CDL Manual by State

For CDL students

Updated September 28, 2026

Find your state below, then use the guide after the table to see which sections to study for a Class A and how they match up with the tests.

Find Your State’s CDL Manual

Each link goes to the manual, or the page that serves it, on the state agency’s own site. We opened every link on September 28, 2026. The edition is what the manual or the agency page shows.

New Mexico, New York and South Carolina: their agency websites did not open for our link check on September 28, 2026, so we list no link rather than one we could not confirm. Search the agency’s own site for “CDL manual.”

Links move when agencies update their sites. If one is broken, go to your state’s licensing agency and search for “CDL manual.” Every manual linked here is free to read and download.

What Is in a CDL Manual

Federal rules require every state to give CDL applicants a manual comparable to the model manual from AAMVA, the group of state licensing agencies. States may add their own information. Colorado’s 2023 manual is a good example. Its sections run in this order. The gold numbers are the sections a Class A driver studies:

1. 1Introduction: classes, tests, endorsements
2. 2Driving safely
3. 3Transporting cargo safely
4. 4Transporting passengers safely
5. 5Air brakes
6. 6Combination vehicles
7. 7Doubles and triples
8. 8Tank vehicles
9. 9Hazardous materials
10. 10School bus
11. 11Vehicle inspection
12. 12Basic vehicle control skills test
13. 13On-road driving

Some manuals also carry sections 11M and 12M, the newer “modernized” version of the inspection and basic control tests. Alabama and Florida publish that version as a separate supplement. Many states add their own pages too, such as Virginia’s supplement to its manual.

Which Sections to Study for a Class A

The manual’s first section has a table that shows what to study for each class and endorsement. Here is the Class A column from Colorado’s manual:

Adding an endorsement? Virginia’s DMV lists the section for each: 4 for passenger, 7 for doubles and triples, 8 for tank, 9 for hazmat and 10 for school bus. To learn which class you need, see Class A vs Class B CDL. For the endorsements themselves, see CDL endorsements.

How the Manual Matches the Tests

Federal rules require every state to build its knowledge tests from a question pool approved by FMCSA. The skills tests must follow the state’s driver and examiner manuals. So the manual is the study guide for both:

• Knowledge tests come from the driving and vehicle sections. Virginia’s DMV says its exam questions are taken from its manual. You need 80% on each test. See the CDL permit test for how many questions to expect.
• Skills tests follow sections 11 to 13, in order: inspection, basic control, road test. See the CDL skills test for how each part is scored.

For the whole path from permit to license, read how long it takes to get a CDL.

Sources

Last checked September 28, 2026: every state link in the table, and the sources below. This guide is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

1. 49 CFR 383.133, test methods
2. 49 CFR 383.135, passing scores
3. 49 CFR 383.131, driver and examiner manuals
4. Colorado DMV, Commercial Driver License Manual DR 2251 (June 2023), table of contents and figure 1.2
5. Virginia DMV, CDL knowledge exams
6. Alabama ALEA, driver license manuals
7. Florida HSMV, handbooks and manuals
8. Each state agency’s own CDL manual page, linked in the table above