Reobtaining CDl?
Topic 33881 | Page 1
What does your current state show when you look up your license status on their website? Was your medical card up to date, or when did it expire? Some states an expired medical card is all that's needed to bring your CDL active while others limit it to 6 months expired medical cars before you must retest for your CDL.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
NC, my current state, shows I only have a Class C drivers license. And my most recent medical card would be out of date for 2 years now.
Thomas,
It appears your commercial driver license has been downgraded to a NC, class C, regular driver license. The cause of the downgrade is the expired medical examiner's certificate. A current medical certification, along with a CDL skills re-test seems to be the road ahead, especially given the 2-year gap in fed-med. expiration. The best course of action is to contact the NC DOT/DMV for a clear direction forward.
Good luck!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Have you only been out of the saddle for two years then? If you still have at least a year of experience within the last three years many companies will still consider you experienced, in which case all you need to do is re-obtain your class a and get to work. Hopefully it’s just as easy as updating your medical card like Highway 44 just said.
If you don’t have at least a year within the last 3 you might want to give some companies a call and see if they will even be able to hire you without you going back to trucking school for a refresher course. Sounds crazy I know, but insurance runs this industry as we all know
It’s actually been about 2.5 years now, so I’ll probably need to do that calling around. Welp, thanks for the advice, that’s about what I was expecting, but I do appreciate the input!
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I got my CDL in one state and spent a year OTR , then got out. I moved states, and when I transferred my DL, I don’t think my CDL transferred, and I didn’t catch it for longer than I care to admit. But now, I’d like to try to get into a local trucking job. Anyone have any advice on trying to just get my CDL back? Should I just start over?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.