By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answers for South Carolina 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
- the agency's own examiners
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV).
Booking points to dmv.sc.gov/schedule-appointment.
State-specific ELDT notes are cited below.
Federal definitions, rendered below with the fee and test facts.
What a South Carolina CDL costs
These are the license-side fees South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) 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 permit card
- $2.50 (One year from issue)SCDMV's Getting Your First CDL page prices the permit at $2.50 for the CLP, which will have a one-year expiration date, and its Fees page lists the same amount under Driver-Related Fees as Beginner's Permit (original, renewal, duplicate, and modified). S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-2080(C)(3) sets the statutory ceiling to match: the commercial driver instruction permit may not be issued for longer than one year. A first-time applicant pays the CDL application fee and the per-test knowledge fee alongside the card, and must hold the permit at least 14 days before taking the skills test.
- Commercial driver license, no HAZMAT endorsement
- $25 (Eight years from the date of issue)S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-2100(E) fixes it in one sentence: upon payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars and any fee assessed by any associated federal agency, a commercial driver license for which there is no associated HAZMAT endorsement issued by the department expires eight years from the date of issue. SCDMV's Fees page publishes the same figure as an 8-year License under Driver-Related Fees. The CDL application fee is a separate line that applies on top.
- Commercial driver license renewal
- $25 (Eight years from the date of issue, or five years where a HAZMAT endorsement is attached)SCDMV's Renew or Upgrade Your CDL page prices a renewal as the $25 license fee plus the $15 application fee, which is the same pair a first CDL pays. Renewal also takes Form 447-CDL, insurance information, self-certification of the FMCSA operating category, medical certification on Form DL-405A where applicable, and a vision test. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-2100(F) adds the endorsement rule: every applicant must take and pass the written test for hazardous material endorsement to obtain or retain that endorsement.
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
SCDMV itemizes no scheduling fee and no third-party tester price: the applicant supplies the commercial motor vehicle for the road test, and no SCDMV page names a third-party testing charge. Read the totals in pairs rather than singly, because the licence price and the application fee are separate lines and the knowledge test is charged per test.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: South Carolina 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 South Carolina
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- SCDMV administers both halves. Knowledge tests are taken at any SCDMV branch, and the branch will not start a test after 4:00 p.m. The skills test is taken by appointment in a vehicle that represents the class of CDL applied for, which the applicant supplies; SCDMV asks applicants to arrive 30 minutes early and may cancel an appointment for anyone arriving ten minutes late. Failing any portion means waiting two business days to return the first time, seven calendar days the second time, and 30 calendar days on a third or later failure, and each retest after the free first attempt carries the statutory skills test fee. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-2080(A)(2) separately authorizes the department to let a third party administer the same skills test, including an agency of this or another state, an employer, a private driver training facility, or a local government body, under a written agreement carrying random unannounced audits and retesting of applicants at least annually, annual onsite inspections, examiner qualification and training parity with department examiners, and a department fee sufficient to cover its costs. That is authorization in statute, not evidence of a live programme: SCDMV's CDL Testing page names no third-party tester and publishes no list of them, so this page records state administration as the fact and the third-party route as a statutory power.
- Scheduling
- The CDL Testing page links skills-test booking to the SCDMV appointment scheduler. Knowledge tests need no appointment and are walk-in at any branch before 4:00 p.m. dmv.sc.gov/schedule-appointment
- Before you apply
- An applicant must be at least 18 to operate within South Carolina and at least 21 to operate outside it, and must obtain a commercial learner permit first, hold it at least 14 days, and pass the knowledge tests for the class and endorsements sought. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-2080 adds the rest of the frame: a commercial driver instruction permit may be issued to a person who holds a valid Class D licence and has passed the appropriate vision and written test for the class of CDL sought; the permit holder may operate a commercial motor vehicle only when accompanied by a CDL holder with the applicable endorsements sitting beside them to give instruction; a CDL may not be issued to a person who is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle or whose licence is suspended, revoked, or cancelled in any state; and an applicant holding another state's CDL must surrender it for cancellation first. Before issuing the licence SCDMV must pull the driving record through the Commercial Driver License Information System, the National Driver Register, and every state the applicant has been licensed in. Medical certification is handled on SCDMV Form DL-405A where applicable.
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.
Plan your South Carolina CDL application
Choose the vehicle class before comparing training quotes. The rated and actual weight tests explain how the truck and trailer affect Class A or B; passenger and hazardous-material operations need their own check.
- Read the official South Carolina manual for the class and endorsements you intend to test for.
- Match the license class to the truck before booking training, because the skills test is taken in a vehicle of that class.
- Separate the state license and test fees from the school’s tuition, equipment and retest charges.
- Use the testing-provider details to confirm where the skills test is administered.
- Follow the national permit, training and CDL sequence, then confirm the state’s current appointment instructions with its agency.
The federal training rule, then South Carolina'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.
SCDMV requires an applicant who obtained a commercial learner permit after February 7, 2022 to complete an FMCSA approved entry-level driver training programme before taking the CDL skills test. That is the federal entry-level driver training rule restated, with the provider drawn from the federal Training Provider Registry. The SCDMV commercial licensing pages read in this pass add no South Carolina training requirement on top of it.
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 (South Carolina, March 2025). 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 South Carolina.
If you searched for South Carolina 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 South Carolina startup sequence