The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an emergency interim final rule Thursday that immediately and significantly restricts eligibility for non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, citing fatal crashes and widespread state compliance failures as justification for bypassing normal rule making procedures.
The rule, effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on Sept. 29, limits non-domiciled CDL eligibility to foreign nationals holding H-2A agricultural worker visas, H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker visas, or E-2 treaty investor visas. Employment Authorization Documents alone will no longer qualify applicants for the specialized licenses.
FMCSA’s decision to skip the typical notice-and-comment period stems from what the agency characterizes as a “two-front crisis” involving both overly broad eligibility requirements and systemic implementation failures by state licensing agencies.
The agency’s 2025 Annual Program Reviews uncovered alarming compliance rates. In California alone, approximately 25% of non-domiciled CDLs were improperly issued, with some licenses extending four years beyond the holder’s authorized employment period. FMCSA has identified similar violations in Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.
“The confluence of these recent events and recently uncovered factors creates an imminent concern that the current regulatory framework does not provide a sufficient margin of safety to protect the traveling public,” FMCSA stated in the rule’s preamble.
The agency documented five fatal crashes since January involving non-domiciled CDL holders, collectively killing 12 people and injuring 15 others. Several drivers would not have been eligible under the new restrictions.
The most recent incident occurred Aug. 12 in Florida, where a tractor-trailer driver without lawful immigration status caused a crash that killed three people while attempting an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike. Dashboard camera footage showed the commercial vehicle crossing in front of a minivan, which became lodged under the trailer.
A March 14 crash in Austin involved 17 vehicles and killed five people, including two children. The driver was improperly issued a standard CDL in Texas despite being eligible only for a non-domiciled license. Post-crash investigation revealed the driver lacked a current medical certificate and had violated hours-of-service rules multiple times in the 11 days before the crash.
“These crashes demonstrate that the existing non-domiciliary credentialing framework is dangerously permissive, creating an untenable risk to the public even when the CDLs were properly issued under the existing standards,” FMCSA wrote.
The rule affects approximately 200,000 current non-domiciled CDL holders and 20,000 commercial learner’s permit holders. FMCSA estimates only about 6,000 drivers annually will qualify for non-domiciled credentials under the new restrictions, representing a dramatic reduction in eligible applicants.
States that issue non-domiciled CDLs must immediately pause issuance until they can demonstrate compliance with the updated requirements, including:
– Mandatory verification through the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system
– In-person renewal requirements annually
– Two-year document retention requirements
– Conspicuous display of “non-domiciled” on license face
The agency estimates states will incur approximately $70,000 each in first-year compliance costs, totaling $3.2 million across 46 affected states.
Despite the significant reduction in eligible drivers, FMCSA expressed confidence that freight markets will adapt. The agency pointed to the trucking industry’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a nearly 20% increase in interstate motor carriers and 6% increase in CDL drivers occurred in 2021 to meet elevated demand.
“There are roughly 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders, which is approximately five percent of the 3.8 million active interstate CDL drivers in 2024,” the agency noted. “FMCSA anticipates that these drivers will exit the market within approximately two years as their credential comes up for renewal, and that the market will respond to this change in capacity as it has in the past.”
Motor carriers will have time to adjust hiring practices as the two-year phase-out period allows for gradual workforce transition rather than immediate disruption.
The new requirements represent a significant tightening of documentation standards. Previously, applicants needed only to show an unexpired Employment Authorization Document or foreign passport with approved I-94 form.
Under the interim rule, foreign applicants must provide:
– An unexpired foreign passport
– An unexpired Form I-94/I-94A indicating one of three specific employment-based visa categories
– Verification through the SAVE system confirming legal status
Individuals excluded from eligibility include asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and DACA recipients, even though they may be legally authorized to work in the United States.
FMCSA defended its decision to bypass normal rulemaking procedures by arguing that advance notice would create a dangerous surge in applications from unqualified candidates rushing to obtain licenses before restrictions took effect.
The agency cited precedent from its entry-level driver training requirements, when CDL issuances doubled in the months before the February 2022 compliance date as applicants sought to avoid new training mandates.
“Providing advance notice through a proposed rule is impracticable and contrary to the public interest because it would actively subvert the rule’s purpose by creating a foreseeable and concentrated surge in applications that would exacerbate the current safety crisis,” FMCSA stated.
While FMCSA could not quantify specific safety benefits, the agency performed a break-even analysis showing the rule would generate positive net benefits if it prevented just 0.085 fatal crashes annually. Given that five fatal crashes have already been documented in the first eight months of 2025 involving drivers who would not qualify under the new restrictions, the agency expressed confidence the benefits would exceed costs.
The rule includes a 60-day comment period, with FMCSA soliciting input on potential modifications while maintaining the immediate effective date to address what it characterizes as an imminent public safety hazard.
