By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Aug 9, 2026
Quick answers for Washington 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
- 7
- Skills testing
- agency offices or approved third-party testers
- Training rule
- Federal ELDT applies
- License class
- A, B or C, set by the truck
Amounts below come from Washington State Department of Licensing.
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 Washington CDL costs
These are the license-side fees Washington State Department of Licensing 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)
- $40 (180 days from the date issued, renewable once for another 180 days when the renewal is made within 30 days of the expiration date)A driver issued an original CLP waits 14 days before taking a skills test. The permit may be renewed one time only.
- Add a CDL endorsement to a Washington driver license
- No single amount applies. The Department of Licensing prices this line as a $20 license fee plus $17 for each year remaining on the driver license, and publishes the total as a range of $37 to $156. What a given applicant pays depends on how much of their driver license term is left, so no fixed figure is recorded.Term: The time left to run on the underlying Washington driver license
- Renew a Washington driver license carrying a CDL endorsement
- The department publishes two amounts rather than one: $163 for six years or $217 for eight years with a CDL endorsement, and $193 for six years or $257 for eight years when the license carries both CDL and motorcycle endorsements. A renewal made more than 60 days after the license expires adds $10.Term: 6 years or 8 years, at the driver's choice
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.
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Test fees
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Other published fee lines
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The fee table itemises the knowledge test, the skills test, the learner permit and the requalification, and folds the licence itself into a driver license transaction priced by remaining term. It carries one $20 line for adding a CDL special endorsement rather than separate amounts for the hazardous materials, tank, passenger, school bus or doubles and triples endorsements, and it publishes no CDL replacement or duplicate line, so none is recorded here. Third party examiners set their own charges on top of the department's test fees.
Which class of CDL the work needs
The class is set by what you drive, and the definitions are federal: Washington 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 Washington
States split between running CDL skills tests themselves and certifying third-party testers; it changes where you book and who you pay.
- Testing model
- Washington runs both channels and says so directly: an applicant tests with a department examiner or with a third party examiner, and the department certifies the third party examiners itself and publishes a list of them. Knowledge testing is booked by appointment at a driver licensing office that offers it. A skills test with a department examiner is scheduled on 360-902-3785; a third party examiner is booked with that examiner, at least three days before the test date. Washington has moved to the AAMVA modernised skills test, and the department publishes a supplement to the commercial driver guide covering the segments that changed.
- Scheduling
- The department publishes an appointment tool for knowledge and skills testing and a separate finder for independent third party examiners on its CDL training and testing page. No single booking address covers both channels, so none is recorded.
- Before you apply
- An applicant holds a valid Washington driver license before applying, is at least 18 for commercial driving inside Washington and at least 21 to run across state lines, self-certifies the type of driving they will do, and carries a current medical certificate posted to the National Registry. The department's published sequence runs knowledge test, commercial learner permit, Washington training, skills test, then a licensing office appointment for issuance.
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 Washington'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.
Washington stacks its own minimum training hours on top of the federal entry level driver training rule, and a carrier hiring in this state should plan around the longer course. WAC 308-100-033 sets 160 hours for a Class A CDL, made up of 40 classroom hours, 18 hours of street driving, 16 hours of backing, 16 hours of proficiency development and 70 combined lab, range and observation hours. Class B and Class C run 80 hours on the same pattern, and passenger, school bus and hazardous materials endorsement courses carry their own hour counts. Every classroom course includes at least a 30 minute Truckers Against Trafficking section, and a student completes all portions within one year of starting. The provider must be approved by the department and listed on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry. WAC 308-100-035 lets an employer certify training it gives its own employees to the same standard, and the department must receive electronic notice of a successful completion before that employee takes a 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: Washington State Commercial Driver Guide. 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 Washington.
If you searched for Washington 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 Washington startup sequence