FMCSA Interim Rule Sharply Restricts Non-Domiciled CDLs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published an interim final rule in the Federal Register on September 29, 2025, that sharply limits who can hold a non-domiciled commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license. The rule, "Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL)," took effect the same day, with public comments due by November 28, 2025, under docket FMCSA-2025-0622.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the rule at a news conference on September 26. "The process for issuing these licenses is absolutely 100% broken," Duffy said. "It has become a threat to public safety, and it is a national emergency that requires action right now."

Who still qualifies

Under the rule, only people in lawful status in one of three employment-based nonimmigrant categories may obtain a non-domiciled CLP or CDL: H-2A temporary agricultural workers, H-2B temporary non-agricultural workers and E-2 treaty investors. The rule also:

• requires applicants other than lawful permanent residents to show an unexpired foreign passport and an unexpired Form I-94/I-94A at every issuance, transfer, renewal and upgrade;
• requires state licensing agencies to check status through the federal SAVE system and keep copies of documents for at least two years;
• makes a non-domiciled credential expire when the I-94 expires or after one year, whichever comes first;
• requires states to downgrade the credential if they learn the holder is no longer eligible.

States that issue these licenses must pause issuance until they can comply, FMCSA said.

Why FMCSA acted

FMCSA said annual reviews of state licensing agencies in 2025 found "systemic, nationwide regulatory non-compliance." In California, a sample review found about one in four non-domiciled CDLs did not comply with federal rules, and some expired as long as four years after the driver's work authorization ended. The agency named Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington as other states that had issued such licenses improperly. It also said it had identified at least five fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders, including the August 12 crash on Florida's Turnpike. Duffy also ordered California to immediately pause issuance and identify noncompliant licenses.

FMCSA estimated there are about 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders, roughly 5% of the 3.8 million active interstate CDL holders in 2024. It projected that states would issue about 6,000 new non-domiciled CDLs per year under the rule and that the remaining roughly 194,000 holders would exit the freight market, within about two years as their credentials come up for renewal.

OOIDA President Todd Spencer applauded the move, saying that "loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto America's highways."

What it means for drivers and fleets

Carriers employing drivers with non-domiciled CDLs needed to identify those drivers and determine whether each would remain eligible at renewal, because most would not. FMCSA expected freight rates to adjust as capacity left the market. Drivers renewing a non-domiciled credential faced stricter document checks and shorter license terms.