Colorado CDL Practice Test

Everyone takes General Knowledge. Add Combination Vehicles for Class A, Air Brakes for a vehicle with air brakes (air over hydraulic included), and a test for each endorsement: Passenger, School Bus, Tank Vehicle, Doubles/Triples and Hazardous Materials. Colorado Commercial Driver License Manual p. 9–10

Colorado DMV doesn't publish the size or passing score of its CDL knowledge tests. Our practice tests use General Knowledge 50, Air Brakes 25, Hazardous Materials 30, and Combination, Passenger, School Bus, Tank Vehicles and Doubles/Triples 20 each, with 80% to pass.

Schedule a "CDL Written Test" appointment at a state driver license office. The CDL knowledge tests come in English and Spanish; the Hazmat test is English only. Your results count for one CLP only: a CLP with a different class or endorsement later means taking all the tests again.

Sections 1 to 10 of the Colorado Commercial Driver License Manual (DR 2251): licensing, classes, restrictions and disqualifications, vehicle inspection, safe driving, cargo, passengers, air brakes, combination vehicles, doubles and triples, tank vehicles, hazardous materials and school buses, including Colorado's crossing and Denver light-rail rules for school buses. Colorado Commercial Driver License Manual p. 6

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 Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Why 80% in every state →

18 for a CLP or CDL, and 21 for a hazardous materials endorsement. Drivers 18 through 20 get the K restriction and may drive a commercial vehicle only within Colorado.

A CLP is valid for one year and can't be renewed; if it runs out before you get your CDL, you retake the written tests. Hold it 14 calendar days before the skills test at an approved third-party tester, and drive only with someone 21 or older holding a CDL of the same class or higher, seated closest to you.

Yes. Finish ELDT at a school listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry; proof of completion is checked before your CDL is issued. The Vets-2-Trucks program waives the skills test (not the written tests) for service members and recent veterans.

You don't send it yourself: the certified medical examiner reports your exam to FMCSA's National Registry, and Colorado receives it electronically within about 24 to 48 business hours. That's the only method accepted. Exams are needed at least every two years; an expired one means downgrading to a regular license.

Colorado suspended issuing and renewing non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs on September 29, 2025, and under FMCSA rules from March 16, 2026, asylum seekers, refugees and DACA recipients aren't eligible. A CLP or CDL needs U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.

Yes, if it's valid or expired less than a year: the written and skills tests are waived, and every endorsement except H and X transfers. Bring your lawful presence documents, two proofs of Colorado address and your Social Security number. Out-of-state CLPs don't transfer.

Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) lists the current fees for the commercial learner permit, the CDL tests and the license on its official fee page.

Colorado DMV lists five exceptions: recreational vehicles such as a motorhome, military vehicles driven by service members, firefighting equipment, snowplows during emergency snow removal, and farm vehicles a farmer drives within 150 miles of the farm. Anyone else driving a vehicle of 26,001 pounds or more, a 16-passenger vehicle or placarded hazmat needs a CDL.

Class A covers combination vehicles: 26,001 pounds or more combined, towing over 10,000 pounds. Class B covers straight trucks and light combinations: a single vehicle of 26,001 pounds or more, towing 10,000 pounds or less. Class C covers smaller vehicles that carry 16 or more people, driver included, or are placarded for hazardous materials.

No. Colorado doesn't accept a REAL ID as proof of lawful presence for a CLP or CDL. Bring a U.S. passport, certified birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, citizenship or naturalization certificate, or full-term green card, plus your Colorado license, your Social Security number (it can be said aloud) and two proofs of Colorado address.

Finish at a driver license office with your valid CLP. The DMV checks that your DOT medical card has reached it from the National Registry and that your ELDT completion and skills test result are in the system. You also fill in the Ten-Year Driving History form (DR 2172), and your name must match your lawful presence document.

Colorado DMV lists drug use, cannabis included, among the medical conditions that can disqualify you from holding a CDL, alongside poor vision, diabetes needing insulin, seizures, heart and breathing problems and alcohol abuse. Other conditions are decided case by case, and your DOT medical examiner makes the final call.

Apply for the TSA background check online or by phone (855-347-8371) before applying at the DMV, get fingerprinted, and pass the Hazmat test, given in English only. Renewing it also needs a valid TSA clearance and a new written Hazmat test at a driver license office.

E no manual transmission, K intrastate only, L no air brakes, M no Class A passenger vehicle, N no Class A or B passenger vehicle, O no tractor-trailer, P no passengers in a CMV bus, V medical variance, X no cargo in a tank vehicle, Z no full air brakes. In Colorado, K also marks drivers 18 to 20 and drivers with a State Patrol medical waiver.

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; carrying placarded hazmat or 16 or more passengers raises the first penalty to up to 2 years. Colorado's 2023 manual still prints older figures, so these practice tests don't ask them.

Four years from the date it's issued. You can often renew online through myDMV if your photo is under 10 years old, your DOT medical card is on file and nothing else on the license changes.

After a suspension, your CDL becomes valid again once you reinstate, or you can buy a duplicate. After a revocation, you may have to pass the regular and CDL written tests and the drive skills test again. If the CDL expired during a suspension, you renew it or downgrade to a regular license.

It depends on why. Canceled for an expired DOT medical: it becomes valid again once the DMV receives your current medical information. Canceled for an unpaid ticket: you buy a new CDL. Canceled for more than a year: you retake the general knowledge test, any endorsement tests you need and the drive skills test.

Not by itself. A driver with only a Class R license who wants to haul placarded hazmat must also pass a CDL drive skills test in a representative vehicle, ending up with at least a Class C CDL. First-time H applicants also complete Entry-Level Driver Training. H can go on a Class A, B or C CDL.

For every new, renewed or transferred H or X endorsement. That also covers drivers who dropped H or X on request (there's no grace period), drivers whose license expired more than a year ago, and drivers reinstating after an action that requires a new license. Without a passed TSA check, H or X isn't added.

The School Bus written test, Entry-Level Driver Training and a full skills test driven in a school bus. S can't stand alone: you also need P, already on your CDL or on the permit alongside S. It goes on a Class B, a Class A with the M restriction, or a Class C with the N restriction.

Only with the P endorsement, which needs the Passenger written test, Entry-Level Driver Training and a full drive skills test in a passenger vehicle. A driver who tested in a Class B passenger vehicle may also drive other Class B vehicles, but one who tested in a Class B truck can't drive a bus.

No. Colorado says cement mixers don't need the N endorsement. N is for carrying bulk liquids or liquefied gas, 1,000 gallons or more, and can go on a Class A, B or C CDL. The Doubles/Triples (T) endorsement, by contrast, can only go on a Class A CDL.

Each needs a new commercial learner permit and a drive skills test in the right vehicle: a manual-transmission vehicle of your class for E, a traditional tractor-trailer with a fifth wheel for O. For L you first pass the Air Brakes written test, then a full skills test with air brakes, and buy a new CDL.

Only if a Colorado reason applies: you're 18 to 20, you have a Colorado State Patrol medical waiver, your FMCSA exemption covers intrastate driving only, or you self-certify as non-excepted or excepted intrastate (options C and D). Otherwise the K doesn't carry over when you surrender the out-of-state license.