Complete your FMCSA-required entry-level driver training 100% online. DMV-ready certificate auto-uploaded to the FMCSA registry. Self-paced.
All courses are FMCSA-registered and accepted at Tennessee DMV locations statewide.
Three simple steps to get your Tennessee ELDT certificate.
Create your account, choose your course, and pay securely. Takes less than 2 minutes.
Go through the self-paced online course on any device. Free retakes included.
Your ELDT certificate is auto-uploaded to the FMCSA registry. Show up to your TN DMV and you're done.
The order matters, and it is not the same in every state. This is Tennessee's order, from the TDOSHS's own rules. Fees are on the TDOSHS site; the steps below do not change often.
From a certified medical examiner.
Any TPR-registered provider. ELDT365 files your completion the moment you pass.
CLP valid one year.
Federal minimum before the skills test.
With a TPR-registered BTW provider.
At a Driver Services Center or one of the certified third-party organizations.
Get fingerprinted and cleared by TSA, then take the hazmat knowledge test. Tennessee will not give the test before clearance.
Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Driver Services.
Age: 18, restricted to driving within Tennessee until 21; 21 to cross state lines or haul hazmat.
Hold your permit: 14 days before the skills test.
Permit valid: 1 year.
Yes. About 26 certified third-party organizations (technical colleges, truck driving schools, county school boards). The state caps what a driver can be charged for the skills test administration.
Tennessee runs hazmat in a specific order: fingerprinting and the TSA security threat assessment come FIRST, and only after TSA clears you can you take the vision and hazmat knowledge tests at a Driver Services Center. The background check must be within the last 90 days.
Federal rule 49 CFR 380.703(i) says that state qualification requirements for theory instruction do not apply to providers offering that instruction only online. So your state accepts theory from any provider listed on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, including ELDT365, and no state can require the online theory portion to come from a state-licensed school. States can add their own rules for the behind-the-wheel part, and several do; those are listed below.
49 CFR 380.703(i) · FMCSA guidance on state-based training requirements
What Tennessee adds for the school part: No state licensing layer for theory. Any TPR-registered provider is accepted.
Sources: TDOSHS: Commercial Driver License · TDOSHS: Hazmat endorsement steps · TDOSHS: Fees. Checked September and October 2026. Compare all 50 states ›
As of February 2022, the FMCSA requires all first-time CDL applicants to complete Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) from a registered training provider before taking their CDL skills test.
This applies to all Tennessee drivers applying for a Class A CDL, Class B CDL, or any endorsement including HAZMAT, Passenger, and School Bus.
ELDT365 is registered with the FMCSA Training Provider Registry (TPR) and fully accepted by the Tennessee DMV.
Start Your Tennessee ELDT →Common questions from Tennessee CDL applicants.
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