[Laneco]

I do DOT compliance for a living - and have been doing so for about 25 years.

First - the CDL requirement is related to commercial driving. That means that you are engaged in some type of business. That business can be hauling things for hire, or it can be your own business, like a body shop, that is transporting customer cars as part of the business transaction. It can also be an automotive related business that is using larger transport vehicles for advertising such as going to the SEMA event.

So step one - are you in any type of commerce? If YES, continue...

Using only the GVWR (gross vehicle weight RATING not the registered weight or actual weight) follow on below. You will find that the air brakes do NOT figure into the requirement contrary to popular belief.

1. Is the combined GVWR of the truck and the GVWR of the trailer over 26,000 lbs (just add the two together)? If YES - is the trailer itself over 10,000? IF YES then you need a Class A CDL. If no - continue...
2. Is the truck itself over 26,000 GVWR? If YES - then you need a Class B CDL (which will allow you to tow a trailer 10,000 even and smaller - if the trailer is bigger you need a Class A).

There is also a Class C CDL but you aren't going to need that with what I suspect you are doing.

Now to cloud the water a bit... some states do require a large vehicle operators license for non-commercial vehicles - Nevada and California come to mind. Gets complicated but as you are in Arizona these don't impact you. Some states may also require an advanced license for air brakes - but these will be a state requirement.

I'll PM you my phone #. You can call me direct and I'll walk you through the any scenario.

angela