On February 18, 2026, FMCSA issued new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) clarifying its recently finalized rule tightening the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The guidance provides critical details for states, carriers, and drivers navigating the March 16, 2026 effective date of the final rule, and confirms that the agency is taking an aggressive posture toward enforcing lawful presence requirements and correcting past licensing deficiencies. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a new final rule on non-domiciled Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs) and Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). Scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on February 13, 2026 (Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0622, RIN 2126-AC98), this rule largely reaffirms the provisions of the September 29, 2025, Interim Final Rule (IFR) with minor clarifications, despite intense legal scrutiny, a court-imposed stay, and thou

Many fleets are proud of their documentation. They document driver qualification. They document training. They document inspections, audits, incidents, and corrective actions. They keep complete driver files, run required reports, and maintain records they can be produced quickly when requested. Internally, that documentation often becomes a source of confidence. The thinking goes, if something goes wrong, the paperwork will show we did what we were supposed to do. That belie

In trucking litigation, safety programs often become evidence. This article explores “compliance theater,” where check-the-box compliance creates records but fails to control risk.

On January 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced what many of us in the industry expected: the minimum random drug testing rate for CDL drivers remains at 50%, with alcohol testing holding steady at 10%. If you're keeping score at home, that's six consecutive years at these rates since FMCSA bumped them up from 25% in January 2020. And based on the numbers coming out of the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, don't expect that to change anytime soon. Why the Rate

Today through January 16, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is running its annual Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative across the United States. Law enforcement agencies are conducting outreach at truck stops and weigh stations. Motor carrier officers are handing out materials during roadside inspections. And your drivers are being asked to step up. This is not just an awareness campaign. This is a compliance and safety issue that every fleet should be taking seriously

On January 7, 2026, FMCSA issued a Final Determination of Substantial Noncompliance against the California Department of Motor Vehicles, formally concluding that the state has failed to comply with federal standards governing the issuance of non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses. As a result, FMCSA will withhold millions of dollars in federal highway funding beginning in fiscal year 2027. This determination is notable not only for its fi

It's official. December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Attorney General to "take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in the most expeditious manner." For the cannabis industry, it's a landmark moment. For the trucking industry, it's the beginning of a very uncertain chapter, one that hinges entirely on how the Department of Health an

On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to expand medical marijuana and cannabidiol research and to move marijuana toward rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act. While the order is framed around science, medicine, and research access, it has once again raised a critical question for the trucking industry: what happens to federal drug testing and highway safety if marijuana is no longer treated as a Schedule I drug?

If 2024 hinted at regulatory turbulence, 2025 made it impossible to ignore. Over the past year, FMCSA and USDOT unleashed the most aggressive series of compliance initiatives in more than a decade—targeting language proficiency, non-domiciled CDL issuance, electronic logging devices, medical certification, training quality, and core data systems. These moves were not isolated events; collectively, they signaled a larger shift toward enforcement-first policymaking and heighten

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) took long-overdue action this week to clean up the nation’s CDL training landscape. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that nearly 3,000 training providers have been removed from the federal Training Provider Registry (TPR) , and another 4,500 have been placed on notice for noncompliance. That’s 7,500 providers—roughly 17% of the registry—flagged in one sweep. The scale of the problem raises the obvious questi

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a significant shift in how it evaluates and approves Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), marking the most substantial change to the approval process since the ELD mandate first took effect. While the agency continues to stop short of a full third-party certification program—similar to the one now used in Canada—its move toward a more structured, hands-on vetting approach signals a notable evolution in federal overs

FMCSA has once again turned its attention to state-level CDL practices, this time issuing a pointed preliminary determination of substantial noncompliance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over how it has been issuing non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and CDLs . The nine-page letter, dated November 19, 2025, reads as both a technical audit and a warning shot, signaling that the Agency’s scrutiny of lawful-presence verification and non-domiciled credentialing

Chameleon carriers —trucking companies that shut down and quickly reopen under new identities to avoid regulatory enforcement—have posed a persistent challenge for federal regulators for more than a decade. These operators, often emerging with new names, DOT numbers, or corporate structures, can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate new entrants simply trying to begin operations. Yet the stakes are high. Reincarnated carriers have historically shown higher crash rates,

In a major development with nationwide implications for motor carriers, foreign drivers, and state licensing agencies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has temporarily stayed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) controversial interim final rule (IFR) restricting the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) . The court’s November 10, 2025 order halts the rule pending further judicial review, creating further uncertainty f

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to tighten the the rules governing the...

As announced previously by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy as part of the agency's Pro-Trucker Initiatives, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety...

The 4th Annual Trucksafe Fleet Compliance Bootcamp , held September 3-4, 2025, at the Embassy Suites in Indianapolis, IN, proved to be an...

In a significant move to address the escalating opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a Notice of...

In a bold move underscoring the Trump administration's commitment to enhancing trucking safety and enforcing federal regulations, U.S....