Commercial Learner’s Permit Rules After the Agri-Tech Denial

A commercial learner’s permit (“CLP”) lets a trainee drive a commercial truck on public roads only with a licensed driver in the seat beside them. On September 30, 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) refused to relax that rule for one company’s trainees who had already passed the skills test.

Supervision Rule for Permit Holders

Under 49 CFR 383.25(a)(1), a CLP holder must be accompanied at all times by someone with a valid commercial driver’s license (“CDL”). That person must hold the proper CDL group and endorsements for the vehicle and be otherwise authorized to drive it on that trip.

The CDL holder must sit in the front seat next to the CLP holder. In a passenger vehicle, the CDL holder may sit directly behind the driver or in the first row behind the driver. Either way, the CDL holder must keep the CLP holder under “observation and direct supervision.” A CLP counts as a valid CDL for behind-the-wheel training only when this condition and the rule’s other conditions are met.

What Agri-Tech Aviation Asked For

Agri-Tech Aviation asked for an exemption from that supervision requirement. It wanted CLP holders who had passed the CDL skills test, but had not yet obtained a CDL, to drive without a CDL holder in the passenger seat. FMCSA published its denial in the Federal Register at 91 FR 61919, under Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0226.

The agency received 38 public comments. None of them supported the request.

Why Regulators Denied the Request

FMCSA said the request raised safety concerns because of “multiple complicating factors.” One was the possible use of CLP holders to haul hazardous materials. Agri-Tech’s application said it transports 500 to 900 gallons of jet fuel and 1,350 gallons of crop protection products, some of which require placards. The company did not address any safety measures for hazardous materials under the exemption.

Its only safety statement was that all drivers are “fully trained to meet FMCSA regulations.” FMCSA called that “not sufficient information” to find that the exemption would keep an equivalent level of safety. Administrator Derek D. Barrs signed the notice.

Hazardous Materials Barred Under a Permit

Federal rules close this path in three places. Under 49 CFR 383.93(b), a driver of a vehicle that needs a hazardous materials placard must hold a hazardous materials endorsement, unless the state waives it under 383.3(i). Under 383.93(a)(2), a CLP holder cannot obtain that endorsement. The permit rule itself, at 383.25(a)(6), also bars a CLP holder from operating a commercial vehicle that carries hazardous materials.

Other Limits on a Learner’s Permit

The supervision rule sits alongside other conditions in 49 CFR 383.25.

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR 383.25, current as of October 1, 2026.

Licensing Status in a Truck Accident Case

One practical inference follows from these rules. A truck driver’s licensing status on the date of an accident is a fact the records will show. A CLP holder driving alone, or hauling placarded hazardous materials, would be operating outside these rules. The firm’s articles on qualification rules for truck drivers and inexperienced driver accidents cover related federal requirements. Its trucking accident resource center collects the rest.