761—607.16(321) Commercial driver’s license (CDL).
	607.16(1) Classes. The department may issue a commercial driver’s license only as a Class A, B or C driver’s license. The license class identifies the types of vehicles that may be operated. A commercial driver’s license may have endorsements which authorize additional vehicle operations or restrictions which limit vehicle operations.
	607.16(2) Validity.
	a. 	A Class A commercial driver’s license allows a person to operate a combination of commercial motor vehicles as specified in Iowa Code section 321.189(1)“a.” With the required endorsements and subject to the applicable restrictions, a Class A commercial driver’s license is valid to operate any vehicle. Before the department administers the skills test for a Class A commercial driver’s license to an applicant for the first time, the applicant must comply with the entry-level driver training requirements as provided in Iowa Code section 321.188.
	b. 	A Class B commercial driver’s license allows a person to operate a commercial motor vehicle as specified in Iowa Code section 321.189(1)“b.” With the required endorsements and subject to the applicable restrictions, a Class B commercial driver’s license is valid to operate any vehicle except a truck-tractor semitrailer combination as a chauffeur (Class D) or a vehicle requiring a Class A commercial driver’s license. Before the department administers the skills test for a Class B commercial driver’s license to an applicant for the first time, the applicant must comply with the entry-level driver training requirements as provided in Iowa Code section 321.188.
	c. 	A Class C commercial driver’s license allows a person to operate a commercial motor vehicle as specified in Iowa Code section 321.189(1)“c.” With the required endorsements and subject to the applicable restrictions, a Class C commercial driver’s license is valid to operate any vehicle except a vehicle requiring a Class A or Class B commercial driver’s license.
	d. 	A commercial driver’s license is valid for operating a motorcycle as a commercial motor vehicle only if the license has a motorcycle endorsement and a hazardous material endorsement. A commercial driver’s license is valid for operating a motorcycle as a noncommercial motor vehicle only if the license has a motorcycle endorsement.
	e. 	A commercial driver’s license valid for eight years shall be issued to a qualified applicant who is at least 18 years of age but not yet 78 years of age. However, the expiration date of the license issued shall not exceed the licensee’s 80th birthday.
	f. 	A commercial driver’s license valid for two years shall be issued to a qualified applicant 78 years of age or older. A two-year license may also be issued, at the discretion of the department, to an applicant whose license is restricted due to vision or other physical disabilities.
	g. 	A commercial driver’s license is valid for 60 days after the expiration date.
	h. 	A person with a commercial driver’s license valid for the vehicle operated is not required to obtain a Class D driver’s license to operate the vehicle as a chauffeur.
	607.16(3) Requirements.
	a. 	The minimum age to obtain a commercial driver’s license is set out in 49 CFR, Part 391, Subpart B, except that, for a person operating solely intrastate, the driver age qualifications are set out in Iowa Code section 321.449(3).
	b. 	The applicant shall meet the requirements set forth in rule 761—607.15(321).
	607.16(4) Transition from five-year to eight-year licenses. During the period January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018, the department shall issue qualified applicants otherwise eligible for an eight-year license a five-year, six-year, seven-year, or eight-year license, subject to all applicable limitations for age and ability. The applicable period shall be randomly assigned to the applicant by the department’s computerized issuance system based on a distribution formula intended to spread renewal volumes as equally as practical over the eight-year period beginning January 1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2026.
	607.16(5) License extension.
	a. 	As provided in 49 CFR Section 383.153, a person may apply for a 60-day extension of a commercial driver’s license if the person:
	(1)	Has a valid license,
	(2)	Is eligible for further licensing, and
	(3)	Is temporarily absent from Iowa or is temporarily incapacitated at the time for renewal.
	b. 	The person shall apply for an extension by submitting Form 430027 to the department. The form may be obtained from and submitted to a driver’s license service center. The person may also apply by letter to the address in 761—paragraph 605.12(1)“a.”
	c. 	A 60-day extension shall be added to the expiration date on the license. When the person appears to renew the license, the expiration date of the renewed license will be computed from the expiration date of the original license, notwithstanding the extension.
	d. 	The department shall allow only one 60-day extension.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 321.1(8) as amended by 2021 Iowa Acts, House File 389, 321.177, 321.182, 321.188, 321.189, 321.196, and 321.449 and 2013 Iowa Acts, chapter 104, section 2.
[ARC 1714C, IAB 11/12/14, effective 12/17/14; ARC 2071C, IAB 8/5/15, effective 7/14/15; ARC 2337C, IAB 1/6/16, effective 2/10/16; ARC 4986C, IAB 3/11/20, effective 4/15/20; ARC 5495C, IAB 3/10/21, effective 4/14/21; ARC 5942C, IAB 10/6/21, effective 11/10/21]