States May Soon Pay for CDL Information System
Published Date: 5/18/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The FMCSA wants to start charging State driver agencies a fee to use the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS), which helps keep track of commercial driver licenses. These fees will be collected by AAMVA, the group that runs CDLIS. If you’re part of a State agency, get ready for this change and send your thoughts by June 17, 2026!
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Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
States Must Resume CDLIS Fees
State driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) will be required to pay a user fee to the CDLIS operator. The rule sets an initial 6-month period beginning August 1, 2027, during which the annualized fee is $0.33 per Master Pointer Record (MPR), invoiced monthly (1/12 of the annual fee). FMCSA will supplement fees during this initial period while AAMVA accumulates up to $5.45 million as an emergency reserve.
Permanent CDLIS Fee Rises Feb 2028
After the initial period, the annual user fee for States will increase to $0.52 per MPR beginning February 1, 2028, with monthly invoicing equal to roughly $0.043 per MPR. FMCSA and AAMVA estimate total CDLIS annual costs of about $10.9 million, of which approximately $9.6 million is expected to be recovered from State fees; per-State monthly bills (based on Jan 2025 MPR counts) would range from about $571 (DC) to about $73,392 (CA and TX) at the $0.52 rate.
Third Parties Pay Transaction Fees
Third-party users (for example, motor carrier employers or other non-State entities) will continue to pay transaction fees for querying CDLIS, and those third-party fees are not established by this rulemaking. The rule says State and Federal transaction costs are folded into the State user fee while third-party transaction fees remain separate and will be charged to those third parties.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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