Last Updated on June 22, 2017 12:25 pm
RALEIGH – Effective Friday, June 23, a legislative requirement will begin coordinating shared license expiration dates for about 35,000 of the state’s 283,000 commercial drivers.
Beginning Friday, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles will require commercial drivers who hold H or X endorsements that allow the transportation of hazardous materials to meet new expiration dates that are not based on the driver’s birthdate or the commercial license’s usual five-year issuance period.
The change means that commercial licenses carrying hazmat endorsements will match the expiration date of the driver’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security threat assessment. The move will align the expirations of the commercial driver license, the hazardous materials endorsement and the TSA security threat assessment so that the license, endorsement and assessment will expire simultaneously.
To synchronize expiration dates, the issuance periods for commercial licenses will temporarily vary from one year to five years. CDL licenses cost $20 per year; a hazmat endorsement costs $4 per year.
The N.C. DMV will notify commercial drivers with hazardous materials endorsements about 180 days prior to their endorsement’s expiration so they have time to comply with the requirement.
Security threat assessments must be completed at least 30 days before the expiration of the endorsement on the CDL. Commercial drivers who wish to complete a security threat assessment may visit the TSA’s HAZMAT website at http://universalenroll.dhs.gov or call toll-free 1-855-347-8371.