Who is required to be licensed –  A commercial drivers license (CDL) is required for anyone who is driving a vehicle intrastate or interstate with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more. If you will be driving a vehicle designed to carry 15 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 state of domicile. 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. 

Testing and Issuance Requirements –  your social security card is required to obtain a CDL along with other birth and identity documents if you have never been licensed in the State of Alaska. 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 online at Alaska.gov/dmv , in person at any DMV office, or online using DMV STAR (see page 4). In the Municipality of Anchorage, commercial tests are administered by the Center for Employment Education (CEE). Call 279-8451 for an appointment. The minimum passing score for all knowledge tests is 80%. To obtain a passing score on the skill test, the applicant must demonstrate that he/she can successfully perform all of the skills required. Under Department of Administration regulation 2 AAC 90.420 the knowledge tests may be taken once per day until successful completion. The road skills test will be given to the applicant once he/she satisfactorily meets all other requirements; second road skills test will be conducted at least one week after the first test if the department determines it is necessary; further testing will be at the department’s discretion and the department may require proof that additional driver training has been completed. 

An applicant must be at least twenty-one years of age to operate in interstate commerce or nineteen years of age to operate in intrastate commerce at the time of application and must have held a valid driver license for at least one year. An applicant must pass the knowledge, skills and vision test prior to issuance of the CDL. For further information about obtaining a commercial driver license, please address your questions to any DMV office. 

Medical Certificate and Self Certification Requirements –  Effective January 1, 2012 all CDL drivers are required by Federal law to self certify to the type of CMV operation that applies to the driver. The types of operation are as follows: Non-excepted interstate, excepted interstate, non-excepted intrastate and excepted intrastate. 

Depending on the type of operation a driver self certifies to, Federal and State law requires drivers to carry on their person while operating a CMV, a medical examiner’s certificate which certifies that they are physically qualified to operate a CMV. There are excepted reasons for not having a medical card, as explained in CFR 383.73. For questions regarding CDL Medical Cards, please call Dept. of Transportation at (907) 341-3200. 

Effective January 1, 2012 the State is required to downgrade any CDL holder with an expired medical certificate on file within 60 days of expiration. 

Implied Consent –  When you operate or drive a CMV you have already consented to a chemical test of your breath for the purpose of determining the alcohol content of your blood or breath. The law of “implied consent” allows law enforcement officers to request a sample of your breath. If you refuse to submit to a chemical test your CDL will be disqualified for one year for a first offense, or three years if transporting hazardous materials. A second and subsequent offense is a minimum ten years disqualification. 

