Missouri CDL Manual: Study Guide by Section

The Missouri classification system, the list of knowledge tests, driver disqualifications and the other federal CDL rules, plus Figure 1.2, the study grid. Read it together with Section 14: Section 1 tells you which tests exist, Section 14 tells you what Missouri charges for them and where in the state you take them.

• Missouri’s Class C group covers single vehicles under 26,001 pounds only when they are placarded for hazardous materials or designed to carry 16 or more people including the driver. (Missouri CDL Manual, Missouri classification system)

Twenty-four subsections covering the inspection routine, basic control, shifting, seeing, communicating, controlling speed and space, hazard perception, distracted and aggressive driving, night, fog, winter and very hot weather, railroad crossings, mountain driving, emergencies, anti-lock brakes, skid recovery, accident procedures, fires, alcohol and drugs, staying fit to drive, and the hazardous-materials rules that apply to every commercial driver. Missouri’s 50-question general knowledge exam draws on this section more than any other.

• Missouri’s general knowledge test is 50 questions and must be passed before a commercial learner permit is issued. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14 — CDL written examinations)

Inspecting cargo, weight and balance, securing a load, and the cargo types that need special attention. Missouri marks it for the license classes only — it is general-knowledge material, and it is short.

Bus pre-trip inspection, loading and trip start, conduct on the road, the after-trip inspection, prohibited practices and brake-door interlocks. Missouri tests it in 20 questions and requires it of every bus driver applicant.

• Missouri’s passenger endorsement test is 20 questions, and the endorsement also requires a skills test in a passenger vehicle. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14; 49 CFR 383.93(c)(2))

The parts of an air brake system, dual air brakes, the inspection sequence and how to use the brakes properly. Missouri makes it a 25-question test, and the study grid footnotes it the way every AAMVA-derived manual does: read it if you plan to operate air-braked vehicles.

• Missouri’s air brake test is 25 questions. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14 — CDL written examinations)
• Failing the air brake test, or testing in a vehicle without air brakes, puts an air-brake restriction on the license. (49 CFR 383.95(a))

Driving combinations safely, combination air brakes, anti-lock systems, coupling and uncoupling, and inspecting the coupled unit. Missouri tests it in 20 questions, separately from the 50-question general knowledge exam.

• Missouri’s combination vehicle test is 20 questions, and an applicant who fails it cannot be issued a Class A permit or license. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14; 49 CFR 383.135(a)(3))

Pulling double and triple trailers, coupling and uncoupling them, inspecting the set, and the doubles/triples air brake check. Missouri makes it a 20-question knowledge test with no skills component.

• Missouri’s double/triple trailer endorsement test is 20 questions, and a Missouri commercial learner permit cannot carry the endorsement at all. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14)

Inspecting tank vehicles, driving them, and the safe-driving rules that follow from surge and a high center of gravity. Twenty questions in Missouri, and the section pairs with Section 9 for anyone heading toward the X code.

• A tank vehicle federally means individual tanks rated over 119 gallons with 1,000 gallons or more aggregate, permanently or temporarily attached. (49 CFR 383.5)

The intent of the regulations, who does what in the hazmat chain, communication and placarding rules, loading and unloading including bulk packaging, driving and parking rules, emergencies, a glossary, and the radioactive separation and hazard class tables. The longest section in the Missouri manual, tested in 30 questions — and the one where the federal security screening runs in parallel with your studying.

• Missouri requires hazmat applicants to be at least 21 and a US citizen or permanent resident alien, and to submit fingerprints for a security threat assessment. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14 — hazardous materials endorsement)
• Missouri requires the hazmat portion of Entry-Level Driver Training before the hazmat knowledge test, from a provider on FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14 — mandatory ELDT)

Danger zones and mirror use, loading and unloading, emergency exit and evacuation, railroad crossings, student management, anti-lock brakes and special safety considerations. Missouri tests it in 20 questions and adds a skills test in a school bus.

• Missouri’s school bus endorsement test is 20 questions, and the endorsement also requires a skills test. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14; 49 CFR 383.93(c)(5))

The inspection walk-through with its per-class checklists — Class A, straight truck, and passenger or school bus — then the scored basic control exercises and the road drive. In Missouri you take all three by appointment with the Highway Patrol, in that order, and any segment you pass expires with the permit you passed it on.

• Missouri gives the skills test by appointment only, at defined Highway Patrol CDL test sites or through a certified Missouri third-party tester, and asks applicants who cannot keep an appointment to give adequate notice. (Missouri Department of Revenue, commercial drivers; Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14)
• The skills test must be taken in a vehicle representative of the group the applicant wants to be licensed for. (49 CFR 383.91(b))

The section Missouri wrote for itself, and the reason to download this manual rather than a generic one: eligibility and domicile, the non-domiciled CDL and permit rules, the hazardous-materials endorsement conditions, the fee and expiration table, the written exam lengths, commercial learner permit rules, mandatory training, how skills testing is scheduled and scored, vehicle equipment restrictions, and the military waiver. None of it appears in the model manual, and all of it decides what your license actually costs and how long it takes.

• Missouri’s component fees reconcile with the Department of Revenue totals: $10 permit plus $25 written test plus $9 processing is the $44 a Missouri CLP costs, and $40 license plus $25 skills test plus $18 processing is the roughly $83 a first CDL costs. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14, with the Missouri DOR commercial licensing page)
• A driver holding a Canadian National Safety Code license or a Mexican Licencia Federal de Conductor cannot be issued a Missouri non-domiciled CDL and must first obtain permanent resident status or citizenship. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14, citing 49 CFR 383.21)
• A non-domiciled Missouri CDL applicant must be employed by a Missouri-based employer and present an employment letter dated within 30 days at the time of application. (Missouri CDL Manual, Section 14 — Missouri employment)