The US Department of Transportation will conduct audits of any states that issue non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), according to a recent announcement.
A “non-domiciled” CDL refers to a commercial license that’s granted to a legal resident of the US who is not a permanent resident or a citizen.
The announcement arrives during the middle of a commercial driver shortage, which Tech.co’s new 2025 logistics report has just found to be the biggest challenge that 45% of logistics professionals say they face today.
The Audit Announcement
The new mandate was announced on June 27th, 2025 by US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, who stated that the nationwide audit would focus on “reviewing the potential for unqualified individuals obtaining licenses and posing a hazard on our roads.”
The audit follows up on an earlier executive order from April, CDLLife reports. This order called for the DOT to review non-domiciled CDLs to “identify any unusual patterns or numbers or other irregularities with respect to non-domiciled CDL issuance.”
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Standard CDLs are not being investigated for irregularities or unusual activity under the new audit.
What Will the Audit Look Like?
Transportation Secretary Duffy’s statements during the announcement positioned the new audit didn’t explain the specifics of how the audit might be conducted on the state level.
He did say that “every state must follow federal regulations” to “ensure only qualified, properly documented drivers are getting behind the wheel of a truck.”
The new transportation package that was announced on the same day last week included helpful provisions for trucking companies, including $275 million allocated for truck parking expansion, and new digital assets that aim to be more user-friendly. The DOT also withdrew a proposal to mandate speed limiters.
45% of Logistics Businesses Currently Lack Qualified Drivers
According to Tech.co’s new survey of the logistics industry — released today — 45% of logistics businesses cite a lack of qualified applicants as the biggest challenge they face in maintaining a steady driver workforce.
Additionally, 63% of them report that their ability to recruit and retain drivers has either stagnated or worsened over the past year.
In a sense, the just-announced audit will address this issue, since its stated aim is to “ensure federal standards are being met” by reducing the number of unqualified drivers. However, it’s a reduction of the total drivers available, and will not be adding more qualified drivers in any way.
Shrinking the number of non-domiciled CDL users, unfortunately, still doesn’t help shipping companies in need across the nation.
