North Dakota CDL Trainer Requirements:

What, Why, When, and How to Stay Compliant in the State of North Dakota.

If you want to become a CDL trainer in North Dakota, or you already train drivers and want to tighten up compliance, this article is for you. In North Dakota, CDL training compliance runs on two layers: the federal Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) and Training Provider Registry (TPR) rules, and the NDDOT rules for commercial driver training schools and instructors under NDCC chapter 39-25 and NDAC article 37-13. That matters because a trainer can be excellent behind the wheel and still create audit risk if the program misses licensing, reporting, instructor, or recordkeeping requirements.

What does a CDL trainer in North Dakota actually have to comply with?

At the federal level, Entry-Level Driver Training applies to people seeking a Class A CDL, Class B CDL, a Class A or B upgrade, or a first-time passenger, school bus, or hazmat endorsement. To provide that training in compliance with federal law, the provider must be listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, follow a curriculum meeting the criteria in the appendices to 49 CFR Part 380, use instructors who qualify under 49 CFR 380.713 and the definitions at 49 CFR 380.605, and submit training certification records through the TPR after completion.

At the North Dakota level, the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), through its Driver License Division, licenses commercial driver training schools and the individual instructors who teach for them. NDCC 39-25-01 defines a commercial driver training school as a business enterprise conducted for the education and training of individuals to operate or drive a motor vehicle that accepts consideration or charges tuition for the service. Under NDCC 39-25-03 a school may not be established or continue to operate without a license from the director, and under NDCC 39-25-04 an individual may not act as an instructor without one. Violating either section is a class B misdemeanor. NDDOT inspects school facilities and equipment and examines instructor applicants under NDAC 37-13-02-01.

Why North Dakota CDL trainer compliance matters.

The reason compliance matters is simple: the training itself is only half the job. FMCSA requires providers to use written theory assessments, document behind-the-wheel proficiency, report completion records through the Training Provider Registry by midnight of the second business day after the trainee finishes, and retain required records for at least three years under 49 CFR 380.725. When a program gets audited, the biggest failures usually come from missing proof, not missing instruction.

North Dakota adds its own oversight on top of that. School records are subject to inspection by the director at any time during reasonable business hours under NDAC 37-13-02-04, and NDAC 37-13-06-01 lets NDDOT refuse, suspend, or revoke a school or instructor license on grounds that include false information on a certificate of enrollment or completion, and giving instruction to a person who does not have a valid permit or driver license in their possession. That means trainer compliance is not just personal compliance; it is operational compliance tied to the school as a whole..

When do North Dakota specific rules apply to a CDL trainer?

Under NDCC 39-25-01, the state school-licensing layer reaches a business enterprise conducted for the education and training of individuals to operate or drive a motor vehicle that accepts consideration or charges tuition for the service. A licensed, private, tuition-charging CDL school sits inside that definition, and so does every instructor it employs.

NDCC 39-25-07 draws the boundary. The chapter does not apply to a person giving driver training lessons without charge, to employers maintaining driver training schools without charge solely for that employer's employees, or to a school or class conducted by a college, a university, or a high school for a regularly enrolled full-time or part-time student as part of a normal program of the institution.

First, ask whether the training is federally ELDT-covered. That layer reaches every provider type, and the definition of a training provider at 49 CFR 380.605 says so directly: training schools, educational institutions, rural electric cooperatives, motor carriers, State and local governments, school districts, joint labor management programs, owner-operators, and individuals. Second, ask whether the program is a tuition-charging school inside NDCC chapter 39-25. If the answer to both is yes, the trainer and the program have to satisfy both layers at the same time.

How do you become a CDL trainer in North Dakota?

North Dakota licenses CDL instructors directly, and NDAC 37-13-04-01 sets the qualifications. An applicant must be at least 21 years old, be a North Dakota resident unless the director waives it for good cause, read, write, and speak English, have visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye with or without corrective lenses along with normal peripheral and color vision, and have been a licensed driver for three years for the class of vehicle instruction with a satisfactory driving record.

The applicant authorizes NDDOT to investigate their background and review their driving record, submits to a nationwide FBI fingerprint-based criminal history record check at no expense to the department, and passes a written and road test for each class of license for which training will be offered, administered by the NDDOT Driver License Division. A conviction involving moral turpitude makes an applicant ineligible; another misdemeanor or felony conviction is disqualifying unless the director determines the crime does not directly relate to the position or the applicant shows competent evidence of rehabilitation and present fitness. A physical examination by a licensed physician accompanies the application, and for CDL instruction the instructor files a copy of the federal DOT medical card every two years.

Instructor preparation is a separate requirement. An applicant either holds a valid North Dakota driver education certificate issued by the Department of Public Instruction, or completes a preparation course submitted to and approved by the director. For class A, B, or C, that course is a minimum of 40 hours of classroom and 80 hours of behind-the-wheel practical training, and the behind-the-wheel portion must include both actual driving and riding along to observe a licensed instructor during a student training session. The paperwork runs through the NDDOT Driver License Division: the Driver Training Instructor License Application (SFN 13960), a Medical Examination Report (SFN 04569), the items on the Driver Training Requirement Checklist (SFN 51844), the original FBI background check results, and a $10 fee. The license expires on the last day of the calendar year and renews annually, and when an instructor's employment ends the school returns the license to the director within ten days.

For federal ELDT, instructor standards stack on top. 49 CFR 380.605 defines the theory instructor and the behind-the-wheel instructor, and 49 CFR 380.713 requires providers to use them: the proper CDL class and endorsements for the vehicle being taught, plus either two years of experience driving a CMV requiring a CDL of that class or endorsement, or two years of experience as a behind-the-wheel instructor, together with all applicable state instructor qualification requirements.

What does a North Dakota CDL trainer have to teach?

Federal ELDT is not a loose outline. FMCSA requires providers to follow a curriculum meeting the criteria in the appendices to 49 CFR Part 380 and to use qualified instructors, compliant facilities, and compliant vehicles. The curriculum requirements apply across the Class A, Class B, upgrade, passenger, school bus, and hazmat pathways.

North Dakota adds a state curriculum layer for licensed schools. Under NDAC 37-13-05-01, the training curriculum used for classroom, behind-the-wheel, and internet instruction must be approved by the director, and the minimum for a class A, B, or C driving school is 120 hours of a combination of classroom and actual behind-the-wheel instruction, not counting observation time. If the director approves it, those hours may be adjusted for students who have previous commercial motor vehicle experience. NDAC 37-13-05-03 adds that any simulation training must be in addition to at least 100 hours behind the wheel in a class A, B, or C motor vehicle. The rule text does not resolve how that 100-hour figure sits against the 120-hour combined minimum, so confirm the split that applies to your course with NDDOT before you build a schedule around it.

How are North Dakota trainees evaluated?

Federally, the theory side must include a written assessment against the knowledge objectives in each unit of the applicable appendix, and the trainee must earn an overall minimum score of 80 percent under 49 CFR 380.715. For behind-the-wheel training, instructors must evaluate and document the trainee's proficiency in the required BTW skills. FMCSA imposes no minimum number of federal theory or behind-the-wheel hours for ELDT: the focus is covering the required curriculum and documenting proficiency, although the total behind-the-wheel clock hours are reported to the TPR.

In North Dakota, NDAC 37-13-05-03 requires that when a student has satisfactorily completed behind-the-wheel instruction, the authorized school operator or instructor furnishes the student a certificate of course completion or a certificate of training, depending on the type of training the school provided, and the student contract must state at the outset which of the two standards the training is being provided to meet. The certificate contents set out in NDAC 37-13-05-02 are written around the class D road-test waiver in NDCC 39-25-02.1, and the rule does not spell out separate contents for a class A, B, or C course. Confirm with NDDOT which certificate your CDL course issues and what it has to show.

What records does a North Dakota CDL trainer or school need to keep?

Under FMCSA's ELDT rules, training providers on the TPR must retain trainee self-certifications, copies of trainees' CLPs or CDLs, instructor qualification documentation, instructor CDL and endorsement copies, lesson plans, and each trainee's assessment records, for at least three years from the date each record is generated or received under 49 CFR 380.725. Providers submit training certification information through the Training Provider Registry by midnight of the second business day after the trainee completes training, including the total clock hours spent on behind-the-wheel training.

North Dakota adds its own file. NDAC 37-13-02-04 requires a permanent record for every person given classroom, behind-the-wheel, or internet instruction, listing the student name, address, date of birth, contract number, date and type of lesson, instructor name and instructor number, and student identification number. Every original, subsequent, and renewal contract must be maintained for not less than three years following instruction, and the school keeps a vehicle file with a current list of training vehicles showing the date and location of each one's most recent inspection. Records must be maintained in a businesslike manner, are open to the director during reasonable business hours, and any loss, mutilation, or destruction must be reported immediately with the date, the circumstances, and the law enforcement office it was reported to. Contracts themselves run on a director-approved form under NDAC 37-13-02-06, which also caps a single contract at 120 hours of behind-the-wheel training for class A, B, or C vehicles before a new contract has to be executed, and requires the school to file a signature record for every person authorized to sign contracts and completion certificates.

What about school-level compliance in North Dakota?

Even in a trainer-focused article, school-level compliance matters because instructors work inside a licensed program. A North Dakota commercial driver training school applies on the Commercial Driver Training School License Application (SFN 13961) with a $25 fee, after registering the business name with the Secretary of State. Under NDAC 37-13-02-02 the application carries the school's location, equipment, training vehicles, courses of instruction, instructors, previous records, financial statements, insurance, and a schedule of fees and charges, which is filed with the director and may only change on ten days' notice. The license is displayed in a conspicuous location at the principal place of business and each branch office, and no license issues for a school run from a temporary stand, a hotel or motel room, or the exclusive facilities of a telephone answering service.



The school posts a continuous surety bond of $5,000 for the protection of students' contractual rights (NDAC 37-13-02-08), and files evidence of liability insurance on each training vehicle at $100,000 for injury or death of one person, $300,000 for two or more, $25,000 for property damage, and $30,000 for medical expenses regardless of liability; if that insurance is canceled or terminated, the school license terminates automatically (NDAC 37-13-02-07). Training vehicles may not be more than ten model years old, are listed with the director, and must pass inspection immediately after dual control devices are installed and periodically after that, with the federal annual vehicle inspection accepted for commercial vehicles (NDAC 37-13-03-01). School and instructor licenses both expire on the last day of the calendar year, and NDDOT's application packet asks for the school's financial statement for the prior calendar year by April 15.

One point to confirm rather than assume: the rules NDDOT administers sit at NDAC article 37-13, while a parallel article on the same subject, NDAC article 38-07, remains published under the Highway Patrol title and is written around the highway patrol superintendent rather than the NDDOT director. NDDOT is the agency that issues the licenses and the forms, NDCC chapter 39-25 assigns the duties to "the director," and NDAC 37-13-01-01 defines that director as the director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Confirm with NDDOT which text governs your program before relying on either.

What are common North Dakota CDL compliance mistakes?

• Assuming the state layer turns on how many students you train. The trigger in NDCC 39-25-01 is accepting consideration or charging tuition for the instruction.
• Treating ELDT like an hour-counting exercise instead of a documented curriculum-plus-proficiency requirement.
• Letting a license lapse over the new year. School and instructor licenses both expire on the last day of the calendar year and have to be renewed with a fresh application and fee.
• Building a class A, B, or C schedule without confirming with NDDOT how the 120-hour curriculum minimum and the 100-hour behind-the-wheel figure in the simulation rule fit together.
• Keeping student contracts for less than the three years following instruction that NDAC 37-13-02-04 requires, or letting the vehicle file fall behind the inspection record.
• Missing the midnight-of-the-second-business-day TPR reporting deadline after training completion, and letting trainer qualifications live in people's heads instead of in organized records that can be produced during a review.
  

Final takeaway.

Being a CDL trainer in North Dakota is not just about teaching safe driving. It means operating inside a compliance structure that includes federal ELDT rules, TPR reporting, and, for a tuition-charging school, NDDOT school and instructor licensing under NDCC chapter 39-25. The trainers and programs that stay out of trouble are usually the ones that build documentation, instructor files, training logs, and completion workflows before they scale.

Compliance disclaimer.

This article summarizes North Dakota Century Code chapter 39-25, the North Dakota Administrative Code rules at article 37-13, North Dakota Department of Transportation Driver License Division materials, and FMCSA Entry-Level Driver Training and Training Provider Registry materials, for general information only. It is not legal advice and it does not guarantee compliance. Applicability can vary by training model, provider type, and whether your program is school-based, employer-based, or government-run. North Dakota providers should verify current requirements with NDDOT before relying on this summary. Reviewed September 2026.