CDL Court Fight Escalates as Work Authorizations Near Expiration

A federal appeals court is weighing whether states may issue non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) with expiration dates extending beyond the applicant’s federal work authorization. The case could determine whether the U.S. Department of Transportation was authorized to withhold approximately $160 million from California over the state’s handling of those credentials.

California challenges federal funding penalty

The California Department of Motor Vehicles filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after the Transportation Department announced that it would withhold federal funding from the state.

The dispute centers on more than 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs that federal officials said did not comply with federal requirements because the licenses remained valid beyond the expiration dates of the holders’ legal work authorization documents.

Federal officials directed California to cancel the licenses. California argues that its actions were permitted under the law and is challenging the federal government’s authority to impose the funding penalty.

Expiration dates at center of oral arguments

During oral arguments, Justice Department attorney Simon Jerome, representing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, questioned whether a CDL should remain valid for years after the document supporting the driver’s legal work authorization has expired.

Attorneys for the federal government characterized that practice as unreasonable. California’s attorneys argued that the state acted within the authority it had under the governing law and regulations.

The court is also expected to consider whether FMCSA had sufficient legal authority and an adequate administrative record to require the changes and impose the funding penalty.

Broader impact on non-domiciled CDL holders

FMCSA estimates that approximately 194,000 current non-domiciled CDL holders will eventually leave the eligible pool as their credentials expire under the revised system. The agency expects a substantially smaller number of foreign-domiciled applicants to qualify under the updated requirements.

The case is part of a broader legal dispute over FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL final rule and the federal government’s interpretation of how work authorization affects the duration of commercial driving credentials.

The D.C. Circuit’s decision could affect California’s federal transportation funding as well as the way states issue and manage non-domiciled CDLs nationwide.