Starting Monday, February 7, 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will require all new Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) applicants to successfully complete an entry-level driver training before they are eligible to sit for state CDL or HME exams.
This requirement does not apply to current CDL holders that already have hazmat endorsements renewing. They are grandfathered.
Below is the process a driver subject to the new ELDT requirement has to go through.
There is no minimum number of hours of training required; however, PERC has developed online training and materials for compliance that tackle all the criteria necessary to cover. The initial CDL portion is made up of 30 modules and an assessment which should take a driver 10-15 hours to complete.
If a driver already has their CDL and only is applying for the hazmat endorsement, the HME applicant only has to take the hazmat theory training, which is 8 modules and an assessment/exam through PERC's online learning center and does not require behind the wheel training.
You must pass ELDT assessments/exams with 80% or better. There is no limit to how many times you can take the PERC ELDT assessments/exams.
Online assessments at the end of PERC's ELDT related courses do not take the place of CDL exams required at state driver's license offices.
The FREE ELDT courses are live and available now at https://training.propane.com/.
PERC courses do not include behind-the-wheel. A qualifying CDL-holder may give behind-the-wheel training at individual companies that can provide and document this in-person training with guidance materials developed by NPGA and PERC. These guidance materials include forms that capture road performance, hours of training completed, and the CDL-holder leading instruction qualifications.
NPGA has developed an Administrative Compliance Service (ACE) optional to members to help them with compliance, file all required documentation to FMCSA, and serve as the representative for your company in the case of an FMCSA audit as FMCSA has created a special enforcement division just for ELDT compliance.
You can learn more about NPGA's compliance program and get pricing at https://www.npga.org/ace.