At the end of 2025, Washington State authorities officially acknowledged a serious error in the commercial driver's license (CDL) issuance system: hundreds of licenses were issued to foreign nationals in violation of federal requirements. The story resonated at the federal level, led to FMCSA intervention, and became part of a broader discussion on road safety in the U.S. and oversight of the trucking industry.
According to an investigation published by the regional outlet Washington State Standard, about 685 commercial driver's licenses were issued as standard CDL, although under federal law, applicants were only eligible for non-domiciled CDL — temporary licenses strictly tied to immigration status and work authorization.
The key issue is that standard CDLs:
- are not tied to visa or work permit expiration;
- are harder to revoke upon loss of legal status;
- are automatically recognized in other states.
The error accumulated over several years and was only discovered after one of the drivers with such a license was involved in a fatal accident out of state.
The Washington State Department of Licensing publicly acknowledged the mistake. Representatives of the department stated that the problem was related to internal procedures and interpretation of federal requirements.
In an official comment, the department indicated that after the violations were identified, instructions were updated and additional staff training was conducted. Essentially, the state admitted that federal standards were applied incorrectly, although there was no formal intent.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has long emphasized that the issue of CDL issuance is directly related to public safety. In September 2025, the FMCSA published an interim rule aimed at tightening control over the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs to foreign nationals. The document emphasizes that:
"States must ensure the integrity of the CDL system and strictly adhere to federal standards for allowing drivers to operate commercial vehicles."
The text of the rule and the agency's position are published on the official FMCSA website.
Although the enforcement of this rule was later temporarily suspended by a court, the very fact of its adoption indicates growing pressure from federal authorities on the states.
The situation in Washington extended beyond a single state. In 2025, the Florida Attorney General filed a lawsuit, claiming that the practice of issuing CDLs in violation of federal standards in other states poses a threat to road safety across the country. This move was widely covered by federal media, including Associated Press.
At the heart of the argument is simple logic: freight transportation is not limited by state borders, meaning licensing errors in one region can have fatal consequences in another.
The Washington story raises several systemic questions:
- how effectively states verify the immigration and legal status of applicants;
- who is responsible for errors — the state, the federal regulator, or the carrier;
- how to balance the driver shortage with safety requirements.
For carriers, this is an additional signal: checking driver's documents should not be limited to the formal presence of a CDL. For drivers, it's a reminder that the status and type of license have real legal consequences.
The error in Washington became a vivid example of how bureaucratic failures can escalate into a federal crisis of trust. Regardless of the outcome of legal proceedings and further actions by the FMCSA, one thing is clear: control over the issuance of commercial driver's licenses in the U.S. will only intensify, and the cost of errors in this system is human lives.