Getting A CDL Permit Before Going To Prime

Well its $35.00 application fee in Georgia plus $10.00 test fee which would pay for the permit if you pass. I have the money for it so I will just do it and hope for the best when I get to Missouri. Heard it was $32.50 in Missouri not sure though.

My recruiter (Don) just told me I need to show up with $150 for some administration fee and Prime would take care of everything else. At that time (2 months ago) I had only just realized I was interested in trucking. Thank God I found this site otherwise he would have had me at Prime on Dec 1st 2014 not knowing a damn thing about a damn thing. Don's probably a good dude but without TT I would be looking like a sucker right now and might have been sent home already. My funds are real tight right now and I'm trying to plan accordingly and not alienate particular individuals in the family by giving them the finger and telling them to pound sand. LOL. For every reason not listed on this thread I know I will love this career, I'm just trying not to fall on my face in my haste. I like to be as Stuart Scott once said, "cooler than the other side of the pillow". That guy Thinks Too Much took my forum name! JK. Booya!

Well its $35.00 application fee in Georgia plus $10.00 test fee which would pay for the permit if you pass. I have the money for it so I will just do it and hope for the best when I get to Missouri. Heard it was $32.50 in Missouri not sure though.

My recruiter (Don) just told me I need to show up with $150 for some administration fee and Prime would take care of everything else. At that time (2 months ago) I had only just realized I was interested in trucking. Thank God I found this site otherwise he would have had me at Prime on Dec 1st 2014 not knowing a damn thing about a damn thing. Don's probably a good dude but without TT I would be looking like a sucker right now and might have been sent home already. My funds are real tight right now and I'm trying to plan accordingly and not alienate particular individuals in the family by giving them the finger and telling them to pound sand. LOL. For every reason not listed on this thread I know I will love this career, I'm just trying not to fall on my face in my haste. I like to be as Stuart Scott once said, "cooler than the other side of the pillow". That guy Thinks Too Much took my forum name! JK. Booya!

Lane told me bare minimum would be at least $100.00 application fee $50.00 for permit and to at least aim for $150.00 for other expenses. I don't know but maybe some numbers may be off somewhere. I will be showing up with $500.00 cash and a couple thousand in the bank. I will ask again tomorrow morning at let you know on the money to bring.

Lane told me bare minimum would be at least $100.00 application fee $50.00 for permit and to at least aim for $150.00 for other expenses. I don't know but maybe some numbers may be off somewhere. I will be showing up with $500.00 cash and a couple thousand in the bank. I will ask again tomorrow morning at let you know on the money to bring.

Yeah please let me know what you hear. Part of the reason I'm stalling with Don is because I'm trying to raise some extra dough to show up with. Thanks Sandman!

Sean, we always recommend getting your permit before you go to Prime because that will allow you to immediately move on to other areas of training while the rest of the class sits around studying the CDL manual and gets shipped back and forth to the DMV to take tests. So it puts you ahead of the group by a few days. You're not going to soar to glory if you show up with your permit, nor will you crash in defeat if you don't. But it will get you ahead of the class just a bit and impress the people at Prime just a bit.

These Company-Sponsored Training Programs are really more like tryouts to make a team more than they are a school. Yes, obviously it's a school and they'll train you very well. But the entire time they're evaluating everything about you because they're trying to determine as quickly as possible which students have the potential to become safe, hard working, reliable drivers and who won't. The company doesn't want to waste its time and money on people that won't pan out. You'll find that probably 1/5th of the people won't make it through the first day because they'll fail the physical or drug test or they lied on their application. By the end you'll be lucky if 20% of your initial class actually completes the training and goes on to drive for Prime. So you want to do all you can right from the start to show them you have an awesome attitude and that you're serious about becoming a safe, hard working, reliable driver.

As far as which state you'll be living in and ultimately have your license in, that definitely complicates things. Some states allow simple license transfers and it takes 20 minutes of paperwork - no problem. Other states, like Illinois, require you to start from scratch and do ALL of the testing over again - road test, pre-trip inspection - everything. So you'll want to look at the policies of the various states before deciding on a strategy. And if you find the policies are difficult to deal with you might want to pick the state you're going to live in and get established there with a regular license before getting your CDL permit and going to Prime.

But let me be clear....no matter what you do it will work out so don't stress yourself over this stuff. It's administrative garbage and it's annoying, but nothing more. None of these decisions like which state you live in, where and when you get your permit, etc are "make or break" decisions. I know preparing for a start in trucking is overwhelming, stressful, and confusing - it is for everyone. I just don't want you to stress yourself over these particular issues. They'll work out fine one way or another.

Yes you will be better off taking the test and obtaining your permit before you leave. At prime you will have an advantage of extra and better training if you do. While everyone else is testing you will be getting on the simulator and studying pre trip

Well its $35.00 application fee in Georgia plus $10.00 test fee which would pay for the permit if you pass. I have the money for it so I will just do it and hope for the best when I get to Missouri. Heard it was $32.50 in Missouri not sure though.

My recruiter (Don) just told me I need to show up with $150 for some administration fee and Prime would take care of everything else. At that time (2 months ago) I had only just realized I was interested in trucking. Thank God I found this site otherwise he would have had me at Prime on Dec 1st 2014 not knowing a damn thing about a damn thing. Don's probably a good dude but without TT I would be looking like a sucker right now and might have been sent home already. My funds are real tight right now and I'm trying to plan accordingly and not alienate particular individuals in the family by giving them the finger and telling them to pound sand. LOL. For every reason not listed on this thread I know I will love this career, I'm just trying not to fall on my face in my haste. I like to be as Stuart Scott once said, "cooler than the other side of the pillow". That guy Thinks Too Much took my forum name! JK. Booya!

OK got the answer for you. You need to bring $150.00 cash or money order. $100.00 for program fee and $50.00 for permit fee. If you do get your cdl permit before attending you need to be medically certified ( dot physical and registered with state DMV) make sure you select (non excepted interstate) if you have all this you should have no problems. If your state does not require a dot physical get one from a licensed and certified doctor or nurse and have your long form, your card and their phone number just in case. Make sure to get your tanker endorsement. It is REQUIRED! Your hasmat will be handled after you get you cdl a. You will get an extra 4 days of other training if you show up with your cdl permit. That sounds like a good jump start to me. Lol I have lots of other info if you need it.

Sean, we always recommend getting your permit before you go to Prime because that will allow you to immediately move on to other areas of training while the rest of the class sits around studying the CDL manual and gets shipped back and forth to the DMV to take tests. So it puts you ahead of the group by a few days. You're not going to soar to glory if you show up with your permit, nor will you crash in defeat if you don't. But it will get you ahead of the class just a bit and impress the people at Prime just a bit.

These Company-Sponsored Training Programs are really more like tryouts to make a team more than they are a school. Yes, obviously it's a school and they'll train you very well. But the entire time they're evaluating everything about you because they're trying to determine as quickly as possible which students have the potential to become safe, hard working, reliable drivers and who won't. The company doesn't want to waste its time and money on people that won't pan out. You'll find that probably 1/5th of the people won't make it through the first day because they'll fail the physical or drug test or they lied on their application. By the end you'll be lucky if 20% of your initial class actually completes the training and goes on to drive for Prime. So you want to do all you can right from the start to show them you have an awesome attitude and that you're serious about becoming a safe, hard working, reliable driver.

As far as which state you'll be living in and ultimately have your license in, that definitely complicates things. Some states allow simple license transfers and it takes 20 minutes of paperwork - no problem. Other states, like Illinois, require you to start from scratch and do ALL of the testing over again - road test, pre-trip inspection - everything. So you'll want to look at the policies of the various states before deciding on a strategy. And if you find the policies are difficult to deal with you might want to pick the state you're going to live in and get established there with a regular license before getting your CDL permit and going to Prime.

But let me be clear....no matter what you do it will work out so don't stress yourself over this stuff. It's administrative garbage and it's annoying, but nothing more. None of these decisions like which state you live in, where and when you get your permit, etc are "make or break" decisions. I know preparing for a start in trucking is overwhelming, stressful, and confusing - it is for everyone. I just don't want you to stress yourself over these particular issues. They'll work out fine one way or another.

Some people have had problems when getting their cdl permit before attending. I found the answer on why. Its because not all state require a dot physical. Without a dot physical. It won't matter if you have your cdl permit or not. You will have to get a new one by testing again in Missouri. This was the question I didn't have the answer to. Its not good to waste money when you don't have the money to waste like in seans case. Its always better to hold off and find the answers before jumping in. I agree it is better to get your permit before going to prime but.... there is a catch! If your state doesn't require a dot physical. Get one from someone certified and licensed.

Thanks Brian.

Jopa you are hilarious man. Check is in the mail lol.

Brett thank you for your reply. Good info and it was a confidence booster.

Sandman, thanks for getting back to me with the info you found out. If I think of anything else I'll post it and be glad to read what you say.

Trying to get everything lined up to get this ball rolling is difficult enough without having to worry about certain distractions.

I'm going to take what everyone had to say to heart and research all of the possible scenario's regarding how DE, PA and NC handle obtaining and transferring a CDL before I make up my mind about what state I call home. From what you all had to say it's clear to me now why it's better to have the permit beforehand. I was not planning on getting one before I showed up but now I try to make it happen if at all possible (without letting it stress me out).

Thanks again everyone!

Sean I just went through everything you are talking about. Yes, do everything you can to get your CDL before you arrive here. Brooke ( in charge of the entire training class) told us their are 13 states right now they are having problems transferring CDL permits from. She didn't list all of them but she did mention parts of Pennsylvania, California, Alabama, New York, New Jersey and Ohio to name a few.

The problem is not with the DOT physical as was previously stated. It has to do with an International Data Base that states must pay to reciprocate information on your driving record. If your state does not belong to this service they cannot transfer your permit. Some states require you to have a DOT physical before you can obtain your CDL which of course means you will have to pay for one to get your permit. The issue is Prime still must give you another physical when you arrive at Orientation. Their is several valid reasons they gave us of why they have to do this, the big reason is Missouri will not transfer your Permit with a DOT Med Card from an out of state doctor. So this means you paid extra money out of pocket.

I guess the question anyone should ask themselves is getting a physical worth it to get extra time studying other things while here at Prime. If it was me I would pay for one. The one thing I have found out about being here, time is a valuable commodity, and you only have a short time to finish everything. This whole first week is a test. Prime is watching you every minute you are at PSD. Even when you don't think you are being tested you are. Anything from time management to patience and being pro active. You are being watched!

I am still here after day 3 and am just finishing some of the basic steps in order to be finished with phase 1. We still have a really large class this week and they will be weeding people out over the next couple days. I am still studying and crossing my fingers until an Instructor tells me to get in the truck. Thats the only way you'll know you are moving to Phase 2. Then a whole new set of challenges await me. Good Luck Brian

Thanks Brian! I'll look into whether or not PA, DE and NC take part in the database service and factor that into the equation. Sounds like I may need to take PA off my list of potentials. Not the end of the world, I still have a couple of options in DE if I can't make things work here in NC.

Keep us posted on how you and the rest of your class is doing (if you have the time). I like seeing posts and threads from people who are going through Prime's program.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too. I hope an instructor picks you soon!