Class A vs Class B CDL

Part of Driver Files & Medical

One licence is a superset of the other. Class A covers everything a Class B covers, plus the heavy trailer. The real choice is whether the extra training and a harder skills test are worth it for the work you plan to do, and whether you want to go back for them later.

Tractor-trailer or over-the-road
Class A
Local dump, box, mixer or bus
Class B
Not sure yet
Class A
Low-poly render of a rigid straight truck with a box body parked beside a tractor-trailer, both facing the same way on an empty concrete lot
A straight truck and a tractor-trailer. The trailer behind the second one is the whole difference.

Side by side

CriterionIf unsureClass AClass B
Vehicle groupCombination vehicle (§383.91(a)(1))Heavy straight vehicle (§383.91(a)(2))
The weight testGCWR 26,001 lb+, towed unit over 10,000 lbGVWR 26,001 lb+, towing up to 10,000 lb
Also covers, with endorsementsClass B and Class C vehiclesClass C vehicles
Trailer rated over 10,000 lbYesNo
Training curriculumPart 380, appendix APart 380, appendix B
Coupling and uncoupling taughtYes, theory and rangeNot in the curriculum
Theory pass mark80%80%
Minimum training hoursNone setNone set
Knowledge tests20 general areas + 3 combination20 general areas
Skills test vehicleA representative Group A rigA representative Group B vehicle
Restrictions from the test vehicleE, L, Z, and O on a non-fifth-wheel rigE, L, Z
Passenger work at 16+ seatsAny bus, with PGroup B and C buses, with P

E, L and Z come from the test vehicle on either class: an automatic transmission earns E, a vehicle without air brakes earns L, air-over-hydraulic earns Z. O is the Class A one. Test a Group A combination joined by a pintle hook instead of a fifth wheel and the licence will not cover a tractor-trailer until you retake all three skills tests in one.

Class A: the trailer licence

Any combination rated 26,001 lb or more where the towed unit is rated over 10,000 lb. That is the tractor-trailer, but also a dump truck with a heavy tag trailer and a pickup with a big gooseneck. Under §383.91(c)(1) a Class A driver may also run Group B and Group C vehicles, provided they hold the endorsements those vehicles need.

The work it opens: long-haul and regional freight, flatbed, tanker work with the N endorsement, doubles with the T, plus every local job a Class B holder can take. Many carriers hiring for straight trucks will take a Class A applicant; the reverse is not possible.

Class B: the heavy straight truck

A single vehicle rated 26,001 lb or more, towing nothing heavier than 10,000 lb. Dump trucks, box trucks, concrete mixers, garbage trucks, tow trucks, and city and school buses with the P or S endorsement. Under §383.91(c)(2) a Class B holder may also drive Group C vehicles with the right endorsements.

The appeal is local work and home most nights. The limit is hard, though: hook a trailer rated over 10,000 lb behind that dump truck and the rig is Class A, whatever the load weighs that day. Run your own rig through the CDL class finder if you are close to the line.

Entry-level driver training

Since February 7, 2022, anyone getting a Class A or B for the first time, or upgrading to one, must finish training from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry before the skills test (§380.609). The two curricula share the same theory headings: basic operation, safe operating procedures, advanced practices, vehicle systems, non-driving activities. Class A adds coupling and uncoupling, both in the classroom and on the range.

There is no minimum number of hours for either class. The provider has to cover every unit, you need 80% overall on the theory assessment, and the instructor signs off your proficiency on the range and road. Outside the hazmat course, theory and behind-the-wheel have to be finished within 1 year of completing whichever part you did first. A school selling a fixed number of weeks is selling its own format, not a federal requirement.

The trap is the upgrade. Start on a Class B and move to A later and you go through entry-level training again for Class A, a Class A learner's permit, and every skills test again in a combination vehicle: §383.91(c) only excuses re-testing when you move down a class, never up.

The skills test

Both classes take the same three parts under §383.113: the pre-trip inspection, basic vehicle control, and the on-road drive, all in a vehicle representative of the class. The Class A version is harder in practice. The pre-trip includes the coupling system and the trailer, backing covers a longer rig with a pivot point, and the knowledge tests add the three combination-vehicle areas on top of the general ones.

Whichever you take, the medical card comes first. The DOT physical paperwork explains what the examiner fills in and how it reaches the state, and the CDL requirements guide covers endorsements and the steps to the licence.

Choosing in five questions

  • Will you ever tow a trailer rated over 10,000 lb? If yes, Class A.
  • Is the job offer in hand for a straight truck or bus, and do you want to stay local? Class B is enough.
  • Is the employer paying for training? Then take the Class A even for a B job; the upgrade later costs a second round.
  • Does the work need P, S, H or N? Plan the endorsement tests alongside the class, not after.
  • Test in the rig you will drive: a manual with full air brakes avoids the E, L and Z restrictions.

Once you are licensed, the driver qualification file is what a carrier builds around you, and the hours-of-service rules apply the same way on either class.

Sources

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