By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026
Quick answers for Indiana CDL applicants
Use this page to answer the four searches most CDL applicants make before choosing a school or booking a test: what the state charges, which class of license the work needs, where the skills test is handled, and whether the state adds anything beyond federal ELDT.
- Published fee lines
- 6
- Skills testing
- state-certified third-party testers
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Booking points to in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/files/cdl-skills-test-sites.pdf.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What an Indiana CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles publishes; training tuition is a separate, school-set cost covered in our CDL training cost guide. A line reading "Not confirmed" means the agency publishes no figure; the note beside it says what the agency does say.
- Commercial driver's license
- $35 (Four years, expiring on the holder's birthday)The BMV fee chart carries one commercial driver's license line and does not price an original license differently from a renewal.
- Commercial driver's license renewal
- $35 (Four years; renewal is accepted at any BMV branch up to one year before the license expires)Renewing after the birthday expiry date adds the administrative late-renewal penalty listed below. If the birthday falls on a day BMV branches are closed, the license stays valid until the end of the next business day.
Endorsement fees
Endorsements ride on the base license; hazmat also carries a federal background check handled outside the license fee. Our hazmat endorsement guide covers that federal layer.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Test fees
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Other published fee lines
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Every amount here is read from the BMV fee chart revised January 1, 2026. That chart prints no separate line for an original versus renewal CDL, no per-endorsement pricing, and no exam fee.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Indiana issues licenses against these three rather than writing its own. Pick the class by the heaviest combination you will actually operate, because the skills test is taken in a vehicle of that class.
- Class A
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more (whichever is greater), inclusive of a towed unit or units with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds.
- Class B
- Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more, or such a vehicle towing a vehicle not exceeding 10,000 pounds GVWR or gross vehicle weight.
- Class C
- Any single vehicle or combination that does not meet Class A or B but is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or transports placarded hazardous materials or select agents.
- Which class a hotshot needs
- A hotshot combination needs a Class A CDL when the greater of its GCWR or actual combination weight reaches 26,001 pounds and the greater of the towed unit’s rating or actual weight exceeds 10,000 pounds. Check Class B for a heavy single vehicle and Class C for passenger or hazardous-material use. Federal registration requirements depend separately on the operation.
Endorsements ride on whichever class you hold; the hazmat endorsement guide covers the one carriers ask about most, and CDL versus non-CDL driving covers the boundary case of trucks that stay under the threshold. If the plan is a specific vehicle rather than a license, hotshot trucking and the box truck business guide walk what each one requires end to end.
Who gives the skills test in Indiana
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- The CDL skills exam must be taken at a BMV-authorized examination site and has three parts: a pre-trip inspection exam, a control skills exam, and the road trip exam. Authorized examination sites transmit the results to the BMV electronically. An applicant must hold the commercial learner's permit for 14 days before attempting the skills exam.
- Scheduling
- Appointments are booked with the approved third-party CDL skills test site at least two days before the exam date, not through a BMV branch. The BMV publishes the list of authorized examination sites at in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/files/cdl-skills-test-sites.pdf
- Before you apply
- Before the skills exam an applicant needs a valid Indiana driver's license, a Social Security number, citizenship or lawful permanent residence (or a non-domiciled CDL), a passed DOT physical with the Medical Examination Report and Medical Examiner's Certificate on file with the BMV, and a commercial learner's permit. A CDL is required for a commercial motor vehicle rated over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or of any size carrying placarded hazardous materials. A CDL left expired, disqualified, canceled, revoked, surrendered, relinquished or invalidated for longer than three years has to be applied for from scratch, exams included.
Every applicant also needs a current medical certificate; our DOT physical guide covers the exam that produces it. Not sure your truck even needs a CDL? Start with CDL vs non-CDL.
The federal training rule, then Indiana's position
Entry-level driver training (ELDT) is federal: it applies in every state before the tests it gates, and the training must come from a provider on FMCSA's registry. The full walkthrough lives in our how to get a CDL guide.
- Who must train
- First-time Class A or Class B applicants; Class B holders upgrading to Class A; First-time S, P, or H endorsement applicants
- Registry requirement
- Entry-level driver training means training received from an entity listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, completed before taking the CDL skills test for a first or upgraded Class A or Class B CDL, before the skills test for a first P or S endorsement, or before the knowledge test for a first H endorsement. You must complete training with a provider listed on the registry.
- States may add more
- States with training requirements that exceed the federal minimum standard may prohibit you from taking the skills test, or the knowledge test for the H endorsement, until you meet their state requirements as well as the federal ones. Federal rules also allow you to receive training and take the CDL skills test in a state other than the state you are licensed in.
Indiana adds a state training step on top of the federal entry-level driver training rule. Since July 1, 2023 every first-time CDL applicant must watch an instructional video on recognizing, preventing and reporting human trafficking and attest to having watched it when applying. On the federal rule itself the BMV restates FMCSA's terms: training applies to a first Class A or Class B license, a Class B to Class A upgrade, and a first school bus, passenger or hazardous materials endorsement, and is not retroactive for a permit or license obtained before February 7, 2022. Branch staff verify hazardous materials training before giving that knowledge exam, and the third-party skills test site verifies Class A, Class B, school bus and passenger training before scheduling the skills test.
The official manual and where this fits
The knowledge tests come straight from the state's own manual, so study the agency's current edition: Indiana Commercial Driver's License Manual (version September 9, 2022), issued with the Indiana Specific CDL Manual. The CDL licenses you as a driver; if the plan is your own trucks and your own freight, the business side runs on its own track through start a trucking company in Indiana.
If you searched for Indiana CDL requirements, go here next
Still deciding if you need a CDL?
Start with the vehicle weight and use case. The national guide explains the CDL threshold before you pay for a permit or training.
Compare CDL vs non-CDLReady to drive under your own authority?
The CDL is the driver credential. Operating authority, IRP, IFTA, insurance, and permits are the business credential stack.
See the Indiana startup sequence