Public Citizen Litigation Group has filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s interim final rule on states issuing CDLs to non-domiciled commercial motor vehicle drivers. The petition for review was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, and two individuals.

The petition does not provide any basis for the legal challenge; that will be spelled out in a later briefing.

The FMCSA’s September 29, 2025 interim final rule restricts how states issue commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits to individuals from outside of the United States. It tightens eligibility, strengthens safeguards, and makes clear when these licenses must be canceled or revoked. The rule:

1. Limits individuals eligible for non-domiciled CLPs and CDLs to foreign individuals in lawful status in the United States in certain employment-based, non-immigrant categories, certain individuals domiciled in a U.S. territory, and individuals domiciled in a state that is prohibited from issuing CLPs or CDLs because FMCSA has decertified the state’s CDL program;

2. Requires non-citizen applicants (except for lawful permanent residents) to provide an unexpired foreign passport and an unexpired Form I-94/94A (Arrival/Departure Record) indicating one of the specified employment-based nonimmigrant categories at every issuance, transfer, renewal, and upgrade action defined in the regulation;

3. Requires state drivers licensing agencies (SDLA) to query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, known as SAVE, which is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of provided documents and information;

4. Requires that SDLAs retain copies of the application documents for at least two years;

5. Requires the expiration date for any non-domiciled CLP or CDL to match the expiration date of the Form I-94/94A or to expire in one year, whichever is sooner;

6. Requires the applicant to be present in-person at each renewal; and

7. Requires an SDLA to downgrade the non-domiciled CLP or CDL if the state becomes aware that the holder is no longer eligible to hold a non-domiciled CLP or CDL.

The rule, effective immediately, came in response to a nationwide audit by the FMCSA and a recent series of fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers. 

Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system.