California and Oregon have suspended the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) following an emergency federal order aimed at tightening eligibility requirements for foreign drivers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), under Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, announced Sept. 26 that states must immediately stop issuing or renewing limited-term legal presence CDLs and commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) until new federal standards are in place.
“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Duffy said in a news release. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers — oftentimes illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it.”
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The move follows a nationwide Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) audit that uncovered widespread non-compliance and linked at least five fatal crashes this year to non-domiciled CDL holders.
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles stopped issuing or renew non-domiciled CDLs as of Monday, while Oregon stopped processing such credentials on Wednesday. Oregon’s suspension covers all issuance types, including renewals, transfers, upgrades and replacements.
Several other states — including Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington — have also halted non-domiciled CDL issuances to comply with the emergency rule.
The FMCSA audit said that more than 25% of California’s non-domiciled CDLs were improperly issued, including licenses extended years beyond drivers’ lawful presence in the U.S.
Under the new requirements, non-citizens seeking non-domiciled CDLs must hold employment-based visas and undergo mandatory immigration status checks through the federal SAVE system.
States that fail to comply risk losing federal highway funds, with California facing a potential cut of $160 million in the first year if it did not comply.
There are currently about 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders and 20,000 CLP holders in the U.S., according to FMCSA.
There are around 62,000 unexpired non-domiciled CLPs/CDLs issued by the California DMV as of June 1, according to The Eno Center for Transportation.
Texas has the largest total issuance of non-domiciled CDLs since 2015 among states that supplied data to a report by Overdrive.
Since 2015, Texas has issued over 3.2 million total CDLs, including 51,993 CDLs to non-domiciled drivers. In 2024, Texas issued 6,265 CDLs to non-citizens.
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