Federal regulators are kicking more than 110 commercial driver training schools out of FMCSA’s registry and putting third-party CDL testers under nationwide scrutiny as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on fraud in the trucking industry.

The actions announced August 31 also include proposed removal of more than 160 additional entry-level driver training providers, stepped-up Homeland Security investigations involving CDL schools and trucking companies, and a new multi-state Justice Department task force targeting fraud and other illegal activity tied to commercial transportation.

FMCSA also is launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers and state oversight of those testers.

This is an interagency campaign, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice.

“USDOT has spent the last year-and-a-half strengthening the rules of the road and removing dangerous foreign drivers from our trucking industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. 

“To fully root out the scourge of fraud, hold criminals accountable, and restore safety, we need the support of federal law enforcement."

FMCSA Targets Driver Training Schools

FMCSA said it identified more than 110 training providers for emergency removal after comparing roadside inspection records for drivers cited for English-language proficiency violations with records in the agency’s Training Provider Registry.

Those providers must immediately stop operating as registered entry-level driver training providers, according to the agency.

Separately, FMCSA sent 175 investigators into 40 states in July to conduct nearly 400 investigations of entry-level driver training providers.

Investigators reported problems including instructors who did not hold the proper licenses, inadequate facilities for required vehicle maneuvers, missing training and assessment records, and questionable classroom facilities.

Those investigations resulted in more than 160 notices of proposed removal from the Training Provider Registry.

FMCSA said drivers certified by those providers have been linked to 239 commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities. The agency did not indicate in the announcement whether deficiencies in the training contributed to those crashes.

CDL Skills Testers Face Nationwide Audit

FMCSA also plans a nationwide review of third-party CDL skills testers and the states responsible for overseeing them.

The agency pointed to the more than 28,000 commercial drivers placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations since enforcement of the requirement was stepped up in June 2025. (The ELP regulations have been on the books for decades, but an Obama-era guidance had put a stop to out-of-service orders and allowed drivers to have help.)

Federal regulations require CDL skills tests to be conducted in English.

FMCSA said states found to have deficient CDL programs could be required to implement corrective-action plans. Continued noncompliance can ultimately result in the loss of federal highway funding or decertification of a state's CDL program.

DHS Expands CDL-Related Investigations

The Department of Homeland Security also is expanding investigations involving CDL schools, trucking companies and other businesses.

Homeland Security Investigations said its efforts are examining suspected CDL fraud, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud, financial crimes, labor exploitation, and possible connections to human smuggling and drug trafficking.

On August 31, HSI conducted a coordinated operation involving more than 200 driving schools across 23 states.

The agency also said it has distributed more than 1,000 leads involving CDL-related businesses suspected of unsafe practices or transportation-sector exploitation.

Current investigations cited by DHS include allegations involving:

• Trucking companies using B1/B2 visa holders for domestic freight transportation.
• State motor vehicle employees accepting payments to help applicants bypass licensing requirements.
• Fraud involving CDL medical certifications.
• Companies accused of visa fraud and labor exploitation.

DHS also is conducting several immigration-enforcement initiatives involving commercial drivers and trucking companies.

New Multi-State Trucking Task Force

The Justice Department announced the creation of the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, bringing together U.S. Attorney's Offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

The task force also includes the DOT, FMCSA, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and state and local agencies.

According to the DOJ, the group will focus on highway safety, fraudulent or illegal trucking operations, criminal activity involving transportation, and coordinated enforcement across state lines.

The Problem with the Entry-Level Driver Training Rule

Federal Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulations were finalized in 2016 and went into effect in 2022. The ELDT rule set new federal minimum standards for CDL training schools, including those operated by motor carriers, as Heavy Duty Trucking reported in 2023.

Critics at the time complained that the rules had been watered down. The final rule required no behind-the-wheel training standard for student drivers, and training providers were allowed to self-certify (an approach that also has caused problems with electronic logging devices.)

Last December, nearly 3,000 commercial driver’s license training providers were removed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry. Another 4,000 training providers were placed on notice due to potential noncompliance.

The Training Provider Registry lists all providers authorized to offer federally required Entry-Level Driver Training for CDL students. 

Trump Administration's Continuing Crackdown

The latest actions build on a series of Trump administration initiatives targeting CDLs issued to foreign drivers, English-language proficiency requirements, driver-training schools, and non-domiciled CDLs.

DOT said more than 28,000 commercial drivers have been placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations since June 2025.

The department also said states have canceled more than 30,000 CDLs it determined were improperly issued to foreign drivers and that more than 8,000 training providers have been removed from FMCSA's registry during the past 18 months.

In February, FMCSA issued more than 550 notices of proposed removal to CDL training providers after a five-day nationwide enforcement sweep. Investigators cited unqualified instructors, improper training vehicles, and failure to meet federal and state requirements. More than 300 investigators across 50 states conducted more than 1,400 investigations that the agency characterized as sting operations.

Trucking Support of Latest Crackdown on CDL Mills

It’s a problem that a number of trucking groups have been asking to be addressed.

Even American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, often on opposite sides on issues, both support cracking down on CDL training providers.

"ATA applauds the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Department of Homeland Security for continuing their aggressive crackdown on fraudulent CDL training providers and other bad actors that have undermined safety and integrity within the industry,” said American Trucking Associations Chief Advocacy & Public Affairs Officer Henry Hanscom in a statement.

"Removing noncompliant carriers, unqualified drivers, and fraudulent training operations strengthens public confidence in our industry while ensuring that the next generation of professional drivers enters the workforce properly trained and fully qualified.”

Last Fall, when the Trump Administration purged 7,000 providers from the certified provider list, Todd Spencer, OOIDA president, said, “OOIDA has long warned that allowing CDL training providers to self-certify invites fraud into the trucking industry and puts road safety at risk for all motorists.”

Do You Have Drivers Who Attended These Schools?

Rob Carpenter, a former driver, broker, and fleet owner who’s a safety consultant today, pulled data from FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry the morning of September 1, which had 103 providers with an emergency removal flag. (He noted that the registry will likely catch up to the “more than 110” cited by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Just looking at the company names, website addresses, and locations of the training providers removed from the list, he said, showed that many of them were “theory mills” that offer online training for the “theory” portion of the Entry Level Driver Training requirements but not the behind-the-wheel training.

Or as Carpenter described them, “the ones that sell the classroom half of the certificate for the price of a tank of fuel and let the range half sort itself out.”

In some cases, multiple “training providers” on the registry showed the exact same address.

Emergency removal is the registry’s tool for a provider FMCSA has decided it can’t wait on, and each provider on the list gets notice and a chance to answer, Carpenter explained.

“What’s already true, process or not, is that the drivers those 103 certified are holding CDLs today, the carriers that hired them are posted on the load boards, and none of that shows up on an authority-and-insurance check.”

If you run a fleet, Carpenter recommended, check your driver qualification files and match ELDT certificates against the removed list “before your insurer does it for you.”