Maryland CDL Practice Test

The MVA requires 80% on each CDL knowledge test but doesn’t publish the number of questions. Our practice tests use the usual CDL format: General Knowledge 50 questions (40 to pass), Hazmat 30 (24), Air Brakes 25 (20), and Combination, Tank, Doubles/Triples, Passenger and School Bus 20 each (16). Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 9

You can retest the next business day if an appointment is open. After failing the same test a second time, you wait at least seven days. Knowledge and skills test passes are valid for six months.

The Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual (DL-151, 05/26): Maryland’s CDL rules, then inspection, safe driving, cargo, passengers, air brakes, combination vehicles, doubles and triples, tankers, hazardous materials and school buses.

The knowledge tests, yes: they're offered in English or Spanish. The skills tests are given only in English. Interpreters aren't allowed to help with any commercial knowledge or skills test, or with the non-commercial Class A and B 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 Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). Why 80% in every state →

18 to drive a commercial vehicle within Maryland, 21 to cross state lines or haul hazardous materials. Drivers under 21 carry the K (intrastate only) restriction. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 19–21

Proof of age and Maryland residence, a full (not provisional) Maryland non-commercial license, a medical examiner’s certificate or waiver, a passed vision screening and the required knowledge tests. Hazmat applicants also show lawful status. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 20

In order: the pre-trip inspection (45 minutes), basic control skills (10 minutes per maneuver; 9 points or hitting a curb fails) and the public road test (35–40 minutes; 31 points, a crash or running a red light fails). Tests are by appointment, and none start after 3 p.m. on weekdays or 10 a.m. on Saturday. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 11–12

Since June 23, 2025, directly from FMCSA’s National Registry. The MVA mails a reminder 45 days before it expires; if you don’t renew in time your CDL is downgraded to a Class C. School bus drivers need a new medical certificate every year. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 25

Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) lists the current fees for the commercial learner permit, the CDL tests and the license on its official fee page.

Online, through your myMVA account, once your entry-level training is on record and you've held the learner permit for two weeks. Bring the permit, your medical certificate and any glasses you need. Whoever drives the truck to the site for you must be 21 or older with a CDL of that class or higher for at least three years.

One that matches the class and type you're testing for, in safe condition, with registration and insurance for the vehicle and any trailer and a visible VIN plate on each. A vehicle placarded for hazmat isn't allowed, and a rental needs your name on the agreement as a driver.

You leave with an interim document to carry, and the card is mailed to the address the MVA has for you within 7 to 10 business days.

Yes, if your Maryland CLP stays valid until the Maryland CDL is issued; the results reach the MVA electronically. Drivers with the K restriction, such as those under 21, can't test out of state. Maryland itself doesn't give skills tests to permit holders from other states, so check the testing state will take you first.

Yes. An audio backup warning or a backup camera is allowed, but automatic parking features are not. You're still scored on your own skill, so keep checking your mirrors and watching traffic while backing instead of relying on the equipment.

No. Maryland neither issues temporary CDLs nor accepts those from another state, Canada or the District of Columbia. You begin again with a Maryland learner's permit and must pass the skills tests in a commercial vehicle. Ask a training school which license you'll qualify for before you enroll.

Not for the same class. Maryland doesn't require entry-level driver training from people who held an out-of-state CDL or who let an earlier CDL lapse, as long as they're getting the same class again. Training is needed for a first Class A or B, or a first P, S or H endorsement.

For Class A or B, yes, if you're on active duty, a reservist or in the Guard, or were discharged in the last 12 months, with two years driving a comparable military vehicle certified by your commanding officer and a clean record. You still pass the knowledge tests, and P and S endorsements can't come through the waiver.

No. Maryland’s manual says triple trailers are not permitted on Maryland roads, though the T endorsement covers doubles and triples. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 17

Pass the hazmat knowledge test and a TSA background check (a TWIC card is accepted). Hazmat fingerprinting is offered only at the Glen Burnie, Bel Air, Frederick, Salisbury and Waldorf MVA offices, and out-of-state hazmat holders must do a new TSA check in Maryland. No CLP is issued with hazmat. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 10

Yes. Every commercial motor vehicle in Maryland must stop at every railroad-highway grade crossing; crossing violations cost the CDL at least 60 days the first time. Maryland Commercial Driver’s License Manual p. 29

Only Passenger and School Bus, and both start with a learner permit (School Bus means passing the Passenger and School Bus knowledge tests). Tank and Doubles/Triples need just a knowledge test; Hazmat and the combined X add a TSA background check with fingerprints.

E: automatic transmission only. L: no air brakes. Z: air-over-hydraulic brakes but not full air. O: no tractor-trailer. M: passenger vehicles and school buses of Class B and C only, N: Class C only. K: Maryland only (drivers under 21, or an MVA intrastate waiver). V: a federal medical variance. B: corrective lenses.

Each needs a new CLP held at least 14 days. For L or Z (air brakes), pass the Air Brakes test, then the pre-trip and road test in an air-brake vehicle. For E, pass the road test in a manual-transmission vehicle. For O, pass all three skills parts in a combination vehicle with a fifth wheel.

Possibly, within Maryland only. If FMCSA won't grant a federal waiver, the MVA's intrastate waiver covers conditions such as limb loss, grip problems and deafness (only for drivers who held a CDL in the past year). The Medical Advisory Board reviews it and you take a road test. It bars cross-state driving and the P, S and hazmat endorsements.

Six months. First-time applicants get fingerprinted and wait for TSA approval before taking the hazmat knowledge test. Once the TSA letter arrives, take the test at a full-service MVA office within six months, or you may have to restart the whole process, fingerprints and fees included.

Yes. A citation for a high blood alcohol level while driving a commercial vehicle, or an administrative order for refusing or failing a chemical test, can disqualify the CDL before any court case ends.

Send it back to the MVA's Administrative Adjudication Division within 15 days, choosing on the back either a hearing or to waive one and surrender the CDL. While disqualified, you may be able to trade it for a regular license so you can still drive your own car.

The clock starts only once the MVA has your CDL, or your signed statement that you no longer have it. After a disqualification under a year, you're reinstated without new tests if your record is otherwise clear; after a year or longer, you retake the knowledge and skills tests too.

School bus and hazmat. To keep the S endorsement you pass both the Passenger and School Bus knowledge tests, and to keep H or X you pass the hazmat knowledge test and a new background check. You also show a valid medical certificate and self-certify your type of commercial driving.

The S endorsement needs a new medical certificate every year. If you don't get one within a year of the last one expiring, the endorsement is removed; you then have one more year to get a valid certificate and have the MVA add it back.

Yes, right away, through myMVA or an MVA kiosk, and you must get a corrected CDL within 30 days of an address or name change. If the MVA can't reach you, both your commercial and non-commercial driving privileges can be cancelled.