625 ILCS 5/6-508

(625 ILCS 5/6-508) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-508)

Sec. 6-508. Commercial Driver's License (CDL); qualification standards.

(a) Testing.

(1) General. No person shall be issued an original or renewal CDL unless that person is domiciled in this State or is applying for a non-domiciled CDL under Sections 6-509 and 6-510 of this Code. The Secretary shall cause to be administered such tests as the Secretary deems necessary to meet the requirements of 49 CFR Part 383, subparts F, G, H, and J.

(1.5) Effective July 1, 2014, no person shall be issued an original CDL or an upgraded CDL that requires a skills test unless that person has held a CLP, for a minimum of 14 calendar days, for the classification of vehicle and endorsement, if any, for which the person is seeking a CDL.

(2) Third party testing. The Secretary of State may authorize a "third party tester", pursuant to 49 CFR 383.75 and 49 CFR 384.228 and 384.229, to administer the skills test or tests specified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 and any appropriate federal rule.

(3)(i) Effective February 7, 2020, unless the person is exempted by 49 CFR 380.603, no person shall be issued an original (first time issuance) CDL, an upgraded CDL or a school bus (S), passenger (P), or hazardous Materials (H) endorsement unless the person has successfully completed entry-level driver training (ELDT) taught by a training provider listed on the federal Training Provider Registry.

(ii) Persons who obtain a CLP before February 7, 2020 are not required to complete ELDT if the person obtains a CDL before the CLP or renewed CLP expires.

(iii) Except for persons seeking the H endorsement, persons must complete the theory and behind-the-wheel (range and public road) portions of ELDT within one year of completing the first portion.

(iv) The Secretary shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.

(b) Waiver of Skills Test. The Secretary of State may waive the skills test specified in this Section for a driver applicant for a commercial driver license who meets the requirements of 49 CFR 383.77. The Secretary of State shall waive the skills tests specified in this Section for a driver applicant who has military commercial motor vehicle experience, subject to the requirements of 49 CFR 383.77.

(b-1) No person shall be issued a CDL unless the person certifies to the Secretary one of the following types of driving operations in which he or she will be engaged:

(1) non-excepted interstate;

(2) non-excepted intrastate;

(3) excepted interstate; or

(4) excepted intrastate.

(b-2) (Blank).

(c) Limitations on issuance of a CDL. A CDL shall not be issued to a person while the person is subject to a disqualification from driving a commercial motor vehicle, or unless otherwise permitted by this Code, while the person's driver's license is suspended, revoked, or cancelled in any state, or any territory or province of Canada; nor may a CLP or CDL be issued to a person who has a CLP or CDL issued by any other state, or foreign jurisdiction, nor may a CDL be issued to a person who has an Illinois CLP unless the person first surrenders all of these licenses or permits. However, a person may hold an Illinois CLP and an Illinois CDL providing the CLP is necessary to train or practice for an endorsement or vehicle classification not present on the current CDL. No CDL shall be issued to or renewed for a person who does not meet the requirement of 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11). The requirement may be met with the aid of a hearing aid.

(c-1) The Secretary may issue a CDL with a school bus driver endorsement to allow a person to drive the type of bus described in subsection (d-5) of Section 6-104 of this Code. The CDL with a school bus driver endorsement may be issued only to a person meeting the following requirements:

(1) the person has submitted his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases;

(2) the person has passed a written test, administered by the Secretary of State, on charter bus operation, charter bus safety, and certain special traffic laws relating to school buses determined by the Secretary of State to be relevant to charter buses, and submitted to a review of the driver applicant's driving habits by the Secretary of State at the time the written test is given;

(3) the person has demonstrated physical fitness to operate school buses by submitting the results of a medical examination, including tests for drug use; and

(4) the person has not been convicted of committing or attempting to commit any one or more of the following offenses: (i) those offenses defined in Sections 8-1.2, 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-5.1, 10-6, 10-7, 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-6, 11-6.5, 11-6.6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-9.3, 11-9.4, 11-14, 11-14.1, 11-14.3, 11-14.4, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-17.1, 11-18, 11-18.1, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-20.4, 11-21, 11-22, 11-23, 11-24, 11-25, 11-26, 11-30, 12-2.6, 12-3.1, 12-3.3, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.2-5, 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-4.6, 12-4.7, 12-4.9, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-7.5, 12-11, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-21.5, 12-21.6, 12-33, 12C-5, 12C-10, 12C-20, 12C-30, 12C-45, 16-16, 16-16.1, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 19-6, 20-1, 20-1.1, 20-1.2, 20-1.3, 20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-1.7, 24-2.1, 24-3.3, 24-3.5, 24-3.8, 24-3.9, 31A-1, 31A-1.1, 33A-2, and 33D-1, and in subsection (b) of Section 8-1, and in subdivisions (a)(1), (a)(2), (b)(1), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4), and (f)(1) of Section 12-3.05, and in subsection (a) and subsection (b), clause (1), of Section 12-4, and in subsection (A), clauses (a) and (b), of Section 24-3, and those offenses contained in Article 29D of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (ii) those offenses defined in the Cannabis Control Act except those offenses defined in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 4, and subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Cannabis Control Act; (iii) those offenses defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; (iv) those offenses defined in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; (v) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States, which if committed or attempted in this State would be punishable as one or more of the foregoing offenses; (vi) the offenses defined in Sections 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children Act or Section 11-9.1A of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (vii) those offenses defined in Section 6-16 of the Liquor Control Act of 1934; and (viii) those offenses defined in the Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act.

The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and may not exceed the actual cost of the records check.

(c-2) The Secretary shall issue a CDL with a school bus endorsement to allow a person to drive a school bus as defined in this Section. The CDL shall be issued according to the requirements outlined in 49 CFR 383. A person may not operate a school bus as defined in this Section without a school bus endorsement. The Secretary of State may adopt rules consistent with Federal guidelines to implement this subsection (c-2).

(d) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 102-168, eff. 7-27-21; 102-299, eff. 8-6-21; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-825, eff. 1-1-25.)