Can you get a HAZMAT endorsement with a felony or a DUI?
What TSA actually checks
The HAZMAT endorsement (H) requires a TSA security threat assessment, and the rules for it are in 49 CFR Part 1572. The assessment looks at four things: criminal history, immigration status, intelligence and terrorism checks, and whether a court has found you mentally incompetent. Only felonies count on the criminal side, and only the felonies on TSA's lists. A misdemeanor, a traffic ticket or an arrest that never became a conviction is not on the list.
Our step-by-step guide to the check itself is at how to do the TSA background check for HAZMAT.
The permanent list
These felonies disqualify you no matter how long ago they happened: espionage, sedition, treason, a federal crime of terrorism, a crime involving a transportation security incident, improper transportation of a hazardous material under 49 U.S.C. 5124, unlawful dealing in explosives, murder, threats or false information about an explosive aimed at a public place or transportation system, and racketeering (RICO) where one of those crimes is a predicate act. Attempts and conspiracies to commit them count too.
The interim list: 7 years or 5 years
A second group disqualifies you only if you were convicted (or found not guilty by reason of insanity) within 7 years of your application, or you were released from prison for the crime within 5 years of your application. Once you are outside both windows, the conviction no longer counts for TSA.
- Unlawful dealing in firearms or other weapons
- Extortion, bribery, smuggling
- Dishonesty, fraud or misrepresentation, including identity fraud (welfare fraud and bad checks are specifically excluded)
- Immigration violations
- Distribution, possession with intent to distribute, or importation of a controlled substance
- Arson, robbery, kidnapping or hostage taking
- Rape or aggravated sexual abuse, assault with intent to kill
- Fraudulent entry into a seaport, and other RICO violations
Note what is not there: simple drug possession, theft without fraud, assault that was not intended to kill, and DUI.
Open cases count too. If you are wanted or under indictment for a listed felony, TSA treats you as disqualified until the warrant is cleared or the indictment dismissed. If your fingerprints turn up an arrest for a listed crime with no recorded outcome, TSA sends you a notice and you have 60 days to send written proof that it did not end in a conviction. Get the court disposition before you apply if you know one is missing.
What about a DUI
A DUI is not a TSA disqualifying offense. But there is a catch in 49 CFR 1572.5(c): if your record shows an offense that disqualifies you from driving a commercial vehicle under FMCSA's rules in 49 CFR 383.51, TSA will not clear you until the state or FMCSA confirms you are not disqualified. A DUI is one of those offenses. A first DUI conviction, in a truck or in your own car once you hold a CDL, carries a one-year CDL disqualification, and three years if you were hauling placarded hazmat at the time. So a recent DUI blocks the H by blocking the CDL, not through TSA's list. Once that disqualification period is served and your CDL is back in good standing, the DUI itself does not stop the H.
Waiver and appeal
If TSA finds something, it sends an Initial Determination with instructions. You have 60 days to reply in writing, to ask for the records TSA relied on, or to request more time. If a record is wrong, you fix it with the court and send TSA the corrected copy. If TSA still denies you, it issues a Final Determination to you and your state.
Separately, you can ask for a waiver within 60 days of a Final Determination, or during the process. Waivers are available for the interim list and for most of the permanent list except espionage, sedition, treason and terrorism. TSA looks at the circumstances of the offense, restitution you made, any state or federal relief you received, and anything else showing you are not a security threat, and must answer within 60 days. A denied waiver can be reviewed by an administrative law judge. The procedures are in 49 CFR 1515.5 and 1515.7.
The three pieces are separate
Getting the H takes three things: ELDT HAZMAT theory from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, the state HAZMAT knowledge test, and a clean TSA assessment. Your state cannot give you the knowledge test until the theory is in the registry, and cannot put the H on your license until TSA clears you. The theory and the test do not depend on your record at all. Most drivers knock out the theory first, since it takes under an hour, and start the TSA application the same week.
Questions drivers ask
Does a felony from 10 years ago stop me?
Not if it is on the interim list and you were released from prison more than 5 years ago. Only the permanent list (terrorism, murder, explosives and similar) counts forever.
Can I take the HAZMAT knowledge test before TSA answers?
That depends on your state. Some let you test while TSA works, others wait for the clearance. Either way, the state cannot administer the test until your ELDT theory is in the registry.
Will TSA tell me if I passed?
No. TSA notifies your state, and your state tells you when it adds the H. You can check your status online in most states, or with your DMV in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Should I do the theory before I know TSA's answer?
If you are outside the 7 and 5 year windows or your offense is not listed, yes. The theory never expires and does not have to be repeated. If you are inside a window for a listed offense, the waiver process will decide, and you can do the theory while you wait.
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