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Company-sponsored CDL training

FMCSA's training registry lists 26,784 private training locations, most of them employers training their own drivers, next to 4,217 public in-person schools and locations.

How it works

The carrier pays for your school, usually in exchange for driving for it for a set time. Leave early and you may owe the cost back.

A 2023 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report found a case where drivers were billed $6,000 for training the carrier had paid a school $1,400 to $2,500 for. Read the contract for the length of the commitment, the amount you would owe and whether it shrinks as you drive, interest, and whether the debt can go to collections.

Some states now limit these "stay or pay" terms; California's AB 692 took effect January 1, 2026. Ask your state labor department what applies to you.

Whoever pays, the school must be on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry for a first Class A or B CDL (49 CFR 380.703).

Other ways to pay for CDL school

WIOA training funds: 2,459 truck driving programs are on state training lists in the U.S. DOL file.
GI Bill: VA lists truck driving among the non-degree programs it covers.
CDL schools by state and what CDL school costs.

Carrier-by-carrier terms, from each carrier's own published pages, come in a later update.