Title 46.2, Motor Vehicles

This Act may be cited as the "Virginia Commercial Driver's License Act."

A. The Department upon receiving an application on forms prescribed by the Commissioner and upon the applicant's satisfactory completion of the vision and knowledge tests required for the class and type of commercial motor vehicle to be driven by the applicant may, in its discret…

A. The Commissioner may, in his discretion, issue seasonal restricted commercial drivers' licenses in accordance with this section. B. A Virginia seasonal restricted commercial driver's license shall be issued only to a person who (i) is a seasonal employee of a farm retail outle…

A. If any person who is licensed by the Department to drive a commercial motor vehicle changes the mailing or residential address he most recently submitted to the Department, such person shall notify the Department in writing within thirty days after his change of address. If th…

A. No entry-level driver shall be eligible to (i) apply for a Virginia Class A or Class B commercial driver's license for the first time, (ii) upgrade to a Class A or Class B commercial driver's license for the first time, or (iii) apply for a hazardous materials, passenger, or s…

Except as otherwise provided, all fees accruing under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid to and received by the Commissioner, and by him forthwith paid into the state treasury and shall be set aside as a special fund in the state treasury to be used to meet the necessar…

A. The Department shall conduct an examination of every applicant for a commercial driver's license, which examination shall comply with the minimum federal standards established pursuant to the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The examination shall be designed to tes…

A. Pursuant to § 46.2-341.14, the Commissioner may permit military bases that have entered into an agreement with the Department to serve as third party testers in administering state knowledge and skills tests for issuing commercial driver's licenses. Military third party tester…

A. Pursuant to § 46.2-341.14, third party testers will be authorized to issue skills test certificates, which will be accepted by the Department as evidence of satisfaction of the skills test component of the commercial driver's license examination. Authority to issue skills test…

A. Any applicant for certification as third party tester may submit with his application a request for a waiver of the requirement that the third party tester employ at least 50 drivers within the 12-month period preceding the application. Such request shall include the following…

A. Third party examiners may be certified to conduct skills tests on behalf of only one third party tester at any given time. If a third party examiner leaves the employ of a third party tester, he must be recertified in order to conduct skills tests on behalf of a new third part…

A. Application for third party tester certification. 1. An applicant for certification shall provide the following information in a format prescribed by the Department: a. Name, address, and telephone number of principal office or headquarters; b. Name, title, address, and teleph…

A. Upon successful application and evaluation, a third party tester will be issued a letter or certificate that will evidence his authority to administer a third party testing program and issue skills test certificates for the classes and types of vehicles listed. B. Upon success…

A. Any third party tester or examiner may relinquish certification upon 30 days' notice to the Department. Relinquishment of certification by a third party tester or examiner shall not release such tester or examiner from any responsibility or liability that arises from his activ…

A. Each applicant for certification as a third party tester shall permit the Department or FMCSA to conduct random examinations, inspections, and audits of its operations, facilities, and records as they relate to its third party testing program, for the purpose of determining wh…

A. Every third party tester shall: 1. Notify the Department in a format prescribed by the Department within 10 days of any change in: a. The third party tester's name or address; or b. The third party examiners who are employed by the third party tester. 2. Notify the Department …

A. Skills tests shall be conducted strictly in accordance with the provisions of this article and with current test instructions provided from time to time by the Department. Such instructions will include test forms and directions for completing such forms. B. Skills tests shall…

A. The Department will accept a skills test certificate issued in accordance with this section as satisfaction of the skills test component of the commercial driver's license examination. B. Skills test certificates may be issued only to drivers who have passed the skills test co…

A. The commercial driver's license issued by the Department shall be identified as a Virginia commercial driver's license and shall include at least the following: 1. Full name, a Virginia address, and signature of the licensee; 2. A photograph of the licensee; 3. A physical desc…

A. A commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit shall authorize the licensee or permit holder to operate only the classes and types of commercial motor vehicles designated thereon. The classes of commercial motor vehicles for which such license may be issued are: …

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no endorsement authorizing the driver to operate a vehicle transporting hazardous materials shall be issued, renewed, or reissued by the Department unless the endorsement is issued, renewed, or reissued in conformance with the…

Unless otherwise provided in this article or by the laws of the Commonwealth, any person who violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section and in § 46.2-341.18:01, the Commissioner shall disqualify for a period of one year any person whose record, as maintained by the Department of Motor Vehicles, shows that he has been convicted of any of the following offenses, if su…

The Commissioner shall disqualify, for a period of two years, any person convicted of violating an out-of-service order while operating (i) a commercial motor vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or (ii) notwithstanding the provisions of § 46…

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 46.2-341.18 that require the Commissioner act to disqualify only on the basis of conviction records for certain offenses committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle, the Commissioner shall also act to disqualify, as provided in § 46…

The Commissioner shall disqualify for a period of one year any person who has been convicted of a violation of § 18.2-251.4.

The Commissioner shall cancel the Type S school bus endorsement for any person holding a commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit who is convicted of an offense for which registration is required in the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry pursuant to…

A. No person shall use a commercial motor vehicle in the commission of any felony involving manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense such controlled substance. No person who holds a commerc…

A. For the purposes of this section, the following offenses, if committed in a commercial motor vehicle, are serious traffic violations: 1. Driving at a speed 15 or more miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limits; 2. Reckless driving; 3. A violation of a state law or loc…

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B, the Commissioner shall disqualify for a period of sixty days any person whose record, as maintained by the Department, shows that he has been convicted of any offense committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle in violatio…

Any employer who knowingly allows, permits, authorizes, or requires an employee to operate a commercial motor vehicle in violation of any law or regulation pertaining to railroad/highway grade crossings, or in violation of an out-of-service order, shall be subject to a civil pena…

If the Department receives notification from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a driver determined to constitute an imminent hazard has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Part 383.52, the Department shall make a no…

A person who has been convicted of fraud pursuant to § 46.2-348 related to the issuance of a commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license shall be disqualified for a period of one year. The application of a person so convicted who seeks to renew, transfer, or upgrad…

A. No person driving a commercial motor vehicle shall text or use a handheld mobile telephone while driving such vehicle. A driver who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,750. Civil penalties collected under this section shall be deposited into th…

No motor carrier shall allow or require its drivers to use a handheld mobile telephone or to text while driving a commercial motor vehicle. Motor carriers violating this section are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $11,000. Civil penalties collected under this section sha…

A. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally possess marijuana in a commercial motor vehicle as defined in § 46.2-341.4. The attorney for the Commonwealth or the county, city, or town attorney may prosecute such a case. Upon the prosecution of a person for a vio…

No person whose privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle has been suspended or revoked or who has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle or who has been ordered out of service, and who has been given notice of, or reasonably should know of the suspension…

Any person who has been disqualified pursuant to any provision of this article shall be subject to the provisions of §§ 46.2-370 and 46.2-414, and shall be required to comply with the provisions of §§ 46.2-370 and 46.2-411 as conditions to the reinstatement of his privilege to dr…

Except as otherwise provided, whenever in this Act reference is made to an offense which is a violation of a provision of this Code, such reference shall be deemed to include offenses under any local ordinance, any federal law, any law of another state or any local ordinance of a…

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any commercial motor vehicle (i) while such person has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more by weight by volume or 0.08 grams per 210 liters of breath as indicated by a chemical test administered as provi…

A. Any person who is reasonably suspected of a violation of § 46.2-341.24 or of having any alcohol in his blood while driving or operating a commercial motor vehicle may be required by any law-enforcement officer to provide a sample of such person's breath for a preliminary scree…

As used in §§ 46.2-341.26:2 through 46.2-341.26:11, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: The phrase "alcohol or drug" means alcohol, drug or drugs, or any combination of alcohol and a drug or drugs. The phrase "blood or breath" means either or both. "Chief police offic…

A. In any trial for a violation of § 46.2-341.24, admission of the blood or breath test results shall not limit the introduction of any other relevant evidence bearing upon any question at issue before the court, and the court shall, regardless of the results of the blood or brea…

The steps set forth in §§ 46.2-341.26:2 through 46.2-341.26:9 relating to taking, handling, identifying, and disposing of blood or breath samples are procedural and not substantive. Substantial compliance shall be sufficient. Failure to comply with any steps or portions thereof s…

A. Any person, whether licensed by Virginia or not, who operates a commercial motor vehicle upon a highway as defined in § 46.2-100 in the Commonwealth shall be deemed thereby, as a condition of such operation, to have consented to have samples of his blood, breath, or both blood…

A. It is unlawful for a person who is arrested for a violation of § 46.2-341.24 or 46.2-341.31 to unreasonably refuse to have samples of his breath taken for chemical tests to determine the alcohol content of his blood as required by § 46.2-341.26:2, and any person who so unreaso…