New York State Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Manual
About
The sections of this manual are available in English, Spanish - Español, Chinese – 中文 and Russian - Русский. The information below matches the sections to the knowledge and skills tests that you must pass to receive a Commercial Driver License (CDL) in the correct Class with the required endorsements. To get the section you want to study, click on the name of the section, in the language of your choice and the document will download (Many of these files are very large and can take a long time to download.)
Some of the sections of the manual include practice questions to test your knowledge. See a Summary of Commercial Driver's Manual (CDL-10) Test Your Knowledge Questions.
Table of Contents
Section 1 - Introduction
CDL- 10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 1 Introduction (PDF)
Prepare for Tests: All applicants should read this section first
License or Endorsement: All
Section 2 - Driving Safely
CDL- 10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 2 Driving Safely (PDF)
Prepare for Tests: General (Core) Knowledge test
License or Endorsement: Class A, B, and C licenses
Section 3 - Transporting Cargo Safely
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 3 Transporting Cargo Safely (PDF)
Prepare for Tests: General (Core) Knowledge test
License or Endorsement: Class A, B and C licenses
Section 4 - Transporting Passengers
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 4 Transporting Passengers
Prepare for Tests: Test for endorsement to transport passengers; taken by all bus driver applicants
License or Endorsement: Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsements
Section 5 - Air Brakes
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 5 Air Brakes
Prepare for Tests: Air brakes test
License or Endorsement: You must pass this test if your vehicle has air brakes, including air over hydraulic brakes
Section 6 - Combination Vehicles
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 6 Combination Vehicles
Prepare for Tests: Combination Vehicle test (for example, a tractor-trailer combination)
License or Endorsement: Class A license and Double/Triple (T) endorsement
Section 7 - Doubles and Triples
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 7 Doubles and Triples
Prepare for Tests: Double/Triple endorsement test
License or Endorsement: Double/Triple (T) endorsement - required to pull double or triple trailers
Section 8 - Tank Vehicles
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 8 Tank Vehicles
Prepare for Tests: Tank Vehicle endorsement test
License or Endorsement: Tank (N) endorsement - required to haul a liquid or liquid gas in a permanently mounted cargo tank rated at 119 gallons or more or a portable tank rated at 1,000 gallons or more
Section 9 - Hazardous Materials
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 9 Hazardous Materials
Prepare for Tests: Hazardous Materials (HazMat) endorsement test
License or Endorsement: HazMat (H), combination Tank-HazMat (X), and Farm-HazMat (Z) endorsements - required to haul hazardous materials or waste in amounts that require placards or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR 73
Section 10 - School Bus
CDL-10 Commercial Driver's Manual - Section 10 School Bus
Prepare for Tests: School bus endorsement test
License or Endorsement: School bus (S) endorsement - required in addition to the (P) endorsement to drive a school bus with a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs. or designed to seat 15 or more adult passengers (excluding the driver)
Sections 11, 12 & 13 - Pre-trip Inspection Test; Basic Vehicle Control Test; On-Road Test
Prepare for Tests: Skills/road test
License or Endorsement: Class A, B, and C licenses. You must take the skills test in the class and type of vehicle for which you wish to be licensed.