2009 California Vehicle Code - Section 15250-15263 :: Article 5. Commercial Driver's License

15250.  (a) (1) A person may not operate a commercial motor vehicle
unless that person has in his or her immediate possession a valid
commercial driver's license of the appropriate class.
   (2) A person may not operate a commercial motor vehicle while
transporting hazardous materials unless that person has in his or her
possession a valid commercial driver's license with a hazardous
materials endorsement. An instruction permit does not authorize the
operation of a vehicle transporting hazardous materials.
   (b) (1) Before an application for an original or renewal of a
commercial driver's license with a hazardous materials endorsement is
submitted to the United States Transportation Security
Administration for the processing of a security threat assessment, as
required under Part 1572 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the department shall complete a check of the applicant's
driving record to ensure that the person is not subject to a
disqualification under Part 383.51 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
   (2) A person may not be issued a commercial driver's license until
he or she has passed a written and driving test for the operation of
a commercial motor vehicle which complies with the minimum federal
standards established by the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-570) and Part 383 of Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, and has satisfied all other requirements of that
act as well as any other requirements imposed by this code.
   (c) The tests shall be prescribed and conducted by or under the
direction of the department. The department may allow a third-party
tester to administer the driving test part of the examination
required under this section and Section 15275 if all of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) The tests given by the third party are the same as those that
would otherwise be given by the department.
   (2) The third party has an agreement with the department that
includes, but is not limited to, the following provisions:
   (A) Authorization for the United States Secretary of
Transportation, or his or her representative, and the department, or
its representative, to conduct random examinations, inspections, and
audits without prior notice.
   (B) Permission for the department, or its representative, to
conduct onsite inspections at least annually.
   (C) A requirement that all third-party testers meet the same
qualification and training standards as the department's examiners,
to the extent necessary to conduct the driving skill tests in
compliance with the requirements of Part 383 of Title 49 of the Code
of Federal Regulations.
   (D) The department may cancel, suspend, or revoke the agreement
with a third-party tester if the third-party tester fails to comply
with the standards for the commercial driver's license testing
program, or with any other term of the third-party agreement, upon 15
days' prior written notice of the action to cancel, suspend, or
revoke the agreement by the department to the third party. Any action
to appeal or review any order of the department canceling,
suspending, or revoking a third-party testing agreement shall be
brought in a court of competent jurisdiction under Section 1085 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, or as otherwise permitted by the laws of
this state. The action shall be commenced within 90 days from the
effective date of the order.
   (E) Any third-party tester whose agreement has been canceled
pursuant to subparagraph (D) may immediately apply for a third-party
testing agreement.
   (F) A suspension of a third-party testing agreement pursuant to
subparagraph (D) shall be for a term of less than 12 months as
determined by the department. After the period of suspension, the
agreement shall be reinstated upon request of the third-party tester.
   (G) A revocation of a third-party testing agreement pursuant to
subparagraph (D) shall be for a term of not less than one year. A
third-party tester may apply for a new third-party testing agreement
after the period of revocation and upon submission of proof of
correction of the circumstances causing the revocation.
   (H) Authorization for the department to charge the third-party
tester a fee, as determined by the department, which is sufficient to
defray the actual costs incurred by the department for administering
and evaluating the third-party testing program, and for carrying out
any other activities deemed necessary by the department to ensure
sufficient training for the drivers participating in the program.
   (3) Except as provided in Section 15250.3, the tests given by the
third party shall not be accepted in lieu of tests prescribed and
conducted by the department for applicants for a passenger vehicle
endorsement specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
15278, if the applicant operates or will operate a tour bus.
   (d) Commercial driver's license applicants who take and pass
driving tests administered by a third party shall provide the
department with certificates of driving skill satisfactory to the
department that the applicant has successfully passed the driving
tests administered by the third party.
   (e) Implementation dates for the issuance of a commercial driver's
license pursuant to this chapter may be established by the
department as it determines is necessary to accomplish an orderly
commercial driver's license program.

15250.3.  The department may allow any employee of an organized
camp, as defined in Section 18897 of the Health and Safety Code,
regulated by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities
Code to operate a tour bus pursuant to employment by the operator of
that organized camp, if that employee satisfies the requirements for
a class B license and a passenger vehicle endorsement by passing a
test administered by a third party in accordance with subdivisions
(c), (d), and (e) of Section 15250.

15250.6.  (a) A person shall not operate firefighting equipment
unless that person has in his or her immediate possession a valid
driver's license for the appropriate class of vehicle operated, or a
license issued pursuant to subdivision (b).
   (b) The department may issue a restricted driver's license for the
appropriate class of vehicle to a firefighter for the operation of
firefighting equipment. The restricted license shall be valid only
for operating (1) firefighting equipment within this state, or in
another state during a response under a mutual aid pact, or (2) any
vehicle for which a class C driver's license is required.
   (c) The restricted firefighter's license may be issued only to an
applicant qualified by examination prescribed and conducted by the
department.
   The pretrip inspection and driving test required to receive the
license shall be the same as required to obtain a license under
Section 15250.
   The written examination shall be developed by the department with
the cooperation of the State Fire Marshal. The department shall
include a sufficient number of questions from the examinations
required to obtain a license under Section 15250 to ensure that
passing the special examination under this section ensures a level of
safety comparable to examinations given under Section 15250.
   (d) In lieu of a report of medical examination required by Section
12804.9, an applicant for a restricted license issued pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall, upon application and every two years
thereafter, submit medical information on a form approved by the
department.
   (e) Upon application for issuance of an original driver's license
pursuant to subdivision (b), or for a renewal of a driver's license
issued pursuant to subdivision (b), a fee of thirty-four dollars
($34), and on and after January 1, 2010, a fee of thirty-nine dollars
($39), shall be paid to the department for a license that will
expire on the fifth birthday of the applicant following the date of
the application.
   (f) A "firefighter" is a person employed as a firefighter by a
federal or state agency or by a regularly organized fire department
of a city, county, city and county, or district, or registered as a
volunteer member of a regularly organized fire department having
official recognition of the city, county, city and county, or
district in which the department is located.
   (g) "Firefighting equipment" means a motor vehicle used to travel
to and from the scene of any emergency situation, or to transport
equipment used in the control of any emergency situation, and which
is owned, leased, or rented by, or under the exclusive control of, a
federal or state agency, a regularly organized fire department of a
city, county, city and county, or district, or a volunteer fire
department having official recognition of the city, county, city and
county, or district in which the department is located.
   (h) For purposes of the penalties and sanctions prescribed by
Article 7 (commencing with Section 15300), the operation of
firefighting equipment under a license issued pursuant to subdivision
(b) is deemed to be the operation of a commercial motor vehicle.

15250.7.  Upon application for issuance of a duplicate driver's
license under subdivision (b) of Section 15250.6, there shall be paid
to the department a fee of twenty-seven dollars ($27), and on and
after January 1, 2010, a fee of twenty-nine dollars ($29).

15255.1.  (a) Except as otherwise specified in subdivisions (b) and
(c), upon an application for an original commercial driver's license,
a fee of sixty-four dollars ($64), and on and after January 1, 2010,
a fee of sixty-six dollars ($66), shall be paid to the department
for a license that will expire on the fifth birthday of the applicant
following the date of the application. A fee of sixty-four dollars
($64), and on and after January 1, 2010, a fee of sixty-six dollars
($66), shall also be paid to the department upon an application to
change a license classification or to remove a restriction if the
change or removal requires a driving-skill test and the license will
expire on the fifth birthday of the applicant following the date of
the application.
   (b) Upon application for an original commercial driver's license
or for the renewal of commercial driver's license by a currently
licensed class A or class B, or class A or class B, driver who meets
the driver record requirements and all other requirements established
by Section 383.77 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a
fee of thirty-four dollars ($34), and on and after January 1, 2010, a
fee of thirty-nine dollars ($39), shall be paid to the department
for a license that will expire on the fifth birthday of the applicant
following the date of the application.
   (c) Upon application for an original class C commercial driver's
license or for the renewal of a class C commercial driver's license
which requires an endorsement as provided in Section 15278, a fee of
thirty-four dollars ($34), and on and after January 1, 2010, a fee of
thirty-nine dollars ($39), shall be paid to the department for a
license that will expire on the fifth birthday of the applicant
following the date of the application.
   (d) Following failure in taking a driving-skill test, a fee of
thirty dollars ($30) shall be paid to the department for each
subsequent administration of the driving-skill test required by the
application.

15255.2.  Upon application for a duplicate commercial driver's
license by a currently licensed class A or class B driver, or a class
C commercial driver's license which requires an endorsement as
provided in Section 15278, from an applicant who meets the driver
record requirements and all other requirements established by Section
383.77 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a fee of
twenty-seven dollars ($27), on and after January 1, 2010, a fee of
twenty-nine dollars ($29), shall be paid to the department.

15260.  (a) Any applicant for a commercial driver's license who does
not successfully complete the air-brake component of the knowledge
test, or who does not successfully complete the driving-skill test in
a vehicle or combination of vehicles equipped with air brakes,
shall, if otherwise qualified, receive a commercial driver's license
that restricts the licenseholder from operating a commercial motor
vehicle equipped with air brakes.
   (b) To remove the restriction described in subdivision (a) from a
commercial driver's license, the driver is required to make a new
application for a commercial driver's license, and, in addition to
any other requirements specified in this code, to successfully
complete the air-brake component of the knowledge test prescribed by
the department, and to pass the driver-skill test in a vehicle or
combination of vehicles equipped with air brakes.
   (c) For the purposes of the driving-skill test and the restriction
described in this section, air brakes shall include any braking
system operating fully or partially on the air-brake principle.

15263.  (a) Any applicant for a commercial driver's license who
successfully completes the driving-skill test in a vehicle or
combination of vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission,
shall, if otherwise qualified, receive a commercial driver's license
that restricts the licenseholder from operating a commercial motor
vehicle or combination of vehicles equipped with a manual
transmission.
   (b) To remove the restriction described in subdivision (a) from a
commercial driver's license, the driver is required to make a new
application for a commercial driver's license, and, in addition to
any other requirements specified in this code, successfully complete
the driving-skill test in a vehicle or combination of vehicles
equipped with a manual transmission.