Trucking co. asks FMCSA to allow CLP holders to operate without CDL driver in passenger seat

A trucking company asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for relief from a rule requiring a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holder to remain in the passenger seat of a commercial vehicle operated by a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) holder.

Trucking company Wilson Logistics, also a registered training provider and a certified third-party CDL tester in Missouri, asked FMCSA for a renewal of an previous exemption granted February 23, 2021, and remaining in effect through February 23, 2026.

Wilson Logistics seeks continued exemption from the rule which requires that a CLP holder always be accompanied by the holder of a valid CDL in the front seat of the CMV who has the proper CDL group and endorsement(s) necessary to operate the vehicle.

The Wilson Logistics three-week training program includes a minimum of two weeks driving over-the-road while a CDL instructor is observing and providing feedback from the passenger seat. The CLP holders deliver loads for Wilson Logistics customers as part of the training program while receiving hands-on, one-on-one training from the instructor.

From FMCSA documents describing the exemption renewal request:

“As a third-party tester, Wilson Logistics’s four CDL examiners are continuously examined by the State of Missouri throughout the year for compliance. Wilson Logistics’s testing policy permits a pre-apprentice to take the CDL skills test no more than twice. If a pre-apprentice fails the CDL test the first time, he or she receives an additional 3 to 4 days of training, before attempting to take the CDL skills test again. If a pre-apprentice fails twice, then he or she is disqualified from Wilson’s pre-apprenticeship program. According to Wilson Logistics, pre-apprentices have a 95% first-time pass rate.

Once the pre-apprentice has passed the test, a Wilson Logistics trainer accompanies the CLP holder for the first 30,000 miles. For the first 10,000 miles the trainer is in the front passenger seat of the CMV; during the remaining 20,000 miles the trainer is in the CMV, although not necessarily in the front seat of the vehicle. Trainers also accompany the CLP holders when they return to their State of Domicile to receive their CDL after having passed the test.

Wilson Logistics states that it ensures an equivalent level of safety by verifying that no applicant will ever operate its CMVs without passing the State CDL exam administered by Wilson Logistics as a third-party tester and by requiring drivers to keep a copy of their passing CDL exam score, permit and license in their possession.“

The company told FMCSA that “since the exemption was granted in 2021, Wilson Logistics has entered 1,381 CDL applicants and successfully tested and approved 1,264 or 91.5% successfully receiving their CDL.” 

“The applicant believes its safety data shows that its process works, and that it has maintained an equivalent level of safety while operating under the exemption,” FMCSA said.

Public comment will be accepted on the exemption request through January 9, 2026. You can click here to leave a comment online.