By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answers for Louisiana 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
- 9
- 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 Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.
Use the agency testing notes below.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a Louisiana CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Louisiana Office 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 learner's permit (CLP)
- OMV Policy 2.00 prices credentials by type and class and prints no separate commercial learner's permit line, so no CLP amount is recorded here rather than invented. What OMV does publish about the permit: it runs up to 180 days with an option to extend for an additional 180 days, and the extension carries no fee.Term: Up to 180 days from issuance, extendable once for another 180 days
- Original Class A, B or C commercial driver's license
- $61.50 (6 years)The $61.50 is the license fee alone. OMV adds a $15.00 CDL application fee, charged for each application, and an office service fee of $0.00 to $8.00, which is why OMV publishes an estimated total of $76.50 to $84.50. A bona fide resident of the city of New Orleans pays a $76.50 license fee instead, for an estimated total of $91.50 to $99.50. La. R.S. 32:412 fixes both license amounts and makes the application fee nonrefundable.
- Class A, B or C CDL renewal
- $61.50 (6 years)OMV prices credentials by type and class rather than by transaction, so a renewed CDL carries the same $61.50 license fee, the same $15.00 application fee and the same $0.00 to $8.00 service fee as an original, and the same $76.50 New Orleans license fee. A $15.00 delinquent fee is added when the license has been expired more than ten calendar days, waived for applicants seventy years old or older and for non-permanent residents. A license expired or downgraded a year or longer brings the knowledge examination back; two years or longer brings the skills test back as well.
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 comes from OMV Policy 2.00, Fees and Duration of License / Identification Card, revised 07/01/2026. OMV publishes an estimated total for each class instead of a single price because the office service fee runs from $0.00 to $8.00. Third party skills test charges, entry level driver training tuition and the federal security threat assessment are priced by whoever collects them, not by OMV.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Louisiana 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 Louisiana
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- Louisiana runs CDL skills testing through third party testers. OMV's New CDL page tells an applicant to finish any required training and then contact a third party tester to take the skills test, and OMV runs the approval program that licenses tester sites and their examiners, publishing the qualifications a company and each examiner must meet before it will accept an application. A commercial learner's permit holder may not take the skills test in the first 14 days after the permit is first issued, and the permit holder must be accompanied by a valid CDL holder at all times while driving.
- Scheduling
- OMV publishes a searchable directory of approved third party testers rather than a central booking system, so an applicant contacts a tester directly to schedule the skills test.
- Before you apply
- The commercial learner's permit comes first, and Louisiana's conditions for it are specific: at least 18 years old, a valid Louisiana Class A, B, C, D or E license already in hand, a current Medical Examiner's Certificate on Form MCSA-5876, a CDL Supplemental Form (DPSMV 2211) filed initially and again any time the type of commerce changes, all applicable tests passed, and proof of Louisiana residency such as a voter registration, property tax receipt, lease agreement, utility statement, postmaster verification, W-2 or insurance policy. Renewal adds a vision test, self-certification, and a Medical Examiner's Certificate from an examiner listed on the National Registry where the certificate is dated after May 21, 2014.
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 Louisiana'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.
Louisiana restates the federal entry level driver training rule and adds nothing to it. OMV requires ELDT before a first Class A or Class B CDL, before an upgrade from a Class B to a Class A, and before a first school bus, passenger or hazardous materials endorsement, names FMCSA as the body that sets the baseline, and points applicants at FMCSA's Training Provider Registry rather than at any Louisiana registry of its own.
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: Commercial Driver License Manual (2005 CDL Testing System, version July 2017). 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 Louisiana.
If you searched for Louisiana 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 Louisiana startup sequence