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A commercial driver's license, or CDL, is required by any person that wishes to be employed by a truck driving job in which you will be driving a large truck or transporting a large amount of passengers. There are three classes of commercial driver's licenses that reflect the different types of vehicles that you may be operating in the course of your work. The classes of commercial driver licenses are A, B, and C. If you obtain a higher class commercial driver's license, you will be permitted to drive vehicles in the lower classes (ex; if you hold a Class B CDL, you can also drive Class C vehicles).
A Class C CDL is required to operate any vehicle weighing less than 26,001 pounds. This license is also needed for anyone operating a vehicle designed to transport fifteen or more passengers, or using a vehicle under 26,001 pounds to tow anything under 10,000 pounds. Common jobs that require a Class C CDL include school bus drivers, smaller delivery truck drivers, and public transportation drivers.
A Class B CDL is required to operate any vehicle weighing more than 26,001 pounds. It is also required to operate such a vehicle that is towing a total weight under 10,000 pounds. The Class B CDL also allows you to operate any vehicle that requires a Class C CDL. You will need a Class B CDL to drive for many of the vehicles for companies like Pepsi Cola, City Line Distributors, and Dunham Express.
The last commercial driver's license class is Class A. This is needed to operate very large vehicles which weigh over 26,001 pounds. A Class A CDL is also needed to tow loads that weigh over 10,000 pounds. A Class A CDL will allow you to drive any of the vehicles listed above, along with larger vehicles or a truck pulling a heavier trailer.
In addition to a commercial driver's license, you will need the proper endorsement for certain jobs due to the type of load that you will be transporting. If your job requires you to transport any type of hazardous material such as biological products, corrosive material, or waste, you will need to obtain endorsement H. If you plan on driving a vehicle such as a bus that will be carrying passengers, you will need to get endorsement P. Finally, endorsement N is required if you will be operating a vehicle that transports any type of a tank.