Trucking: Do I need a Class A CDL?, california highway patrol, gvwr

Question
My truck has a GVWR of 10500 and my trailer has a GVWR of 12240. My combination GVWR is under 26000, but I was told by a trooper that I am still required to have a Class A CDL. Is that correct?

Answer
Jon...
The answer to your question depends mostly on the state requirements of the state that issued your drivers license.  Federal (FMCSA) regulations would require you to have a Class A CDL if your power unit or combined GVWR of the truck and trailer is 26,001 lbs or more.  Based on the information you provided about your truck and trailer, you wouldn't need a CDL under federal regulations.  A couple of other factors could kick in with regard to transporting passengers or shipments requiring placards (HazMat), but I don't think that's relevant here.

Drivers license, including CDLs are issued by individual states.  Each state establishes their own unique CDL requirements. They must meet specific federally mandated minimums, but can be more stringent than federal mandates.  

The most common one is that if your trailer is over 10,000 lbs GVWR, many states including California, do require you have a CDL regardless of the CGVWR.  (If I recall correctly) New York requires a CDL over 18,000 lbs for commercially plated vehicles.  

Another thing that clouds this issue is if your state doesn't require a CDL for your particular combination, but you get stopped in a state that does.  There is an agreement among most states, that provides for reciprocity between the two states.  Usually if you're legal in your base state, the other states will honor your drivers license regardless of their specific differences in that state's requirements.  

Unfortunately, many individual enforcement officers may not interpret it that way and cite you anyway.  It will usually be dismissed in court, but that can involve a lot of hassle and expense if the court is a long distance from you.

A few years ago, I called the California Highway Patrol state headquarters.  There I was told simply that an officer would cite a driver if the driver did not have a drivers license appropriate to the vehicle driven if it was operating within the state of California.  I also called the CA PUC and was told that if the CMV driver was legal in their state of residence, they would be legal in California.  So I found out that getting a clear cut answer to this can be difficult and can vary widely among the individual enforcement officers and agencies.


So, without rambling on further, the best answer I can give you is that it depends on the state laws of the state that issued your drivers license.  Then you have to hope the state where you happen to be operating will reciprocate and honor the license.  Usually they do.
 
I'm sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer to your question and more specific to your individual situation.

Thanks again...
....Don
SEMO Motor Transport Service