federal motor carrier safety rules (atlantatruckaccidentlawyers.wiki)
• https://flanaganlaw.wiki/practice-areas/truck-accidents/ (flanaganlaw.wiki)