FMCSA Issues Final Rule on Non-Domiciled CDLs

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 thousands of public comments. For trucking industry stakeholders—from carriers to drivers—this development underscores the tension between highway safety imperatives and workforce realities.

The Backstory

The framework for non-domiciled CDLs traces its roots to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA), which established national standards for commercial licensing to enhance road safety. These credentials enable foreign nationals legally present in the U.S. with work authorization to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).

Historically, State Driver’s Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) could issue non-domiciled CDLs to individuals presenting proof of lawful presence, such as an unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or a foreign passport with Form I-94. Validity was capped at one year, aligned with the expiration of these documents. However, FMCSA’s recent Annual Program Reviews (APRs) uncovered persistent issues like widespread non-compliance with validity periods and inadequate verification processes. More alarmingly, SDLAs lacked access to foreign driving histories, creating a disparity in vetting compared to U.S.-domiciled drivers, whose records are scrutinized via the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) and Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS).

This “safety gap” came into sharp focus in 2025, when FMCSA linked 17 fatal crashes—resulting in 30 deaths—to non-domiciled CDL holders whose fitness couldn’t be verified. Consultations with the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security identified certain nonimmigrant visas (H-2A for temporary agricultural workers, H-2B for non-agricultural, and E-2 for treaty investors) as involving rigorous consular vetting, including 10-year driving history reviews, as a viable proxy for SDLA checks.

Citing imminent safety risks, FMCSA issued the IFR on September 29, 2025 (90 FR 46509), effective immediately under a “good cause” exemption from standard notice-and-comment procedures.

Key Provisions of the Interim Final Rule

The IFR restricted non-domiciled CLP/CDL eligibility to foreign-domiciled holders of H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 statuses, requiring proof through an unexpired foreign passport with I-94. SDLAs were mandated to:

• Limit credential validity to the immigration document’s expiration (maximum one year, renewable with renewed proof).

• Verify statuses using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

• Retain document copies and SAVE queries for at least two years, producible within 48 hours upon FMCSA request.

• Downgrade credentials if eligibility lapses.

The rule aimed to ensure equivalent driver fitness vetting, closing loopholes from EAD reliance and unverifiable foreign records.

Court Challenges

The IFR sparked immediate opposition. On October 20, 2025, Jorge Rivera Lujan (a DACA-recipient truck driver), Aleksei Semenovskii (an asylum seeker), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed Jorge Rivera Lujan et al. v. FMCSA (No. 25-1215) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Represented by Public Citizen, they argued the rule was arbitrary, lacked safety data tying immigration status to risk, violated procedural laws (including no state consultation under 49 U.S.C. § 31308), and inflicted irreparable harm on nearly 194,000 drivers. 

Two days later, King County, Washington, filed King County v. FMCSA (No. 25-1224), highlighting disruptions to public transit employing non-domiciled drivers. The cases were consolidated.

On November 10, 2025, the court issued an administrative stay, pausing enforcement. On November 13, it granted a full stay pending review, finding petitioners likely to succeed on claims of procedural flaws, insufficient “good cause,” and arbitrariness (noting non-domiciled drivers’ involvement in only 0.2% of fatal crashes). 

Rather than litigate, FMCSA filed an unopposed motion on November 19, 2025, for abeyance to finalize the rule after comments. The court granted this on December 3, 2025, holding the case in abeyance with the stay intact. As of early 2026, the litigation remains paused, allowing FMCSA to proceed to the final rule without substantive alterations from the challenge. 

Public Comments & FMCSA Response

The IFR’s 60-day comment period, ending November 28, 2025, drew 8,010 submissions from states, unions, advocacy groups (e.g., MALDEF, Sikh Coalition), carriers, and individuals. Supporters like the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA) hailed it for bolstering safety and reducing fraud. Critics argued discrimination, economic fallout (exacerbating claimed driver shortages), weak data (initially five crashes cited, later 17), and overlooked alternatives like enhanced SAVE checks.

FMCSA’s responses in the final rule defended the IFR’s core, stressing the unverifiable foreign history gap and vetting proxy. It rejected expansions to other statuses, citing inadequate equivalent checks, and dismissed procedural complaints by noting the abeyance resolved immediate issues.

The agency’s revisions were limited to clarity: removing redundant text in 49 CFR § 383.212(a)(1)(ii), refining document verification and retention in §§ 383.212 and 384.225. No major eligibility or requirement changes were made, reflecting FMCSA’s confidence in the IFR despite public feedback and the stay.

Final Rule Details

Effective March 15, 2026 (30 days post-publication), the rule applies to SDLAs issuing non-domiciled credentials:

• Eligibility: Restricted to H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 holders; proof via passport/I-94.

• Validity and Renewal: Matches immigration documents (≤1 year); renewable with updated proof.

• Verification and Records: SDLAs must use SAVE, retain documents/SAVE queries for two years, and respond to FMCSA requests within 48 hours.

• Downgrades: Required if status changes; no new driver notification system.

  
  

Implications for Trucking

For fleets, the immediate impact may not be overly dramatic, but important to consider. One notable change between the IFR and the final rule appears in FMCSA’s economic analysis. In the interim rule, the agency assumed that most non-domiciled CDLs had relatively short validity periods. But after auditing state records, FMCSA concluded that most properly issued non-domiciled CDLs were actually issued with expiration dates of up to five years. 

That change significantly affected how the agency evaluated the rule’s potential impact on the workforce. Rather than assuming a sudden loss of around 194,000 drivers, FMCSA concluded that any reduction in the non-domiciled driver population would likely occur gradually as licenses expire and are not renewed under the new eligibility standards. The agency emphasized that many drivers will have several years before their credentials expire, giving both drivers and carriers time to adjust. 

FMCSA also stressed that motor carriers should be able to adapt to these changes. The rule notes that the five-year attrition period is expected to mitigate disruption and that carriers are accustomed to replacing drivers in an industry characterized by high turnover. The agency further pointed to the flexibility of the freight market, citing recent cycles in which large numbers of drivers and carriers entered and exited the industry in response to economic conditions. 

Taken together, FMCSA’s position is that while the rule could eventually affect a substantial number of non-domiciled CDL holders—estimated in the hundreds of thousands—the impact is likely to be spread over several years rather than occurring all at once. 

Stepping back, this rule fits into a larger pattern. Over the past several years, FMCSA has increasingly focused on credential integrity—whether in the context of English-language proficiency enforcement, licensing oversight, or fraudulent documentation cases. The non-domiciled CDL rule is part of that same trajectory. The agency appears determined to tighten the front end of the licensing process as a way to prevent safety and enforcement problems downstream.

Whether the rule will face further litigation or future revisions remains to be seen. But for now, the FMCSA has drawn a firm line around who may obtain a non-domiciled CDL.

For fleets, the takeaway is straightforward: expect closer scrutiny of driver credentials, fewer gray areas in eligibility, and a licensing system that is becoming more standardized—and more restrictive—at the same time.

About Trucksafe Consulting, LLC: Trucksafe Consulting is a full-service DOT regulatory compliance consulting and training service. We help carriers develop, implement, and improve their safety programs, through personalized services, industry-leading training, and a library of educational content. Trucksafe also hosts a livestream podcast on its various social media channels called Trucksafe LIVE! to discuss hot-button issues impacting highway transportation. Trucksafe is owned and operated by Brandon Wiseman and Jerad Childress, transportation attorneys who've assisted some of the nation’s leading fleets to develop and maintain cutting-edge safety programs. You can learn more about Trucksafe online at www.trucksafe.com and by following Trucksafe on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Or subscribe to Trucksafe's newsletter for the latest highway transportation news & analysis. Also, be sure to check out eRegs, the first app-based digital version of the federal safety regulations aimed at helping carriers and drivers better understand and comply with the regulations.