DOT Sec Sean Duffy announces English-only CDL test requirement for truck drivers
The new law will require all commercial driver’s license (CDL) tests to be administered in English. (Credit: Pool)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday announced sweeping changes to commercial trucking regulations, including a new requirement that all commercial driver’s license (CDL) tests be conducted in English only.
Speaking at the Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters in Washington, DC, Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Derek Barrs said the move is aimed at strengthening oversight and ensuring that drivers are able to read road signs and communicate with law enforcement.
“What we’re doing is using a law that says there’s only one language you can take your test in — English only,” said Duffy. “You test in English. You can’t speak English, you can’t read English – You won’t do well in the test.”
Duffy noted that several states, including California, currently offer CDL tests in multiple languages.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks at the Department of Transportation headquarters, Friday, in Washington, DC, where he announced major changes to CDL testing across the country. (Pool)
“In the state of California, you can take a driver’s test, a skills test and a technical test – you can take it in 20 different languages,” he said.
In addition to the English-only test requirement, Duffy said the DOT will ask states to exclude drivers who fail to meet the federal English proficiency standards.
“What we’re going to do next is ask the states to deny you your license,” Duffy said.
Duffy also criticized what he described as lax oversight under the Biden administration, blaming former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for not following strict guidelines for certifying driving schools.
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Trucks at the facility in Bakersfield, Calif. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Duffy suspects that some driving schools — which he calls “CDL mills” — lacked proper curriculum or training. The DOT has closed 7,000 of these schools, according to Duffy.
“We have to expect that we have to be safe, and those who drive these 80,000 big rigs are well-trained, well-trained and they’re going to be safe,” Duffy said.
Federal officials recently conducted more than 8,200 inspections under Operation SafeDRIVE, removing 704 drivers from the job. About 500 were cited for failing to meet English proficiency standards.
This announcement follows many accidents involving drivers who were in the country illegally.
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The commercial driver’s license of Singh Sukhdeep, an illegal immigrant from India, accused of killing an Indiana man in a February 2026 crash. (Acquired by Fox News / Fox News)
Earlier this month, Bekzhan Beishekeev, a truck driver from Kazakhstan who entered the US in 2023 using the CBP One application, is suspected of killing four people in a crash in Indiana. He was issued a CDL in Pennsylvania.
In another case last August, Harjinder Singh, who was issued a CDL in California, allegedly made an illegal U-turn, stabbed his truck and caused an accident that killed three people. He has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide.
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The DOT did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz, Peter D’Abrosca, Bill Melugin and Garrett Tenney contributed to this report.
