Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2025 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has temporarily blocked the Department of Transportation (DOT) from implementing a new rule that would make it more difficult for states to issue commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to non-citizens.
On October 20, two truck drivers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) filed a petition with the court, requesting a judicial review of the interim final rule issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in September.
According to a document published in the Federal Register on September 29, the rule would limit eligibility for non-residents applying for CDLs to holders of H-2A (temporary agricultural workers), H-2B (temporary non-agricultural workers), and E-2 (treaty investors) visas, excluding other visa categories.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, November 13, the Appeals Court stated that the federal government did not follow proper procedures in drafting the rule and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation of how the rule would enhance traffic safety.
The court noted that FMCSA data indicated non-U.S. residents holding CDLs accounted for about 5% of all CDL holders but were involved in only around 0.2% of fatal traffic accidents in the United States.
The ruling stated, “FMCSA has not shown that the rule has any safety benefits, but petitioners have provided evidence that the rule would force them to hire less safe new drivers, replacing more experienced drivers, thus compromising public safety.”
The court found that the petitioners were likely to succeed, alleging FMCSA did not consult with states before issuing the rule.
In response, FMCSA argued that it did not consult with states because the agency anticipated the overall cost of compliance with the rule would not be high and such consultations were “impractical.”
The Appeals Court rejected this argument.
However, Judge Karen L. Henderson of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, noting that FMCSA presented five recent fatal accidents involving foreign CDL drivers resulting in 12 deaths, indicating that auditing foreign driving records of these individuals could be detrimental to their CDL issuance in the U.S. She stated, “These examples further support FMCSA’s reasonable judgment that allowing commercial driver’s license holders with unverified driving records to operate on our roads poses a safety risk.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation stated that Secretary Sean Duffy would continue efforts to “keep unqualified foreign drivers off American roads” and that the court’s ruling did not involve the substance of the case.
The president of AFSCME, Lee Saunders, praised the court’s decision on November 14, stating that many public service workers providing essential services such as maintaining clean streets and transporting children to school require commercial driver’s licenses.
FMCSA announced on its website that the Department of Transportation’s interim final rule has been temporarily suspended pending further notice, but states must continue to comply with the agency’s guidance.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) supported the DOT’s new rule.
Chairman Todd Spencer stated in a release that loopholes in the program had allowed unqualified drivers to enter U.S. highways for too long, putting professional truck drivers and the driving public at risk.
In a fatal accident on August 12, a semi-truck driver named Harjinder Singh, who illegally entered the U.S. through the southern border in 2018 and obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, was involved.
In response to the accident, the Department of Transportation took emergency action in September.
Previously, the federal government had withheld over $40 million in funding from California after an investigation found the state did not meet federal English language proficiency standards for truck drivers.
On November 12, the Department of Transportation announced that California had revoked about 17,000 CDLs, which were unlawfully issued to non-California residents.