Editorial Policy

This page explains how StateCDLRequirements.com decides what to publish, how we check it, and the lines we won't cross. If a page ever falls short of what's written here, we want to know.

Official sources first

Every factual claim on this site — a fee, an age, a hold period, a deadline, a rule — must trace to a primary official source. We prefer sources in this order:

1. Federal regulation. The electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), Title 49 — the actual text of the rules, such as 49 CFR 383 (commercial licensing), 380 (entry-level driver training), and 391 (physical qualification and the medical standard). When a fact is defined in regulation, the regulation is what we cite.
2. Federal agencies. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for licensing, training, and medical topics; the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the hazmat security threat assessment and its fee.
3. State licensing agencies. For anything a state sets or administers — fees, scheduling, third-party testers, accepted documents — we use that state's own DMV or driver-services website.

We do not treat other CDL websites, forums, school marketing, or AI-generated summaries as sources of fact. They can point us toward a question; they never settle it.

How a fact gets verified

• Trace to source. A writer finds the primary source and records it. It's listed on the page in the "Official sources" section.
• Date and attribute it. Each requirements page shows a "last verified" date and the agency behind the claim, so you can judge how fresh it is.
• Federal vs. state. We separate the national baseline (which applies everywhere) from state-specific details (which don't), so a Texas quirk never gets presented as a nationwide rule.
• Hedge what we can't confirm. If a value varies, is in flux, or we can't verify it against an official source, we say so and direct you to confirm with your state agency. We would rather write "confirm the current amount at tsa.gov" than print a number that might be stale.
• Re-verify on a schedule. Pages are re-checked against their sources at least annually, and sooner when a federal rule or fee changes. See About for the update cadence.

Our honesty rules

These are firm, not aspirational:

• No fake "free." Company-sponsored or "paid" CDL training almost always comes with a commitment — a work contract, a wage deduction, or repayment if you leave early. We describe those strings and never call sponsored training simply "free."
• No income hype. We don't promise salaries, "six figures," or guaranteed jobs. Pay figures are presented as ranges from named sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not as a pitch.
• No fabricated school or provider lists. We don't invent directories of schools, rankings, or "best of" lists to look authoritative. For training that must count toward a CDL, we point you to the FMCSA Training Provider Registry — the official list.
• No practice questions passed off as the real exam. Our practice questions are written from the public CDL manual to help you study. They are not real exam questions and passing them guarantees nothing.
• No invented numbers. We do not make up fees, weights, dates, or requirements to fill a gap. A gap gets a hedge, not a guess.
• No implied official status. We never use government seals or wording that suggests we are, or speak for, any agency.

Corrections process

If you spot an error, emaileditor@statecdlrequirements.com(a placeholder address for our editorial inbox) with the page URL and, ideally, the official source you believe is more current. We check the claim against its primary source. If it's wrong or out of date, we correct it and update the page's "last verified" date. If a correction is significant, we note what changed. If the page turns out to be right, we'll explain why and cite the source.

Not advice, and not the final word

Our pages are educational. They are not legal, medical, or financial advice, and they don't replace your state licensing agency, a doctor, or a certified medical examiner. When there's any conflict, the official source governs — see our full disclaimer.

Reviewed 2026.