Alabama CDL Practice Test

Everyone takes General Knowledge. Add Combination Vehicles for Class A, Air Brakes for a vehicle with air brakes (without it the license carries the L restriction: no air-brake CMVs), and a test for each endorsement: Passenger (P), School Bus (S), Tank (N), Doubles/Triples (T) and Hazardous Materials (H); X combines tank and hazmat.

Neither the Alabama CDL manual nor ALEA's CDL pages give the number of questions or the passing score. Our practice tests use 50 questions for General Knowledge, 30 for Hazardous Materials, 25 for Air Brakes and 20 for each of the others, with 80% to pass on each.

The questions come from the Alabama Commercial Driver License Manual, which ALEA prints from the national AAMVA model text (version July 2017). ALEA also posts a supplement for the modernized skills test; it covers only the skills test, so it isn't part of these knowledge practice tests.

80% on each of the 8 tests, each graded on its own (General Knowledge: 40 of 50). Every test's numbers are in the table on this page. Always confirm the current tests with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division. Why 80% in every state →

Yes. A first CDL or an upgrade starts with a CLP, which you must hold for at least 14 days before testing. An Alabama CLP is valid for 360 days and can't be renewed: once it expires you retake all the written tests for a new one.

Yes, federal rules require Entry-Level Driver Training for anyone getting a CDL for the first time. Providers are listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry.

You don't: the medical examiner who gave your DOT physical sends it to FMCSA, and it reaches ALEA electronically. ALEA no longer updates medical certificates itself. If ALEA doesn't receive your self-certification and any required medical information within 45 days of its notice, all CDL privileges are removed.

Every Class A, B or C holder must certify the type of commercial driving they do (for example non-excepted interstate). You certify, and change it if your work changes, online at alabamadl.alea.gov or by mail to ALEA's CDL Unit; a non-excepted interstate driver needs a current DOT medical card on file.

Service members licensed and employed within the past 12 months in a military transportation unit driving vehicles equivalent to a CMV can get a military skills waiver. They still take the knowledge tests; ask for the waiver form when you take them.

If your Alabama CDL has been expired for more than three years, you must take the examinations again.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division lists the current fees for the commercial learner permit, the CDL tests and the license on its official fee page.

Bring your current driver license, your Social Security card and two proofs of where you live in Alabama, such as a lease, a utility bill less than 90 days old or a voter registration card, plus proof of insurance. If you certify as non-excepted interstate, ALEA pulls your medical card electronically, and missing data stops the license.

Yes. Along with the usual CDL documents, you show one item from ALEA's primary list, such as a U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate. ALEA lists the skills test only for first-time applicants and upgrades. A hazmat endorsement needs a new TSA background check, and ALEA checks your medical record before it issues the license.

Each time you apply for a CDL, renew it, move up to a higher class, add an endorsement or transfer one from another state. If your self-certification needs a medical card, ALEA pulls it from the FMCSA database. If that record is missing or wrong, no CDL is issued until your medical examiner corrects it.

If you self-certified as non-excepted interstate, get a valid DOT medical card. The medical examiner sends it to FMCSA and it reaches ALEA electronically; once it arrives, ALEA restores your CDL privileges. Confirm it under View My License, ID, or Permit Standing on alabamadl.alea.gov, and ask your examiner to fix any missing details.

Four: non-excepted interstate (you keep a current DOT medical card on file), excepted interstate (for example driving for a government or a church), non-excepted intrastate under Alabama's own driver rules, and excepted intrastate. On ALEA's form, non-excepted intrastate is the choice for drivers whose CDL carries a K restriction because of an Alabama medical waiver.

No. Once ALEA has your self-certification, it stays on file until the type of commercial driving you do changes. If you mail a new form or medical card before a renewal, ALEA's form asks for it at least 10 days before you renew; you can also submit both online at alabamadl.alea.gov.

Classes A, B and C are commercial. Class A is a combination of 26,001 pounds or more towing over 10,000 pounds; Class B a single vehicle of 26,001 pounds or more; Class C a smaller vehicle built for 16 or more people including the driver, or carrying placarded hazmat. Class D is the regular car license.

21 to drive across state lines. From 18 to 20 you can get an Alabama Class A CDL for in-state driving only. It can carry the tank (N) endorsement but not hazmat or passenger, and you may not haul oversize or specially configured loads that need an ALDOT permit.

Four years. Alabama issues each commercial driver license for a four-year term, whatever its class and endorsements, and then it has to be renewed.

Within 30 days. Once you've lived in Alabama for 30 days, an out-of-state CDL no longer lets you drive commercial vehicles here. Men aged 18 to 25 who apply for or renew an Alabama CDL are also registered with the Selective Service by the application itself.

It can be a crime. Under Alabama's CDL law, failing to report or disclose information the disqualification rules require, whether before or after your license is issued, is a Class C felony. Answer every question about your driving record fully.

No. Alabama's CDL rules don't apply to vehicles for personal use, such as RVs, even ones heavy enough to count as commercial. Certain farmers, firefighters and emergency crews, and active-duty military and National Guard members in government vehicles are exempt as well.

Examples from ALEA's list: E no manual transmission CMV, K intrastate only, L no air brake equipped CMV, M no Class A passenger vehicle, N no Class A or B passenger vehicle, O no tractor-trailer CMV, P no passengers in a CMV bus, V medical variance.

You need a TSA background check to obtain or transfer a hazardous materials endorsement. A driver who isn't a U.S. citizen must be in permanent legal status and domiciled in Alabama to get a CDL.

Federal rules (49 CFR 383.51) disqualify you for at least 180 days and up to 1 year for a first violation, 2 to 5 years for a second within 10 years and 3 to 5 years for a third; with placarded hazmat or 16 or more passengers the first penalty rises to up to 2 years. The Alabama manual still prints older, lower minimums, so these practice tests don't ask the figures.

You're put out of service for 24 hours on the spot. Once the officer's sworn report reaches ALEA, you're disqualified from commercial driving for at least two years, double the usual one-year federal minimum. That disqualification is added to any other penalty for the same stop and served after it.

Yes, after a serious one. An officer must have every commercial vehicle driver involved in a crash that kills someone, or injures someone badly enough to need hospital or emergency treatment, take a blood, breath or oral-fluid test for alcohol or drugs.

No. Anyone who holds a CDL or a commercial learner permit, and anyone driving a commercial vehicle, can't use a deferred prosecution, diversion or deferred-judgment program when charged with a traffic violation in Alabama, even one in a personal car.

Yes. Driving a commercial vehicle without the English reading and speaking ability that federal rules require is a state traffic offense in Alabama, with fines for both the driver and the carrier. The vehicle can be impounded when it poses a threat to public safety, and it is impounded on any repeat offense.