FMCSA Restricts Non-Domiciled CDLs to Three Visa Categories
A September 2025 interim final rule limited non-domiciled CDLs to H-2A, H-2B and E-2 holders and required immigration checks at every transaction.
In September 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) narrowed who can hold a non-domiciled commercial driver's license (CDL) or commercial learner's permit (CLP). It published an interim final rule on September 29, 2025, effective that day. Comments were due by November 28, 2025, under docket FMCSA-2025-0622.
Who could still qualify
Before the change, states could issue a non-domiciled CLP or CDL to foreign applicants, other than applicants from Canada or Mexico, with temporary or indefinite legal presence in the United States. Under the rule, eligibility was limited to people in lawful status in one of three employment-based nonimmigrant categories:
- H-2A (temporary agricultural workers);
- H-2B (temporary non-agricultural workers);
- E-2 (treaty investors).
FMCSA said groups such as asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients would no longer be eligible, even though they may be allowed to work in the United States. The rule also covered certain applicants domiciled in U.S. territories and residents of states whose CDL programs are decertified.
Drivers domiciled in Canada and Mexico were not affected, since they were already outside the non-domiciled CDL system.
New checks at the counter
For every issuance, transfer, renewal and upgrade, the rule required states to:
- collect an unexpired foreign passport and an unexpired Form I-94/I-94A showing a qualifying status;
- confirm status through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system;
- keep copies of the application documents for at least two years.
A non-domiciled CLP or CDL had to expire on the I-94 date or after one year, whichever is sooner. Holders had to renew in person, and states had to downgrade the licence if they learned the holder was no longer eligible.
Why FMCSA acted without prior comment
FMCSA cited its reviews of state licensing practices. In California, it said, a sample of records showed that about one in four non-domiciled CDLs did not comply with federal rules. The agency said California's error rate was above 25% and that the state issued about 3,820 non-domiciled CDLs and CLPs in June 2025 alone. FMCSA argued that a normal comment period could prompt a surge of applications from people who would soon become ineligible.
The numbers
FMCSA estimated there were about 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders and about 20,000 non-domiciled CLP holders. It expected states to issue about 6,000 non-domiciled CDLs a year under the new limits, and estimated that roughly 194,000 current holders would leave the freight market as they lost eligibility.
On October 2, FMCSA published a correction to the rule.
Archive: this article describes rules and events as of September 2025. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.