USDOT announces immediate action against issuing of non-domiciled CDLs, with direct action against California

The US Department of Transportation announced an emergency action to restrict the issuing of non domiciled CDLs throughout the US with direct action against California. 

The announcement was made on Friday, September 26th by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy following the completion of the agency’s audit of state policies regarding the issuing of non domiciled CDLs. 

The press release states that the audit revealed the many ways that the current regulatory framework can fail, and even uncovered the “catastrophic pattern of states issuing licenses illegally to foreign drivers.” The USDOT has determined that these factors have created an imminent hazard on the roadways that must be fixed immediately. 

“Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system,” the release states.

The audit uncovered non-compliance across several states, citing the worst in California, which resulted in a large number of non domiciled CDLs being issued to drivers who were overall ineligible, and drivers who had licenses that remained valid long after they were legally allowed to stay in the US. More than 25% of the non domiciled CDLs reviewed in the state of California were found to be improperly issued.

“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers – often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”

In addition to the emergency rule, Duffy announced direct enforcement action against California specifically in light of their “reckless disregard” of the rules. California must immediately pause issuance of non domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations, and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements.

California has 30 days to comply with these rules or the FMCSA will withhold $160 million in federal highway funds. Withholds will double if the refusal to comply continues into a second year. 

“California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe,” added Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “California must get its act together immediately or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding. To every other state around the country – find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now. We owe it to the American people to ensure only lawful, qualified drivers are operating big rigs on our highways.”

Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington were also found to have systematic non compliance with federal regulations regarding non domiciled CDLs. The new rules are effective immediately.

“We appreciate USDOT taking these steps to guarantee that happens, and we look forward to reviewing the rule in detail and providing specific feedback in our official comments,” American Trucking Associations wrote in a statement.

“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto America’s highways, creating unnecessary safety risks for professional drivers and the motoring public alike. These enforcement actions will also remove bad actors from the road and restore accountability to the system,” Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said.