The Final Rule will be officially published in the Federal Register on Friday, February 13, 2026 and will be found at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2026-02965/restoring-integrity-to-the-issuance-of-non-domiciled-commercial-drivers-licenses-cdl
Scopelitis
The FMCSA will publish its final rule on non-domiciled CDLs on February 13, 2026. The rule will be effective 30 days after publication. In response to the over 8,000 comments (the majority of which were against the rule), the rule makes no substantive changes from the Interim Final Rule. The rule restricts eligibility for non-domiciled CDL licenses to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 Visa holders. The FMCSA rejected calls to revise the rule, saying that the systematic failures of the non-domiciled issuance process and the need for consistency in how non-domiciled CDLs are issued support their actions. The FMCSA notes that the enhanced vetting and interagency screening required for the identified visa holders serves as a functional proxy for driver history vetting otherwise required for U.S. drivers.
Given the avalanche of public comments, it is nearly certain that the rule will be appealed in court. And it is possible the appellants will seek to stay the implementation date to preserve the status quo during any appeal. Expect the FMCSA to vigorously oppose any request for stay – citing the “widespread and systematic failures” in the non-domiciled issuance process and recent crashes as evidence of the need for immediate action.
Importantly — the rule does not require States to cancel validly issued non-domiciled licenses, but at the next licensing transaction following the effective date of the final rule, States are required to apply new eligibility standards.
The FMCSA notes that the five-year attrition (based on potential length of existing licenses) will assist in mitigating any impact on motor carriers. However, the states have had vastly different responses to the Interim Final Rule, which has added significant complexity to the current non-domiciled licensing environment. This will likely continue while litigation related to the Final Rule plays out, making compliance challenging. Motor carriers should thoughtfully and deliberately plan for these potential changes by understanding, considering, and addressing all relevant risks.
Find the final rule here; 2026-02965
Alex Lockie
Derek Barrs, the leader of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on Thursday announced plans to radically change something at the core of big problem areas for trucking in 2025: Self-certification of service providers.
Today, ELD providers, training providers, and even medical offices all self-certify that they’re following the rules when getting onto FMCSA-registered lists of service providers.
Barrs, speaking to a crowd at the Transportation Club of Jacksonville, said FMCSA will “work toward a regulatory process” to help the agency “get away from self-certification.” For the remainder of his term as FMCSA Administrator, Bars pledged “we will do away with anything that has to do with self-certification at FMCSA.”
Instead, Barrs said the agency would work on a “vetting process” to make sure that ELDs, training providers and the medical examiners all comply before entering the market.
Barrs gave as an example the Training Provider Registry, talking about the agency’s recent purge of 3,000 CDL schools on the list. While that purge looks like it mostly targeted inactive schools, according to Overdrive reporting, Barrs said there’s much more to come.
“You wanna be an Entry Level Driver Training provider? You just sign up,” Barrs said. “That’s pretty much it. There’s no oversight for that per se.”
Now FMCSA is “working dilligently to go through all the number of driver training schools,” he said, asking “who are you? Do you have the right qualifications? Do you actually have a principal place of business? Do you actually have curriculum? Do you actually have a truck?”
Barrs then confirmed Overdrive reporting that the agency now has “3,300 investigators” doing in-person audits at “1,600 driver training locations just to say ‘are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing?'”
That line got applause from the crowd in Jacksonville.
“If we have people operating schools in this country that are just pushing people through, it’s my job make sure you’re out of business,” he said. “We have no place for that.”
Barrs said driver training is “where the rubber meets the road” and the “number one” priority was making sure only qualified drivers get on the road.
Similarly, FMCSA recently took action to vet ELDs after reports of widespread ELD “editing” from overseas firms.
“We have folks oversees who are going into ELDs and changing logs giving drivers new BOLs, giving a whole new sets of hours when that driver actually should be resting,” said Barrs.
To stop that, Barrs said FMCSA would now vet all new ELDs. In fact, the agency has blocked the registration of 200 new ELDs in the last two months and revoked 70 existing ELDs. Barrs didn’t specify the timeframe for the 70 ELDs removed, but Overdrive has tracked the removal of a few dozen over the course of the second Trump administration.
In both cases, Barrs said FMCSA “can’t stop there.” FMCSA will work on new rulemakings and with Congress to crack down on freight fraud, cargo theft, and other problems around trucking.
Dale Prax co-hosted the talk with Barrs. Prax, FMCSA’s self-described “worst critic” and a Marine Corps veteran, said for years FMCSA has been in “recon mode,” observing problems within trucking but not acting. Now, he added, the agency’s entered “war fighting mode,” where bad actors actually get taken out.
On the certified medical examiners front, Barrs said he had less to report. Additionally, on issues like English language proficiency enforcement and the agency’s non-domiciled CDL rule, Barrs said FMCSA would continue to twist the screws on states, making sure carriers who hire unqualified drivers pay the price, and drivers placed out-of-service stay OOS.
FMCSA has issued a Regional Emergency Declaration providing temporary hours-of-service (HOS) relief for certain motor carriers and drivers due to severe winter storms and extreme cold impacting multiple states.
This waiver supports urgent winter emergency response while maintaining overall safety. Apply relief only to qualifying emergency operations and be sure to review the full waiver which can be found here.
Who Is Covered
Motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance to emergency relief efforts in the affected states.
States Affected
AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MS, MN, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WV, WI, WY
What Relief Is Granted
Temporary relief from:
- 49 CFR § 395.3 – Property-carrying vehicle driving limits
- 49 CFR § 395.5 – Passenger-carrying vehicle driving limits
Relief applies regardless of trip origin, as long as the operation supports emergency relief in the affected states.
What Counts as Direct Assistance
Transportation or services supporting the immediate restoration of essential supplies or services during the emergency.
Does NOT include
- Routine commercial deliveries
- Mixed loads with nominal emergency supplies
- Long-term recovery or infrastructure repair after the emergency phase
Key Restrictions
- All other FMCSRs remain in effect, including CDL, drug and alcohol testing, insurance, HAZMAT, and size/weight requirements.
- Out-of-service drivers or carriers are NOT eligible until the order is officially lifted.
- When emergency assistance ends, normal HOS rules apply, with required rest breaks before resuming standard operations.
Duration
Effective January 23, 2026, through February 6, 2026, or until the emergency ends, whichever comes first. FMCSA may modify, extend, or terminate the declaration based on conditions
