[Jimbo56]

The Illinois state web site says you are required to schedule your driving test online. So until I've located the equipment, I'm not going to attempt a schedule date. I'm not sure just how serious the feds and state are about requiring the change of residence for a cdl and I'm sure I'm not the first person to tackle this issue. Unless I'm driving for a carrier, and he happens to undergo a DOT audit, it may not matter that much anyway. I'm just kind of a stickler for doing things the way the guidlines require. Actually, it's probably a pretty good rule. Keep some of the "undersirables" out of a big truck, but this is Illinois and I'm sure those that evade the law have already found the loopholes.

My South Carolina license doesn't expire until 2015. I just renewed it in September.

[GMAN]

If you drive for a carrier they will most likely require you to transfer your license to your new state once they find that you have relocated. To tell you the truth, the CDL is supposed to be a national drivers license so it should not make any difference which state that you currently have your license since requirements are supposed to be uniform. But, that isn't the way laws in most states read. You should just be able to hand them your old license and receive a new one. That is not the case with some states. I also think that we should be able to get a refund on any unused portion of a license when we turn it in to the new state. But, they didn't ask for my opinion and it would mean less tax revenue for the state.

[Roadhog]

:roll: I can see what Jimbo is up against.
I tried to see what it would take for me to transfer a Michigan CDL to Illinois.
They require you to take a road test, and you have to provide your own vehicle.
If you don't have your own, or a company provided rig, you have to find one to rent.

I asked the typical questions, and got the typical "conflict of interest" crap, and got shuffled around to several other depts. What a FUBAR state.

Well... I'd kill myself before I'd move to Illinois... LOL

[Jimbo56]

There's the whole issue of State's rights that can get highly political. Your right GMAN, the CDL was designed to be uniform for all states.......but each state tries to get their own piece of the pie. I think after the (one of many) Illinois govenor got thrown in prison over CDL License issues, the written and road tests were added by the state of Illinois as a "corrective" action. More funding for the state, but their costs for enforcement and testing facilities had to increase to a point that it cannot be profitable.

I've read several posts on another forum where companies will not hire non-cdl holders from Illinois. Too much cost involved in getting the trainee back to Illinois for testing. For every action there is an equal and oposite reaction.

I'm really on the fence with this. I'm old enough (54) that re-starting another career at this age seems useless.......yet I'm too young not to. I enjoyed trucking when I did it and the only reason I quit was teen-agers at home that could not get their act together.

It's a catch 22 for me.

[Fozzy]

You should call the License Branch near you and see if Illinois and Wisconsin still has and uses reciprocity as it relates to the CDL licenses and skills tests. We used to train and test drivers from Illinois and they would simply take the CDL paperwork down to IL and IL would issue an Illinois CDL with that. I'd Give Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton WI a call. There may be a closer school to you, there will not be a better school near you. They do third party testing and they used to also tutor drivers on an hourly basis to wear the cobwebs off. They do the CDL testing there also. Worth a shot to give them a call. All of this is the result of the IL Governor getting caught selling CDL licenses using the third party testers and the state examiners.