Iowa CDL Practice Test

Everyone takes General Knowledge. Add Combination Vehicles for Class A, Air Brakes for a vehicle with air brakes (or the CDL is restricted from them), and a test for each endorsement: Passenger, School Bus (which also needs Passenger), Tank, Doubles/Triples and Hazardous Materials.

General Knowledge 50 questions (you may miss 10), Air Brakes 25 (5), Hazardous Materials 30 (6), and Combination, Passenger, School Bus, Doubles/Triples and Tank 20 each (4): 80% on every test. Our practice tests use the same sizes.

The Iowa DOT also lists a 25-question Iowa operator knowledge test (5 may be missed), taken if it applies to you. It is the regular driver's license knowledge test from the Iowa Driver's Manual, not a CDL test.

At any Iowa DOT or county treasurer location, by appointment; more locations are on the DOT's CDL testing locations page. Third-party testers trained by the Iowa DOT also give CDL knowledge and skills tests.

Sections 1 to 10 of the Iowa DOT's CDL manual (MM1169, the national AAMVA text): licensing, classes and restrictions, vehicle inspection, safe driving, cargo, passengers, air brakes, combination vehicles, doubles and triples, tank vehicles, hazardous materials and school buses. Iowa Commercial Driver's License Manual p. 1-1

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 Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), Motor Vehicle Division. Why 80% in every state →

At least 18. You also prove your name, date of birth and Social Security number, citizenship or lawful status and Iowa residency, pass a vision screening and an interstate driving record check, and certify how you'll use commercial vehicles.

You need a CLP for a first CDL, after a year without one, or for an upgrade that needs a skills test. It's valid one year with no renewal. Hold it at least 14 days and finish ELDT before the skills test, and drive only with a CDL holder valid for that vehicle: no passengers other than trainers, trainees and examiners, no hazmat, no loaded tank, no cell phone.

Yes, for a first Class A or B CDL, an upgrade (B to A, or C to A or B) and a first H, P or S endorsement. Train with a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry; Iowa checks it before the skills test, or before the knowledge test for hazmat. GAP, PACE and WIOA programs may help with the cost.

Since October 23, 2025, CDL medical certificates are digital in Iowa: a doctor on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners submits it electronically. You also self-certify one of four driving categories; intrastate categories add a K restriction to your CDL.

Three parts: a pre-trip vehicle inspection (you must pass the air brake check first), basic control skills with cones and backing, and a drive on public roads. Bring a registered vehicle in good working order that matches the class you're applying for; failing the brake check or inspection means a new appointment.

Iowa has resumed issuing non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs, but since March 16, 2026 FMCSA rules limit them to holders of H-2A, H-2B or E-2 visas, and from June 8, 2026 to certain FAS/COFA citizens. An Employment Authorization Document no longer qualifies, and citizens of Canada or Mexico can't get one.

Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), Motor Vehicle Division lists the current fees for the commercial learner permit, the CDL tests and the license on its official fee page. County offices may add a convenience fee.

Not for a covered farm vehicle: an Iowa Class C operator's license is enough, even for a tractor-semitrailer. One of 26,000 pounds or less may go anywhere; a heavier one anywhere in Iowa and across state lines within 150 air miles of the farm. It needs a farm plate, an F sticker or Iowa's covered farm vehicle form.

Co-op drivers aren't covered: the waiver is only for vehicles run by farmers. Drivers for farming partnerships, corporations and associations are, within the waiver's limits, and sod farmers count as farmers. A farmer paid to haul another farmer's products is a contract carrier and loses the waiver, written contract or not.

Not inside Iowa, at any distance, and not across state lines within 150 air miles of the home farm. Beyond 150 air miles in interstate commerce, a farmer or helper needs one for any straight truck or tractor-semitrailer, and for a pickup, with or without a trailer, rated over 10,000 pounds.

No. Iowa's Class C operator license is the regular license most Iowans have, for cars, pickups and trucks of 26,000 pounds or less. A Class C CDL is a commercial license for smaller vehicles that carry 16 or more people or placarded hazmat, and it needs a pre-trip inspection, backing skills and a road test.

You certify your type of driving each time you get a CDL product, online with Iowa's certification form. Moving between interstate and intrastate also needs a DMV appointment, to add or remove the K restriction. Non-excepted intrastate drivers carry their medical certificate while driving but don't turn it in to the DMV.

FMCSA usually tells the Iowa DOT, but you should still visit a DMV location to have the new restriction put on your CDL. Carry the variance or waiver papers whenever you drive, and apply to FMCSA to renew it before it runs out: only FMCSA grants these.

Yes, Iowa DOT's own pre-trip inspection memory aid, which you may use during the test. You walk around the vehicle, point to or touch each item and tell the examiner what you are checking and why. Section 11 of the CDL manual covers the inspection and section 12 the backing exercises.

If your license is already REAL ID compliant (a gold star in the top right corner), Iowa has your documents verified. Otherwise bring proof of citizenship or lawful status, such as a U.S. birth certificate, passport or green card, and proof of Iowa residency; your current Iowa license showing your address counts for residency.

First-time applicants finish ELDT, apply for the TSA threat assessment online or through the HazPrint help desk (855-347-8371), get fingerprinted, and bring the TSA's letter to the DMV. You pass the Hazmat knowledge test at every renewal, and the background check is repeated every five years.

No. Iowa law doesn't permit triple trailers, but an Iowa driver can still get the Doubles/Triples (T) endorsement to haul triples in states where they're legal. Iowa also allows no Class A passenger vehicles.

A farm-service CDL for Class B or C vehicles at agrichemical businesses, custom harvesters, farm retail outlets and livestock feeders, within 150 miles of the business. No CDL tests are needed, but you need two years of driving and a clean two-year record. It's valid up to 210 days a year, and the only hazardous materials it allows are certain fertilizers.

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. Iowa's manual still prints older figures, so these practice tests don't ask them.

A CDL stays valid in Iowa for 60 days after it expires; after a year you retake the knowledge and driving tests. Many drivers aged 21 to 69 can renew online every other time, but not with a hazmat endorsement, which needs the Hazmat test in person at each renewal.

Yes, with the Military CDL Waiver: Iowa residents on active duty or separated within the past year, with two years of driving the same type of military vehicle and a clean record, can skip the skills test. Certain military jobs, such as Army 88M Motor Transport Operator, also waive the knowledge test.

Possibly. Iowa's Class C CDL and Passenger endorsement also cover a vehicle rated 10,001 pounds or more that has been modified to carry fewer than 16 people with disabilities. A school bus built that way needs both the Passenger and School Bus endorsements, with the tests in a school bus.

For the restriction from testing without air brakes, pass the Air Brakes knowledge test, hold a CLP for 14 days, then pass a pre-trip inspection and road test in a vehicle with full air brakes. For the full air brake restriction from testing with air-over-hydraulic brakes, skip the knowledge test but do the rest.

Both start with a CLP held for 14 days. For the manual transmission restriction, you then pass a road test in a commercial vehicle with a manual gearbox. For the tractor-trailer restriction, from testing with a pintle hook, you pass a pre-trip inspection, backing skills and a road test in a fifth-wheel Class A combination.

Tank (N) is for a vehicle carrying liquid or gas in a tank of more than 119 gallons, with 1,000 gallons or more in total, whether the tank is permanent or temporary. Doubles/Triples (T) is for pulling two or three trailers; a tractor towing other tractors piggyback doesn't need it.

CLP and restricted CDL holders, anyone with a hazmat or tank-and-hazmat endorsement, and anyone with restriction E, G, I, J, T, Q or R. You also renew in person if your class, endorsements, restrictions, name or other details change, if a medical or vision report is due, or if your CDL expires more than 180 days out.

The 210 days a calendar year can run in one stretch or be split into up to three periods of 70 or 105 days. A period can be extended by 35 days if you ask before it ends. Each period is validated separately, with your driving record checked and a new card issued. A current CDL holder can't get one.