DOT Issues Emergency Rule Limiting Commercial Driver’s Licenses for Foreign Nationals

At a Glance

• Nondomiciled drivers applying for or renewing their CDL/CLP must provide an unexpired I-94 record indicating one of three specific employment-based nonimmigrant categories: H-2A, H-2B or E-2, and appear in person and provide an unexpired foreign passport at every issuance and renewal.
• Foreign nationals holding other lawful status and valid employment authorization documents are now ineligible, including asylees, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries.
• The IFR specifically singles out California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington State for licensing failures, warning that any state found noncompliant could lose issuance authority and/or federal funding.
• Employers with nondomiciled drivers should plan for disruptions in CDL renewals while states pause and update their systems to comply with the IFR.

On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an interim final rule (IFR) significantly restricting access to commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) for nondomiciled drivers. Key changes to the nondomiciled CDL/CLP issuance process include limiting eligibility to individuals holding lawful status in the United States in certain employment-based, nonimmigrant categories; limiting the duration of the license; and requiring mandatory in-person renewals. States must now comply with stricter rules for CDL/CLP issuance.

Background

In June 2025, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced a nationwide audit of states issuing nondomiciled CDLs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) review of state processes, which is still underway, identified instances where nondomiciled CDLs and CLPs had been issued to ineligible drivers, as well as drivers whose licenses remained valid beyond the expiration of their lawful status in the United States. Based on these findings of noncompliance among state driver licensing agencies for nondomiciled drivers, the FMCSA published the IFR, effective immediately, citing national security and highway safety concerns.

New CDL/CLP Eligibility Requirements

Nondomiciled CDLs/CLPs are issued to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents but otherwise authorized to work and who meet specific requirements of the U.S. state driver’s licensing agency. Citizens of Mexico and Canada are currently exempt since the United States recognizes those countries’ commercial licenses. Prior to the IFR, individuals who presented an unexpired employment authorization document or an unexpired foreign passport and valid Form I-94 record were eligible for issuance of nondomiciled CDLs/CLPs.

Now, following the September 29, 2025, effective date of the IFR, nondomiciled drivers applying for or renewing their CDL/CLP must:

• Provide an unexpired I-94 record indicating one of three specific employment-based nonimmigrant categories: H-2A, H-2B or E-2. Foreign nationals holding other lawful status and valid employment authorization documents are now ineligible, including asylees, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries.
• Appear in person and provide an unexpired foreign passport at every issuance and renewal. Mail-in and online applications are no longer permitted.

State Compliance With New Requirements

States issuing nondomiciled CDL/CLP licenses must:

• Verify applicant documents through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.
• Keep nondomiciled application documents for at least two years.
• Match nondomiciled CDL/CLP expiration dates with the Form I-94 expiration date or set licenses to expire in one year, whichever is earlier.
• Downgrade nondomiciled CDLs/CLPs if drivers become ineligible.

The IFR specifically singles out California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington State for licensing failures, warning that any state found noncompliant could lose issuance authority and/or federal funding. The U.S. Department of Transportation is taking enforcement action against California, requiring the state to: (1) pause issuance of nondomiciled CDLs; (2) identify all unexpired nondomiciled CDLs that fail to comply with the regulations; and (3) revoke and reissue all noncompliant nondomiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements. Failure to comply will result in withholding federal highway funds of approximately $160 million.

Employer Considerations

According to the IFR, there are approximately 200,000 nondomiciled CDL holders and 20,000 nondomiciled CLP holders who will be impacted by the stricter requirements. Employers with nondomiciled drivers should plan for disruptions in CDL renewals while states pause and update their systems to comply with the IFR. Employers may audit their existing driver workforce to verify non-U.S. citizen drivers hold CDLs that comply with the new federal rule. This process must be separate from hiring and Form I-9 completion processes, to avoid possible antidiscrimination or document abuse claims.

Industry Impact and Response

• The IFR has received some industry support, including from the American Trucking Associations. On October 8, 2025, Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC) introduced H.R. 5688, the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act, to codify the IFR, adding further requirements.
• On October 20, 2025, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to block the implementation of the rule.

For More Information

For further information, please contact the authors. For relevant immigration-related information through 2025, register for Faegre Drinker’s immigration and global mobility practice’s Business Immigration Webinar Series: Compliance & Hiring Strategies for 2025.