South Carolina CDL Practice Test

Everyone takes General Knowledge. Add Combination Vehicles for a Class A combination, Air Brakes for a vehicle with air brakes (without it your license is restricted to vehicles without them), and a test for each endorsement you want: Passenger, School Bus, Tank, Doubles/Triples and Hazardous Materials.

The SCDMV manual sets the pass mark at 80% on every CDL knowledge test, written or oral, but doesn't publish how many questions each test has. Our practice tests use 50 questions for General Knowledge, 30 for Hazardous Materials, 25 for Air Brakes and 20 for each of the others, all at 80%. South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual p. 9

You can't take it again that day: come back on the next business day. Your original application fees cover three attempts; once a permit or license has been issued, each extra test has its own fee. South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual p. 9

At any SCDMV branch. The tests can take a while, so the SCDMV doesn't start anyone on them after 4:00 p.m., and no written material or electronic devices are allowed in the testing area. The hazmat test is given only in written or automated form.

Every question comes from the South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual: the national AAMVA text (version March 2025) and the SCDMV's own pages on licensing, permits, the skills test, score banking and renewals. Each practice test draws on the manual sections for that test. South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual p. 3

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 South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV). Why 80% in every state →

At least 18 to drive a commercial vehicle within South Carolina and 21 to drive across state lines. Drivers aged 18 to 20 carry the K (intrastate only) restriction, which the SCDMV removes when you visit an office after turning 21.

You need to live in South Carolina, be 18 or older and hold a valid SC driver's license, then pass the knowledge tests for the class you want. The CLP lasts one year, may carry only the Tank, Passenger and School Bus endorsements, and you must drive with a properly endorsed CDL holder in the seat beside you. Hold it at least 14 days before the skills test; renewing it means passing the knowledge tests again.

Yes, if your CLP was issued on or after February 7, 2022 and you're getting a Class A or B CDL for the first time, upgrading from B to A, or adding a School Bus, Passenger or Hazardous Materials endorsement for the first time. The training must come from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry and be finished before the skills test.

Your medical examiner, who must be on FMCSA's National Registry, submits it electronically; the CDL Helpdesk no longer accepts copies. Proof of medical qualification is needed each time you apply for a CLP or CDL, upgrade, renew, change your address or ask for a duplicate.

Three parts in a set order: vehicle inspection, basic vehicle control on an off-road pad, then the road test, about 90 minutes in all. You need an appointment at a designated branch, your own vehicle that fits the class (with a readable GVWR plate, registration and any required inspection stickers), and only you and the examiner may be in or around it.

Wait two business days after a first failure, seven calendar days after a second and 30 calendar days after a third or later one. While your CLP is valid, parts you passed can be banked, so you don't repeat them, as long as you test with the same agency in a matching vehicle.

South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) lists the current fees for the commercial learner permit, the CDL tests and the license on its official fee page.

One of three: non-excepted interstate (needs a DOT medical card), excepted interstate, or non-excepted intrastate. South Carolina doesn't use the excepted intrastate category, and drivers aged 18 to 20 must certify non-excepted intrastate with a K restriction. File Form DL-405A again when you change commerce type, renew or upgrade.

Because the SCDMV compares the name, birth date and Social Security number you give with SSA's own record whenever you apply for a first CLP or CDL, exchange an out-of-state CDL, or change class. If anything doesn't match, correct it with Social Security first; the SCDMV can't issue the CDL until you do.

The application (Form 447-CDL), naming your auto liability insurer licensed in South Carolina and confirming you meet federal driver qualifications; the medical self-certification (DL-405A); and the Affidavit of Previous Driver's License (DL-402), which you file again whenever you upgrade or downgrade a class or endorsement.

Only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may apply, and never on a CLP. Complete Entry-Level Driver Training, then the application, fingerprints, a TSA background check and the hazmat knowledge test. A CDL with hazmat expires five years from the date you passed the TSA security threat assessment.

Yes. The School Bus (S) endorsement requires the Passenger (P) endorsement, and its skills test must be taken in a real school bus used to carry students between home and school or to school events.

Most restrictions come from the vehicle you tested in. To remove one such as L (no air brakes) or E (no manual transmission), hold a CLP without that restriction for 14 days and pass the needed tests in a vehicle that has the equipment; the K restriction comes off once you turn 21.

Apply within 30 days of making South Carolina your home. Bring the actual CDL you hold, self-certify your type of commerce, pass the vision test, and pass the hazmat test again if you have that endorsement. An out-of-state CLP can't be transferred: you test for a new SC CLP. South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual p. 10

Eight years, or five years from your TSA threat assessment with a hazmat endorsement. At renewal you retake General Knowledge if you had five or more points in the past two years, and a CDL expired for nine months or more means starting over with the written and full skills tests. South Carolina Commercial Driver License Manual p. 9

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. South Carolina's manual still prints older, lower minimums, so these practice tests don't ask the figures.

P1 marks an excepted interstate driver: you may drive only in the activities FMCSA excepts from the medical rules, and you don't need a DOT medical card. To have it removed, present a medical certificate and choose a different type of commerce on the SCDMV's self-certification form, DL-405A.

Employers must report drivers or applicants who refuse, fail or tamper with a test. The driver is then disqualified from commercial driving within 20 days until reinstated, which means finishing a program approved by the state's alcohol and drug abuse agency. More than three such disqualifications in five years make it permanent.

Usually not. You can hold a non-commercial license meanwhile, and once the disqualification ends you get commercial status back without retesting, unless your license has been expired more than nine months or the disqualification lasted a year or more. A hazmat holder may face a new TSA threat assessment.

Only a three-wheeler. A Class A, B or C CDL covers three-wheel vehicles, but not a two-wheel motorcycle, even one with a sidecar.

No. When you renew, you can choose a REAL ID CDL or a standard, non-compliant one. For the REAL ID version, the SCDMV must already hold all the identity documents it requires.

The SCDMV can then issue only a CDL without the H or X endorsement, and the same applies if you fail the hazmat knowledge test. Depending on when your CDL expires, you may have to give up your current hazmat endorsement while TSA reviews you.