RV Driver's License Requirements

Individuals operating large recreational vehicles often ask if a special driver's license is required. Because driver's licenses are issued by each state (and Washington D.C.), the rules vary.

We have researched RV driver's license requirements for all fifty states plus D.C. and compiled the summary below. Our primary source of information were the official driver's license web sites for each jurisdiction. In cases of insufficient or conflicting information, we called the appropriate departments to confirm.

Commercial Driver's License

When discussing driver's license requirements for large RV's, the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) topic often follows closely behind. To answer common questions about the CDL, we have compiled the following summary:

• CDL is administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
• FMCSA defines minimum requirements that all states must meet when issuing CDL's
• States are free to define more stringent CDL rules
• FMCSA regulations only address commercial motor vehicles (CMV)
• RV's used strictly for recreational and other non-commercial functions do not meet the FMCSA definition of a CMV

Federal Class A & B CDL Requirements

FMCSA defines several CDL classes based on vehicle weight, type, and cargo. While most states do not require a CDL for driving large RV's, some do require special non-commercial licenses structured after the federal classification. The two classes applicable to RV's are A & B, which are defined below:

• Class A: Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Class B: Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.

If you are not sure what the various weights mean, please see Understanding RV Weights.

State Driver's License Summary

This section contains a summary of non-commercial RV driver's license requirements of the fifty states plus Washington D.C.