Class B CDL online training: what you can actually do online

What a Class B CDL covers

Federal rules in 49 CFR 383.91 define Group B as any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, or that vehicle towing a trailer rated at 10,000 pounds or less. The key word is single: a straight truck, not a tractor pulling a heavy trailer. The same rule says a Class B holder may also drive Group C vehicles, the smaller passenger and hazmat vehicles, with the right endorsements. What a Class B does not cover is a combination where the trailer is over 10,000 pounds; that is Class A. The two are compared in Class A vs Class B.

Who typically needs Class B

Drivers of straight trucks and buses: dump trucks, box and delivery trucks, refuse trucks, cement mixers, large utility and tow vehicles, and transit, school or tour buses, which add the Passenger or School Bus endorsement. Many of those jobs are local and home every night, which is why Class B is a common first CDL. If the plan is to pull a semi trailer later, you can upgrade; see the last section.

Class B CDL Theory Online, English and Spanish, filed to the FMCSA registry the moment you finish. $20 Start nowSee the course

The online part: Class B ELDT theory

Entry-Level Driver Training is required for a first Class B CDL under 49 CFR 380.609. The theory portion follows Appendix B to Part 380 and may be delivered online by a provider on the Training Provider Registry: 49 CFR 380.703 exempts online-only theory providers from state licensing, and 49 CFR 380.707(b) requires that the online content be prepared or delivered by a qualified theory instructor. There is no minimum number of hours. You finish every unit and pass the assessment with 80 percent or better. We then transmit your name, license number, state, class and completion date to the registry, which is what your state checks. The details of what gets filed are in what an ELDT certificate really is.

The in-person part

• Knowledge test and CLP. At your state licensing agency. For a Class B, that is the general knowledge test, plus air brakes if your truck has them, plus the Passenger or School Bus endorsement tests if you need them. 49 CFR 383.25 lets a CLP carry P and S after those tests.
• Behind-the-wheel training. With a registered provider, in a vehicle that requires a Class B CDL, on a range and on a public road. No simulators. Both parts from the same provider, and within one year of finishing theory.
• Skills test. Pre-trip, basic controls and the road test in a representative Class B vehicle, in English, after the state verifies your training in the registry.

Theory and BTW can come from different providers, so you can do theory with us and BTW with a school or an employer near you. Some BTW providers require you to buy their theory too; ask before you pay. More in theory vs behind-the-wheel.

Passenger and School Bus with your Class B

If you are going into bus work, the P and S endorsements each need their own ELDT theory before the endorsement skills test, under 49 CFR 380.609(b). They are short, about 30 minutes each at ELDT365, and you can do them in the same sitting as Class B. The state gives the endorsement skills tests in a bus. See how to get the Passenger endorsement.

Upgrading from B to A later

Appendix A to Part 380 lets a driver who already holds a valid Class B take a shorter Theory Instruction Upgrade Curriculum instead of the full Class A theory, then do Class A behind-the-wheel and the Class A skills test. The upgrade theory is about 30 minutes at ELDT365. Nothing you did for Class B is wasted. Details in upgrading from Class B to Class A.

Questions drivers ask

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