Licensing
How to get a CDL in Michigan
Each line is from a Michigan licensing page opened . A line that says the page did not state a fee is not an estimate.
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- Minimum age
- The 2024 manual says you must be 21 to drive a commercial motor vehicle across state lines. You may drive one in Michigan at 18, except when transporting hazardous materials in a quantity that must be marked or placarded. That hazmat case requires 21 or older.
- CLP fee
- Neither the statute section nor the manual fee table prints a separate commercial learner permit dollar amount.
- CDL fee
- MCL 257.312e(7) charges the holder of an unexpired operator or chauffeur license $25 for the original vehicle group designation, $5 for each endorsement, and $18 to correct the license. The 2024 manual lists a standard operator license at $25 and an enhanced operator license at $45, a standard chauffeur license at $35 and an enhanced chauffeur license at $50, a CDL vehicle group designation at $25, and endorsements at $5, or $10 for an X endorsement. Its correction table lists an operator license at $18 standard or $24 enhanced, and a chauffeur license at $18 standard or $33 enhanced. The same manual says triple trailer combinations are not permitted in Michigan.
- Skills-test fee
- The manual does not print a separate skills-test price. It says to schedule the skills test at least 14 days after the commercial learner permit is issued. After a passed test, it says to pay a correction fee for a temporary CDL permit. Road-test results are valid for one year.
- ELDT
- Beginning February 7, 2022, MCL 257.312e requires entry-level driver training under 49 CFR part 380 for a vehicle group designation. The manual says that training must be finished before a first hazardous-materials knowledge test. For other classes and endorsements, it says you may take the knowledge tests and get a commercial learner permit first, but you must finish the training before the skills test. It does not state an hour minimum.
- Medical card
- Before a skills test, the manual says the applicant must give the examiner one of four items: a valid medical examiner’s certificate, an FMCSA waiver, an FMCSA exemption, or a medical examiner’s certificate plus an FMCSA skills performance evaluation certificate.
Sources
Questions drivers ask
What does a CDL cost in Michigan?
Only the amounts printed on the official page checked October 29, 2026. If a permit, license, or skills-test line was missing, this page says so instead of borrowing a figure from another state.
Is the minimum age in Michigan 21?
Use the age sentence on this page. It is the age the state page stated. Interstate work can still have a different federal age.
Does this page issue the license?
No. Michigan Compiled Laws 257.312e is the licensing source. This page does not take an application.
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