Trump Admin Mandates English-Only Tests For Truckers Seeking Commercial Driver’s Licenses

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The federal crackdown on unqualified truckers kicked into a higher gear Friday when the nation’s transportation chief announced that tests for commercial driver’s licenses must be given only in English.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed the latest policy with a goal of ensuring that truck drivers understand English well enough to read road signs and communicate with law enforcement officers. Florida has already implemented English-only tests.

The new order includes modernizing the commercial driver’s license (CDL) registration system, cracking down on fraud, and improving driver safety.

“American families deserve safe roads and we are going to deliver them,” Duffy said in a post on X.

In another post on Friday, Duffy said that it is easier for noncitizens to get a CDL than U.S. citizens, noting that under the Biden administration, illegal immigrants seeking licenses were not subject to background checks, unlike American applicants.

“Our new rule restricts eligibility and ensures ONLY qualified drivers can operate big rigs,” Duffy added.

Duffy said a number of states have hired companies to oversee CDL tests, but those companies often fail to uphold the standards that drivers are required to meet.

In May 2025, Duffy signed an order implementing new guidance to enforce English proficiency requirements for truckers. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations stipulate that a driver who cannot read or speak proficient English or understand highway traffic signs and signals does not qualify to operate a commercial motor vehicle.

By December 2025, the administration had removed nearly 9,500 commercial truck drivers from service for failing English proficiency checks.

Unqualified Driving Schools

The Transportation Department on Feb. 18 said more than 550 driving schools fail to meet basic safety standards and should be shut down.

Those commercial driver training providers received notices of proposed removal from the national registry as a result of more than 1,400 investigations, the department said.

Investigators found unqualified instructors, fabricated addresses, improper vehicles, and failures to teach hazardous materials handling, including schools that trained school bus drivers.

“For too long, the trucking industry has operated like the Wild, Wild West, where anything goes and nobody asks any questions,” Duffy said in a statement on Feb. 18. “The buck stops with me. Under President [Donald] Trump, my team is cracking down on every link in the trucking chain that has allowed this lawlessness to impact the safety of America’s roads. American families should have confidence that our school bus and truck drivers are following every letter of the law and that starts with receiving proper training before getting behind the wheel.”

Noncompliant States

The department finalized a rule on Feb. 11 to limit CDL eligibility for foreign nationals to holders of H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 nonimmigrant visas who undergo expanded interagency reviews.

The department has targeted states that handed out commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants who did not qualify, picking up its efforts ever since a fatal crash in Florida in August.

The Trump administration said the truck driver illegally entered the country from Mexico in 2018. The driver, Harjinder Singh, a native of India, allegedly made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash that killed three people. He obtained his licenses in California and Washington.

In October, Florida sued California and Washington over their CDL licensing practices.

The federal government has threatened to withhold funding from states such as California, Washington, and New Mexico for not enforcing English-language standards. California ultimately had more than $40 million withheld.

Nineteen states were allowing drivers to take their license tests in other languages, despite the drivers being required to demonstrate English proficiency.