What Is ELDT? Requirements, Training, and Providers

Entry-level driver training, or ELDT, is a federal requirement that new commercial drivers must complete before they can take the CDL skills test or certain endorsement knowledge tests. It has two parts: theory instruction and behind-the-wheel driving. Both must be delivered by a school or employer listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry. The rule took effect on February 7, 2022, and applies to anyone who got a commercial learner’s permit on or after that date.¹

Who Has to Complete ELDT

The requirement is triggered by what you’re applying for, not by your work history. You need ELDT if you are:

Applying for a Class A CDL for the first time
Applying for a Class B CDL for the first time
Upgrading an existing Class B to a Class A
Adding a School Bus (S), Passenger (P), or Hazardous Materials (H) endorsement for the first time

FMCSA enforces the requirement under 49 CFR Part 380.² The February 7, 2022 date is the line that decides everything else. If you received your CLP before that date and got your CDL before the CLP expired, ELDT doesn’t apply to you.³

Who Is Exempt

ELDT carries forward the existing CDL exceptions rather than creating new ones. If you were already exempt from the CDL skills test under 49 CFR Part 383, you’re also exempt from ELDT.³ The main exempt categories are:

Military drivers qualifying under the military skills test waiver in 49 CFR 383.77
Farmers operating within the agricultural exemption in 49 CFR 383.3
Firefighters and emergency vehicle operators excepted under Part 383⁴
Restricted CDL holders and applicants under 49 CFR 383.3(e) through (g)
Drivers removing a no-air-brake (L), no-full-air-brake (Z), or no-manual-transmission (E) restriction

There’s also a grandfather rule that catches a lot of returning drivers. If you held a valid CDL, or an H, P, or S endorsement, before February 7, 2022, you don’t need ELDT to re-obtain a CDL of the same class. That’s true even if the old license has since lapsed.³

What the Training Covers

ELDT is proficiency-based rather than hour-based. The regulation does not set a minimum number of hours for either theory or behind-the-wheel work. Instead, providers must cover every topic in the applicable curriculum, and instructors must judge that you can actually perform the required skills.

Theory

The theory curriculum covers the knowledge side of commercial driving: pre- and post-trip inspections, hours-of-service, skid recovery, cargo handling, fatigue, drug and alcohol rules, and endorsement-specific material where it applies.⁵ It can be delivered in a classroom or online. You have to pass a written or electronic assessment with an overall score of at least 80 percent.⁶

Behind-the-Wheel

Behind-the-wheel training is split between range work and public roads. On the range, you practice inspections, backing, and coupling and uncoupling trailers. On public roads, you drive: turns, lane changes, highway merges, intersections. Your instructor decides when you’ve shown proficiency in every required skill. The provider still has to track the total clock hours you spent driving, because that number is reported to FMCSA when your completion is certified.⁷

The absence of a federal hour minimum doesn’t mean training is short. Most full CDL programs run several weeks, because covering the curriculum and building real driving competency takes time.

Finding an Approved Provider

Your training has to come from a school or employer listed on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. The registry is both the approved-provider database and the reporting system that tells your state you finished. You can search it at tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov by training type, location, and provider name.⁸

Confirm the provider is registered for the exact training you need. A school approved for Class B theory may not be registered for Class A behind-the-wheel. Before paying tuition, check the TPR’s lists of providers that have been issued removal notices or already removed.⁸ Costs vary by provider, CDL class, and whether you’re doing a full program or just an endorsement course.

Trucking companies can train their own drivers, but only if they register on the TPR and meet the same curriculum, instructor, and reporting standards as any other provider. Behind-the-wheel instructors must hold a CDL of the same or higher class and have at least two years of driving experience in that class of commercial vehicle, or at least two years as a behind-the-wheel instructor.⁹

After You Finish

Your provider has to submit your completion information to the TPR electronically by midnight of the second business day after you finish.⁷ The submission includes your name, license or CLP number, state of licensure, type of training completed, total behind-the-wheel clock hours, and completion date. You can use the record-check tool on the TPR site to confirm your record is in the system.⁸

Your state licensing agency looks at the TPR before letting you sit for the CDL skills test or the H, P, or S knowledge test. If your completion isn’t on file, you won’t be allowed to test. That’s why the two-business-day reporting window matters: a slow provider can push your test date back.

Finishing ELDT doesn’t automatically make you eligible to test either. Federal rules also require you to hold your CLP for at least 14 days before taking the CDL skills test.¹⁰ Most programs run long enough that this hold passes during your coursework, but it can catch you off guard in a fast-track course.

1
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Entry-Level Driver Training
2
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 380 – Special Training Requirements
3
Training Provider Registry. Frequently Asked Questions – Applicability and Exceptions
4
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 380.603 Applicability Guidance – Question 2
5
Training Provider Registry. ELDT Curricula Summary
6
eCFR. 49 CFR 380.715
7
eCFR. 49 CFR 380.717
8
Training Provider Registry. Training Provider Registry
9
eCFR. 49 CFR 380.605
10
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.25