Indiana CDL Classes, Eligibility, and Application

Indiana applies the federal vehicle groups. Class A covers a combination at 26,001 pounds or more when the towed unit exceeds 10,000 pounds. Class B covers a single vehicle at 26,001 pounds or more and such a vehicle towing no more than 10,000 pounds. Class C applies below those thresholds when the vehicle is designed for 16 or more people including the driver or transports placarded hazardous material or a listed select agent or toxin.

An Indiana applicant may obtain intrastate commercial authority at age 18. Interstate commercial operation and operation as a school-bus driver require age 21. Hazardous-material authority is also subject to the federal age and security requirements.

The applicant must hold a valid, unexpired Indiana driver license and cannot have a suspended, revoked, canceled, disqualified, or otherwise invalid driving privilege. Indiana requires disclosure of every licensing state during the preceding ten years so the commercial record can be checked.

Complete self-certification and required medical qualification, pass the knowledge modules, obtain the CLP, complete applicable ELDT and Indiana's first-time applicant human-trafficking video, hold the CLP for 14 days, pass the three-part skills test, and finish issuance at a BMV branch before the permit expires.

Indiana's live BMV transfer page states that, beginning September 29, 2025, the state ceased all non-domiciled CLP and CDL transactions, including new, amended, duplicate, transfer, renewal, and upgrade applications. This live policy controls over older eligibility language in the six-page state supplement.

Apply the rule to the exact Indiana vehicle, credential, date, trip, test stage, and operating facts. A later live BMV or DOR instruction controls a transaction when it directly supersedes older procedural text; the official manual remains the primary safety and test-content source.