State of Alaska
Department of Administration
Division Of Motor Vehicles
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Motor Vehicles >
Commercial Drivers License
Commercial Drivers License
Type | Endorsements | Restrictions | Medical / Vision | Transferring a CDL
You must be domiciled in the State of Alaska in order to obtain or renew an Alaska CDL. (Domicile = ALASKA MUST be your true, fixed and permanent home, and principal residence to which you intend to return whenever you are absent.)
If you live in RURAL Alaska, please CLICK HERE for additional information.
Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC) are issued by the Department of Homeland Security and are not available through DMV.
ORIGINAL ALASKA COMMERCIAL DRIVER
LICENSE (CDL)
A background check is required if you wish to obtain
a hazardous materials endorsement or renew a CDL with a hazardous materials endorsement.
A commercial driver license (CDL) is required
for a resident of Alaska who is driving a vehicle intrastate (19 & above) or interstate (21 & above) with a gross vehicle
weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more. If you will be driving
a vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers, or transporting hazardous
materials, regardless of the GVWR, a CDL is required. A commercial driver may
have only one license and that license must be issued by their home state.
Those exempted from the commercial driver licensing requirements include drivers
of recreational, military and emergency vehicles. Farm vehicles are exempt
if controlled and operated by a farmer, used to transport agricultural products
or machinery to and from a farm, not used in for-hire or contract carrier operations,
and if driven no further than 150 miles from the farm.
Your social security
number is required to obtain a CDL. The commercial driver license fee is
$100.00. There is a $25.00 non-refundable fee for those requiring
a road test. Road
test appointments may be scheduled in any State DMV office or using our Online Services. In the Municipality of Anchorage, commercial tests are
administered by the Center for Employment Education (CEE). Call 279-8451
for an appointment. Outside the Municipality of Anchorage,
please contact your local DMV, schedule your road test online or click HERE for additional 3rd Party Testers.
An applicant must be at least twenty-one years of age at the time of application
and must have held a valid driver license for at least one year. For
an intrastate license, the applicant must be at least nineteen years of
age. An
applicant must pass the road, vision and written test prior to issuance of
the CDL. For
further information about obtaining a commercial driver license, please address
your questions to: E-mail
ALASKA DMV
TRANSFERRING A CDL FROM ANOTHER STATE
Welcome to Alaska! Please be sure to obtain an Alaska license within 30 days of your arrival if you intend to make Alaska your home. If you do not have any intention of becoming a resident of Alaska (Seasonal worker, etc.) you must have a valid CDL from your home state in order to drive a Commercial Motor Vehicle in Alaska.
To transfer a CDL from another state to Alaska, you must:
- Complete an Application for Commercial Driver License (Form 415) and Commercial Driver Medical & Self Certification Verification (Form 413).
- Provide proof of the following: Date of birth, legal name, social security number and your physical address IN ALASKA.
- Surrender your valid license from another state. (Cannot be expired for over 1 year.)
- Pass the written "Rules
of the Road" test to convert to an Alaska license.
(20 questions) - Pass the "Hazardous Materials" test if you have that
endorsement and wish to keep it.
Effective January 31, 2005, you are required to pass a background check in order to obtain or retain a hazardous materials endorsement.
- Pass any knowledge tests for endorsements that you wish to add to your license and do not have on your current license. Some endorsements require a road test.
- Pass a vision test.
- Pay the $100.00 fee for an ALASKA CDL.
Note: If your CDL from another state has been expired over one year, you must pass ALL written tests that apply to the type of license you wish to obtain. A road test is required if the license has been expired over five years.
CDL MEDICAL CARD & VISION REQUIRMENTS
Please see the following for information on CDL Medical Cards.
Medical Report: DOT FORMS
Vision requirements to holda CDL are 20/40 or better corrected in both eyes. If you do not meet the requirements, you may be eligible for a waiver for INTRASTATE, ONLY. See your eye doctor for a current vision test. If you cannot meet the vision requirements, you will need the results from your eye doctor before you can apply for a waiver. These are issued by the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Vision Waiver Application
Federal Regulation is CFR 49 391.41 (10)
TYPES OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE'S AND ENDORSEMENTS:
- Class A/CDL - May operate a combination of a motor vehicle and one or more other vehicles with a GCWR of greater than 26,000 pounds where the combined GVWR of the vehicle or vehicles being towed is greater than 10,000 pounds; a holder of a Class A/CDL license may also operate a Class B/CDL, Class C/CDL, or Class D vehicle. (Examples: 18 wheelers, log trucks)
- Class B/CDL - May operate a motor vehicle with a GVWR of greater than 26,000 pounds, or a motor vehicle with a GVWR of greater than 26,000 pounds that is towing a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less; a holder of a Class B/CDL license may also operate a Class C/CDL or Class D vehicle. (Examples: dump trucks, cement mixer, box trucks, motor coaches)
- Class C/CDL - May operate any single motor vehicle, or a combination of a motor vehicle and one or more other vehicles not meeting the definitions of Class A/CDL or B/CDL, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded under hazardous materials regulations in 49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart F, revised as of October 1, 2009; a holder of a Class C/CDL may also operate a Class D vehicle.
ENDORSEMENTS
You must have the appropriate endorsement on your CDL if you haul hazardous materials, pull double or triple trailers, or drive tank or passenger vehicles, or school buses.
- Hazardous materials (H)- Required for drivers of vehicles transporting hazardous materials requiring placards per the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. A written test and Transportation Security Administration security threat assessment is required at each driver license renewal date. - Knowledge & Background Check (Background check - Effective 1/31/05)
- Tank vehicles (N) - Required for drivers of vehicles designed to transport liquids or gaseous materials within a tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or chassis. Such vehicles include, but are not limited to, cargo tanks and portable tanks, as defined in hazardous materials regulations. This definition does not include portable tanks having a rated capacity under 1,000 gallons. - Knowledge
- Passenger (P) - Required for drivers of vehicles designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver. Both written and skills tests are required to obtain this endorsement. Knowledge & Skills (road test)
- School bus (S) – Required for drivers of vehicles transporting preprimary, primary or secondary school students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school- sponsored events. Both written and skills tests are required to obtain this endorsement. Knowledge & Skills (road test)
- Double/Triple (T) - Required for drivers of vehicles pulling two or three trailers. (A dolly or load divider, sometimes referred to as a "jeep," is considered to be one trailer.) - Knowledge
- Combination Tank/Hazardous material (X) - Required for drivers of vehicles transporting tank vehicle used to transport placard able amounts of hazardous materials. - Knowledge & Background Check (Background check - Effective 1/31/05)
If you have restrictions on your CDL you must pass the apropriate tests to drive certian types of vehilces (Air brakes, manual transmissions) or to drive in cetian areas.
- L Restriction - Air Brakes - The (L) restriction prohibits driving of vehicles with air brakes. The CDL will carry this restriction unless you pass an air brakes knowledge test and a skills test (Pre-trip Inspection and Road Test) in a vehicle equipped with air brakes.
- M Restriction – Except Class A Bus - The (M) restriction prohibits a driver with a passenger endorsement from operating a Class A bus if a Class A bus was not used for the skills test. A driver with a Class A CDL who also has a (P) endorsement will typically have the (M) restriction. Class A busses are not commonly found in the United States.
- N Restriction - Except Class A and B Bus - The (N) restriction restricts a CDL holder with the passenger endorsement from operating a Class A or B bus if a Class A or B bus was not used during their passenger endorsement skills test.
- E Restriction - Used to restrict applicant to class A and/or B automatic transmission vehicles (Not applicable to a C/CDL.) Skills test is required to remove this restriction
- K Restriction - Used to restrict an applicant to intrastate* driving.
- All applicants under the age of 21.
- An applicant that is legally blind in one eye and has submitted a state waiver. Contact ADL before entering this restriction when the waiver is submitted.
*Intrastate commerce means any trade, traffic, or transportation in any State which is not described in the term "interstate commerce".'
*Interstate commerce (CFR 49 390.5) means trade, traffic, or transportation in the United States.
- Between a place in a State and a place outside of such State (including a place outside of the United States); or
- Between two places in a State through another State or a place outside of the United States; or
- Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation.
- O Restriction - Except tractor trailer. Restricts the operator from driving tractor-trailer vehicles. Use this restriction when the test vehicle is tow truck configuration or pickup and large trailer (over 10,000 GVWR). Do not use this restriction for dump trucks with belly dumps or pups. Knowledge and Skills test is required to remove this restriction
- V Restriction - A Federal medical waiver and/or Skills Performance Evaluation (SPE) was required. Waiver or SPE is required to remove this restriction
- 7 Restriction - Off-Highway: Used in specific rural communities where road tests are not administered. Skills test is required to remove this restriction
REV. 08/15/2012
