Vermont CDL Practice Test

The Vermont manual and DMV pages don’t publish the test sizes. Our practice tests use the usual CDL format: General Knowledge 50 questions (40 to pass), Hazardous Materials 30 (24), Air Brakes 25 (20), and Combination, Tank, Doubles/Triples, Passenger and School Bus 20 each (16).

The 2025 Vermont Commercial Driver’s Manual: Vermont’s pages (ages, exemptions, drug testing, permits, ELDT, appointments, medical self-certification, skills tests, hazmat and school bus rules) and the national CDL text (2005 testing system, July 2017 version). For the school bus endorsement, also study the Vermont School Bus Driver’s Manual.

You get an eye referral form for an eye doctor to fill in, and it must reach the DMV within 30 days; no CDL is issued until your vision is corrected. If you pass using glasses or contacts, your CDL carries a corrective lens restriction.

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 Vermont Agency of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Why 80% in every state →

One year from the date it's issued, with no renewals: after that you retake the knowledge tests for a new one. You must hold a valid Vermont license to get it, and hold the permit at least 14 days before the skills test.

Failing one part ends testing that day, and you pay the fee again for the retest (no new deposit). After three failed skills tests you wait six months. Cancel at least 48 hours ahead or you lose your scheduling deposit.

Most Vermont CDL drivers are Non-Excepted Intrastate (NA) and need a “Vermont Only” medical certificate, which they give to the DMV; interstate drivers (NI) need a federal one. Town and government employees on official duty are exempt from the medical rules.

Since June 23, 2025, the medical examiner reports your exam to FMCSA’s National Registry, and FMCSA sends the certificate to the state electronically; the electronic record counts over a paper copy. A “Vermont Only” certificate isn’t in the National Registry, so intrastate (NA) drivers still give that one to the DMV.

18 for a commercial learner's permit and for a CDL used only inside Vermont, and 21 to drive a commercial vehicle across state lines.

A CDL holder licensed for the vehicle you are driving, endorsements included, sitting beside you. On a vehicle built for more than 15 passengers, that person may sit right behind you or in the first row behind the driver's seat instead.

Drive any vehicle carrying hazardous materials. With the passenger endorsement you may carry only examiners, inspectors, other trainees and your supervising CDL holder, and with the tank endorsement only an empty tank that holds no hazmat residue. No other endorsement can go on a permit.

Yes. Vermont issues CDLs only as REAL ID compliant licenses, so bring REAL ID documents when you apply.

Your CDL gets an air brake restriction, so you may drive only commercial vehicles without air brakes in your class. Testing in a vehicle with air-over-hydraulic brakes instead earns a special restriction card that bars standard air brake systems but still allows air-over-hydraulic ones.

It must represent the class you want, pass inspection with a valid sticker, have working seat belts (school buses excepted) and an empty cargo area, tanks included. Bring its registration and proof of liability insurance. If it fails the pre-trip check for safety reasons, that counts as a failed test.

Drivers of authorized emergency vehicles (police, fire, public or private ambulances, volunteer rescue squads), motor homes and trailer coaches used for personal recreation, Defense Department military equipment driven by military personnel, and farm vehicles owned and run by the farmer, carrying farm goods or supplies within 150 miles of the farm.

An FBI fingerprint and background check through the federal Security Threat Assessment (start it at least two weeks before your test), Entry-Level Driver Training, the hazmat knowledge test and proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. A disqualifying change must be reported within 24 hours.

The school bus endorsement, a DOT medical card and an 8-hour Vermont school bus driver training clinic. Out-of-state S and P endorsements count as passed tests, but the Vermont clinic is still required.

No: only the state that issued your CDL can add the endorsement. With a valid out-of-state license you can still get a Vermont card for driving a Type II school bus, after the Vermont school bus clinic, the knowledge, vision and skills tests, and a medical form.

Not always. A Type II bus, rated for more than 10 and fewer than 16 people with a GVWR of 26,000 pounds or less, needs only your regular license plus a Type II school bus endorsement. A full-size Type I bus needs a CDL with the passenger and school bus endorsements.

Three knowledge tests: the federal passenger and school bus tests plus a separate Vermont school bus test. You also need a CLP with P and S, Entry-Level Driver Training, a DOT medical card on file with the DMV, a Vermont school bus clinic within the past year, and the full CDL skills test.

An endorsement limited to Multi-Function School Activity Buses, which may carry students on trips but never between home and school. Its knowledge test can be taken online, and the road test leaves out the student pick-up and drop-off; the physical and the school bus clinic are still required.

No. To drive an empty Type I school bus, a mechanic needs at least a Class B CDL with the P endorsement, and a driver with the right class and a P may take a Type I bus to the exam site. Mechanics inspecting Type II buses need neither a CDL nor an endorsement.

One year. The clinic is a single 8-hour day you must attend in full, and it has to fall within the year before your DMV school bus exam, so time it with your test date.

Within 30 days of moving to Vermont. Renewals and upgrades can also call for tests or documents, depending on your license.

No. The DMV voids the current card and gives it back to you; carry it with the temporary license until the new CDL arrives.

Attend a Vermont School Bus Clinic again, hand in a current physical, and pass the DMV's school bus knowledge exam. The DMV accepts a DOT physical for up to two years, whatever its dates, as long as it is still valid.

Pass the hazardous materials knowledge test again before each renewal, along with the TSA threat assessment. If you skip or fail the test, the CDL can still be renewed without the endorsement and the H added later, but you may not haul placarded loads in the meantime.

Get a Commercial Learner's Permit for the higher class and hold it at least 14 days, pass any knowledge tests for combination vehicles or added endorsements, then take a skills test with a pre-trip inspection and road test in a vehicle of the new class. Every Vermont CDL transaction is done in person.