Living In One State And Having A Cdl From Another State.

Hello Everyone, I am getting ready to go to cdl training with Prime Inc at their training center in Springfield, MO. My home will be in Northeast Alabama, about 7 hours away from Springfield. So I'll be getting my cdl permit and eventually my cdl from the state of MO. The recruiter for Prime told me that once I was hired by them and was driving solo, I would have to transfer my MO cdl over to AL. Is that true? And is transferring a cdl from one state to another easy to do or do you have to retake the test? One more question: when you get your CDL, do you surrender your regular drivers license and the CDL is now your drivers license. I was under the impression that you have a regular license and your CDL. Any info on these things will be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Gary S.

Hello Everyone, I am getting ready to go to cdl training with Prime Inc at their training center in Springfield, MO. My home will be in Northeast Alabama, about 7 hours away from Springfield. So I'll be getting my cdl permit and eventually my cdl from the state of MO. The recruiter for Prime told me that once I was hired by them and was driving solo, I would have to transfer my MO cdl over to AL. Is that true? And is transferring a cdl from one state to another easy to do or do you have to retake the test? One more question: when you get your CDL, do you surrender your regular drivers license and the CDL is now your drivers license. I was under the impression that you have a regular license and your CDL. Any info on these things will be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Gary S.

Hello Gary. I'll answer your question best that I can, maybe somebody else knows the specific laws/CFR's etc and can chime in as well.

You need to turn in your old DL in order to have a CDL. The CDL supersedes the DL as a Class A CDL also covers all other classes of commercial and private vehicles. It is a BIG No-No to have 2 DL's at the same time, example being one is a regular DL and the other is a CDL. You must be very careful when driving in your own private vehicle, any tickets or violations can and do affect your CDL as it will be your only license. This isn't a "job" you leave after doing 8 hours and go home- The CDL follows you around always-It comes with being a professional driver.

If you transfer an out of state CDL you should not have to take any tests unless you have HazMat then you will indeed need to retake the written test for that and also pay another HazMat fee again and wait for the HazMat to clear (no, doesn't matter you just got HazMat in another state, they don't care-Rules are rules) and you need to change your license over within 30 days of changing address (most states are that way, some might allow a longer period of time).

You should contact Alabama DPS and/or check their website to be sure.

Most states require a license to be in the address of your current residence within 10-30 days of a move. And they will require some form of DOCUMENTATION that the address you use ACTUALLY IS YOUR ADDRESS (and these forms of documentation vary somewhat from state to state).

Your CDL replaces your Class E, and your regular license is surrendered (replaced) when you upgrade to a CDL.

States will charge for the issuance of a CDL when transferring (same as if you transferred a regular license). The only thing you (usually) will have to re-test for, is the HazMat - though I have seen some states that require the "regular license" written test to be taken.

Another thing to consider when declaring a "residence state" is the TAX IMPLICATIONS, and other issues. Your personal vehicle(s), are going to need to be registered in that state, and you are going to have to file state/local taxes in the state your license is in (as that is considered your domicile).

If you are LIVING IN Alabama, and that's what you put on your Prime Application, then you are going to have to transfer your license back to Alabama once you have a full CDL. Alabama DMV Info Page

Rick

Best answer is above ^^^, you have to get your cdl in your state of residence within 30 days of moving there, because its also your car license.

Which brings up the interesting point for HOMELESS DRIVERS.

I'm going to start a thread here eventually on this.

I REALLY want to get out on the road - but I'm not in a hiring zip code for anyone I would consider doing so with.

I'm also planning on NOT MAINTAINING a home to "go home to".

None of the states I've looked at - will issue a CDL (or regular license), to someone that doesn't have an ACTUAL ADDRESS to declare residency with.

I want to keep Florida as my state of residence - because it has no state income tax, I have a CCW that's reciprocal, I have a corporation and other licenses/etc. that I don't want to forfeit.

You can no longer have a license/cdl in a PO Box, and it's not "technically legal" to have one at a UPS Store address.

I've got a few friends that are in hiring zip codes, that I can change my DL to (by changing my bank statements to go to their address - Florida allows statements from financial institutions to be used as proof of address). The only family I have (that I don't really talk to anyways) is all down here, in the non-hire zone.

Rick

If you ar going to MO you will hold a standard drivers license while you have your permit then your regular license will be voided once you pass your test.

I don't know how Prime is getting around this but MO passed a law this year that you must have a MO drivers license in order to hold a CDL PERMIT. I ran into this problem because I had a Indiana license ( still valid) when I went to get my permit and they made me change it to a MO license before they would issue the permit.

Thanks for the info everyone. "Chickie Monster's" question about Prime was what I was wondering. I originally was going to go to a private cdl school in Alabama and I currently have a GA license and the school said I would have to have an AL license to get my cdl permit.

Still not clear on this. Live in NC: To attend a CDL school, and test for CDL_A in another State. Each school, (Prime; Roehl; Schneider uses an OH community college) has the CDL-A test performed in their State. I saw one note that I'd have to transfer my N.C. Drivers License to that state, get the CDL License, then transfer the CDL to N.C. Saw a note that this messed up their auto insurance.

On a related note: Does your Auto Insurance change when you exchange your class C Drivers License to a CDL-A license?

tia