FMCSA conducted 1,400 ‘sting operations’ in five-day effort to root out noncompliant CDL mills, feds say

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) investigators recently conducted a sweeping series of “sting operations” targeting commercial driver’s license (CDL) schools in violation of federal regulations.

On February 18, 2026, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that hundreds of FMCSA investigators partnered for a nationwide operation which uncovered “more than 550 sham CDL training schools found in violation of the FMCSA’s standards of safety.”

During the course of the five-day effort, FMCSA “mobilized more than 300 investigators across 50 states to conduct over 1,400 sting operations,” officials said.

According to Duffy, the FMCSA investigations resulted in the following:

• 448 notices of proposed removals issued to schools that failed to meet basic safety standards.
• 109 training providers voluntarily removed themselves from the Training Provider Registry upon hearing investigators were on the way.
• An additional 97 training providers remain under investigation for compliance issues.

“We mobilized hundreds of investigators to visit these schools in person to ensure strict compliance with federal safety standards,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs. “If a school isn’t using the right vehicles or if their instructors aren’t qualified, they have no business training the next generation of truckers or school bus drivers.” 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) listed common CDL school violations found during the FMCSA investigations:

• Unqualified Teachers: Instructors did not even hold the correct licenses or permits—such as for school buses—for the vehicles they were teaching their students to drive. 
• Improper Vehicles: Schools were using vehicles that didn’t match the type of training being offered.
• Incomplete Assessments: Providers failed to properly test students on basic requirements.
• State Non-Compliance: Schools admitted to investigators that they did not even meet their own state’s specific requirements. 

“For too long, the trucking industry has operated like the Wild, Wild West, where anything goes and nobody asks any questions. The buck stops with me. Under President Trump, my team is cracking down on every link in the trucking chain that has allowed this lawlessness to impact the safety of America’s roads. American families should have confidence that our school bus and truck drivers are following every letter of the law and that starts with receiving proper training before getting behind the wheel,” said Duffy. 

Duffy previously said that in 2025, USDOT “shut down 7,500 CDL training schools that failed to meet Trump Administration’s readiness standards.”

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) out in support of the CDL mill crackdowns

“OOIDA and professional truck drivers across America commend the Trump Administration for taking decisive action to restore integrity to the CDL training system. Shutting down hundreds of sham trucking schools that fail to meet even basic federal standards is a significant step toward protecting the motoring public and defending the professionalism of America’s truck drivers. For years, CDL mills have fueled a destructive churn driven by the false narrative of a nationwide truck driver shortage. Rather than fix retention problems and working conditions, some in the industry chose to cut corners and push undertrained drivers onto the road. That approach has undermined safety and devalued the entire trucking profession. Secretary Duffy and Administrator Barrs are sending a clear message today that safety comes first and that training is a priority,” said OOIDA president Todd Spencer.