What is Involved In Getting A New York CDL - Endorsement H (Hazardous Materials)?

A driver holding a New York CDL must have a CDL – Endorsement X or an “H” HazMat license to operate business engine vehicles that convey hazardous materials in order drive freely the sate of New York. You may read more in the Hazardous Materials Manual (CDL-11), CDL Manual (CDL-10) and (MV-500c) —Driver’s License Class Descriptions for more details on the subject.

Basic Requirements When Applying For Your CDL

You must be a U.S. resident or a legal occupant of the United States and present verification of citizenship or resident status at the time you request to have the HazMat endorsement. You must also meet the government therapeutic conditions outlined in the 49 CFR Part 391, and have in your possession an up to date Medical Examiner’s Certificate from the USDOT. See Medical Certification Requirements here for more details.

Having done that, you must clear your background check through finger printing. This also involves checking your criminal history from the criminal justice services, the FBI and the TSA. The fingerprinting procedure is currently given by Morphotrust Enrollment Solutions. All Hazmat support candidates must be fingerprinted at one of the Morphotrust ID offices placed throughout the state of New York . Fingerprinting is carried out by errands —you may contact Morphotrust to choose a fingerprinting area, plan an errand, and get information about the charges at IdentoGO. The charges are $140.75 for the personal verifications, and the cost for L-1 to perform the unique mark administration.

Application process

It is essential that you complete the Application form for a Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HAZ-44), in which you will have to pay a fee of $10 for the permit. In addition, your existing driver’s license, social security card, and a completed MC-11A form will have to be submitted in order to complete the application process. However, any additional endorsements like the HazMat (H) will need an additional fee for the test.

Mail the completed form and a duplicate of your lawful status document(s) to the following address:

Hazardous materials Unit
NYS DMV
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12228

For the next part, you must present $40 for the “behind the wheels” skills test which you will be taking later once your learner’s permit is approved. During the testing period, you must be accompanied by a commercial vehicle licensed driver for a higher, or the same class vehicle. Another condition is that your instructor may not, under any circumstances, make contract with you during the practice period.

All candidates applying for an Endorsement H (Hazardous Materials) license must take and pass a Hazmat written test. As per the law, you must complete at least 80% correct answers in order to pass the test. However, there is no restriction on the number of times you can take the test. You must visit a DMV office to pay the $5.00 fee and before sitting this exam.

You can get additional information on the hazardous materials endorsement test by studying the Hazardous Materials Manual (CDL 11)":http://dmv.ny.gov/sites/default/files/legacy_files/broch/cdl11.pdf or obtaining information from the NYS Commercial Driver License Manual (CDL-10.

Conditions Where you Might be Denied a HAZMAT Endorsement License

Under the Federal law, the Federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may exclude you from being approved to transport hazardous materials if:

• You have been sentenced, or found not guilty by grounds of insanity of any of the criminal acts recorded in the (HAZ-11)—Hazardous Materials Endorsement within the past 7 years from the date you requested the endorsement.
• You have been discharged from detainment for perpetrating a crime within five years, prior to the date you petitioned the endorsement.

In the event that that you did not complete the mandatory written test or the background verification checks, the DMV will issue a CDL that does not have a Hazmat endorsement.

The Results

The DMV cannot issue you a temporary CDL and a HAZMAT endorsement until the background checks are approved and completed. However, once the background check is complete, then you will receive the HAZMAT endorsement for 90 days, under the circumstances that it can be done only if you applied for renewal of your current HAZMAT endorsement and complete all your background checks before the current endorsement expires.

You may mail your approval to the DMV office to acquire a CDL for the Hazmat endorsement. Your new CDL will show the termination date of your CDL, as well as the lapse date. The endorsement is valid for five years.