What is a Non-CDL CMV?

Holy cow that was a ton of acronyms to have in the first sentence of a blog.  Lol

Let’s start with what those mean.

CMV = Commercial Motor Vehicle.  In layman’s terms, a CMV is any vehicle that crosses state lines and is used in commerce that has a GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) over 10,000 lbs.  Pretty much any vehicle that pulls trailers or is bigger than a ¾ ton pickup.

*note that if you do not cross state lines then there are several states that do not consider a vehicle to be a CMV until it reaches 26,001 lbs.

CDL = Commercial Driver License.  A CDL is required to operate any Hazmat vehicle that carries a placardable amount of material, any vehicle with a GVWR over 26,000, or any vehicle that was built to transport 16 or passengers including the driver.

Hopefully, that helps to clear up some confusion that might be around those.

A Non-CDL CMV is any vehicle that crosses state lines and is used in commerce that has a GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) over 10,000lbs.

Pretty much any vehicle that pulls trailers or is bigger than a ¾ ton pickup.  That is used for business.

A great example would be a mechanics service truck where you work in Louisiana but live in Texas. Let’s say that it’s an F550 and has a GVWR of 19,500 lbs.

Since it’s GVWR is under 26,000 then no CDL is required to operate that unit.  But the driver is still considered a CMV driver since it is rated over 10,000 and you are crossing state lines.  Therefore you would need to meet all of the requirements for FMCSA for a CMV driver.