12 Trucking Fleets Pledge 13,000 Jobs for Veterans as CDL Training Grants Reach 21 States

Twelve trucking companies committed to hiring more than 13,000 veterans with help from the Department of Labor, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is investing $3.5 million into training providers in 21 states to expand training for veterans. Both came at a Veterans Day event on the National Mall on Nov. 11 as an update on the Freedom Haulers campaign, the federal effort that steers veterans into trucking. The companies were not named in the announcement, so the real question for a veteran is how to get licensed and in front of a carrier. For Metaintro readers leaving the military or already out, this guide covers who qualifies to skip CDL tests, how to apply, what training the GI Bill pays for, and what the job pays once you are on the road.

What Did the Transportation Department Announce on Veterans Day?

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs were joined by veterans and trucking industry leaders. Alongside the training money and the hiring pledges, nearly 400 veterans have already used their GI bill to obtain benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Freedom Haulers itself is not new. It was launched in July with the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of War, and the Department of Labor contributing, and the launch package included a new digital ad, radio ads, and a new microsite listing federal resources and private sector partners. The training grants and the hiring pledges were new at the November event.

The grants go to training providers to expand services training programs for veterans, and the states and providers were not named in the Veterans Day announcement.

Veterans bring discipline, teamwork, and a deep commitment to safety and service, Truckload Carriers Association President Jim Mullen said at the Veterans Day event, according to the Department of Transportation release.

Are the Hiring Pledges Open Jobs You Can Apply for Today?

No. The commitments are planned employment opportunities rather than completed hires, and no hiring timeframe was given in the Transportation Department announcement. Treat the pledge as a signal that a dozen carriers want veteran drivers, not as a list of postings.

The bigger hiring picture comes from federal labor data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 214,500 openings for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers each year, on average, over the decade, and many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force. Employment in the occupation is projected to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

The supply side is large too. Approximately 200,000 Americans separate from the Armed Forces each year, a figure from the American Trucking Associations, which took part in the White House launch. Carriers that want to join the initiative can reach out through the Freedom Haulers partner contact on the campaign site, which describes partners ranging from training schools at local community colleges to America's largest carriers.

Who Qualifies to Skip the CDL Road Test?

The Military Skills Test Waiver lets drivers with two years' experience safely operating heavy military vehicles obtain a commercial driver's license (CDL) without taking the driving test. The program is available in every state, and more than 40,000 service members and veterans have taken advantage of this waiver program.

The federal rule is 49 CFR 383.77, which lets each state waive the road test at the discretion of a State. The applicant must be currently licensed at the time of his/her application for a CDL, and must provide evidence and certify that they:

• Are regularly employed or were regularly employed within the last year in a military position requiring operation of a CMV
• Were exempted from the CDL requirements in section 383.3(c)
• Were operating a vehicle representative of the CMV type the driver applicant operates or expects to operate, for at least the 2 years immediately preceding separation from the military

Applicants must also certify a clean record for the 2-year period immediately prior to applying for a CDL. That means no more than one civilian license held at a time besides a military license, no license suspended, revoked or cancelled, no convictions for the disqualifying offenses in section 383.51(b), not more than one conviction for any type of motor vehicle for serious traffic violations, and no traffic-law conviction (other than a parking violation) tied to a crash plus no record of a crash in which he/she was at fault.

How Do You Apply for the Waiver and the Even Exchange?

The skills test waiver has its own FMCSA application form. You complete the Application for Military Skills Test Waiver and submit it along with a standard CDL application to the State Driver's License Agency where you are applying. The application covers which violations can deny the waiver, the vehicle types you were licensed to drive, and an endorsement of your safe driving record by your commanding officer.

Before applying, gather Service Records (DD-214 or military driving records), the Commanding Officer's signature on the FMCSA waiver form and a Valid Military Operator's License (OF-346 or equivalent).

The Even Exchange Program removes the written test too, in states that take part. It lets qualified military drivers be exempt from the knowledge test for obtaining a commercial driver's license, and paired with the skills waiver it lets a driver exchange a military license for a CDL. Military personnel can use it if currently licensed and are or were employed within the past year (12 months) in a military position requiring the operation of a military motor vehicle equivalent to a commercial motor vehicle, on top of the clean-record conditions in the federal rule. The qualifying job codes are:

• Army: 88M Motor Transport Operator, 92F Fueler and 14T Patriot Launching Station Operator
• Marine Corps: 3531 Motor Vehicle Operator
• Navy: EO Equipment Operator
• Air Force: Vehicle Operator 2T1, Fueler 2F0 and Pavement and Construction Equipment Operator 3E2

Not every state has switched it on. On the FMCSA map last updated October 30, 2026, states such as Texas, California, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania are currently participating, while Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Arkansas and Wyoming are listed among States which have committed to implementing the Even Exchange Program. Each state may have a different form and application process, so the state licensing office is where the application lands.

What Changed in July, and What Stayed the Same?

Three changes came out of the July 30 announcement at the White House. The skills test waiver window was extended from one to two years post-service, and Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland and Wyoming committed to join the Even Exchange, bringing the total number of participants to 34 states, a count that includes states the FMCSA map still lists as committed rather than currently participating. Active-duty service members can also apply and test for a Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP) or CDL in the state where they are currently stationed, a benefit that is also available for two years post-service.

The written rules have not all caught up, and the regulation text itself, up to date as of 11/10/2026, still reads within the last year. Military personnel can still use the waiver if currently licensed and are or were employed within the past year (12 months) in a qualifying military position, on FMCSA's waiver page last updated September 9, 2026, and the campaign site still tells veterans they qualify if you operated military commercial motor vehicles within the last year. If you left the military more than a year ago, ask your state licensing office which window it applies before you pay for a road test.

The July package changed the claim window but made no change to the two-year experience requirement, the safe driving record requirement, or the medical certification requirement, and there was no new appropriation identified in DOT's materials at the time, in a July analysis by FreightWaves.

Do Veterans Have to Complete Entry-Level Driver Training?

Entry-level drivers do, with some exceptions. FMCSA's Entry-Level Driver Training rules set the baseline for training requirements for entry-level drivers, and anyone issued a CDL prior to February 7, 2022 is not required to complete it. Training completion is logged in the FMCSA Training Provider Registry.

Veterans who use the skills waiver skip that step, because any individual who meets one of the exceptions for taking a skills test in Part 383 is also exempt from the ELDT requirements. The exception sits in 49 CFR 380.603(a)(3), and when FMCSA adopted it, the agency found that military training and testing meet or exceed the agency's own standards.

Veterans who never drove a heavy truck in uniform start like civilians. Under Freedom Haulers, veterans who never drove a heavy CMV during their military service will be offered CDL training, the American Trucking Associations said in July. Students may attend a private truck-driving school or a program at a community college that lasts between 3 and 6 months, and after hiring, drivers normally get several weeks of on-the-job training with an experienced mentor-driver in the passenger seat.

How Can the GI Bill and Other Programs Pay for Training?

The GI Bill can cover school. The VA's tuition cap typically covers 100% of your CDL training costs at public colleges and technical schools if you served on active duty for at least 36 months, the Freedom Haulers campaign site says, and the benefit applies at any program approved by a State Approving Agency. Truck driving is one of the non-college degree programs the GI Bill covers, and for Montgomery GI Bill users, a hands-on course counts as full time at 22 hours or more a week.

Veterans with a disability linked to service have a second route. The Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program fully funds training and assists with carrier job placement for veterans with service-connected disabilities.

You can also train on the payroll. GI Bill benefits for on-the-job training and apprenticeships help cover living costs while you learn, and you can't get on-the-job training if you're an active-duty service member or the spouse of an active-duty service member using transferred benefits. Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool to make sure VA has approved the employer's training program, and you will most likely sign a training contract for a set amount of time with the employer. In a Registered Apprenticeship, eligible veterans can use their GI Bill benefits and receive a tax-free monthly housing stipend, and the Apprenticeship Job Finder lists open programs.

Service members can start before they separate. DoW SkillBridge offers real-world training with industry partners for those who have 180 days or fewer of service remaining prior to their date of military discharge, and the campaign points to it for civilian trucking training during the final months of active duty.

Veterans bring the values that make workplaces stronger and skills that are directly transferable to careers like trucking, according to the American Trucking Associations statement.

What Do Truck Drivers Earn Once They Are Licensed?

Here is what the job pays once you hold the license. The median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025, or $28.19 per hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $40,140, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $79,380.

Who you drive for matters. Drivers in the truck transportation industry had a median wage of $60,320 in May 2025, and long-haul drivers can be away from home for days or weeks at a time. Drivers usually are paid by how many miles they have driven, plus bonuses, and the per-mile rate varies from employer to employer and may depend on the type of cargo and the experience of the driver, the same spread behind what truck drivers make by route, rig and region.

A July analysis of the campaign warned carriers that recruitment has rarely been the hard part of this equation and that retention is. A veteran choosing between offers should ask about home time, mentor-driver training and how pay is calculated before signing.

What This Means for Veterans Looking at Trucking, and What Should You Do Next?

The fleet pledges are promises from unnamed companies, so do not build a plan around them. Build it around the parts that are already written down. If you have two years' experience safely operating heavy military vehicles, are currently licensed and are inside the claim window, the route is the waiver form, a commanding officer's signature and your state licensing office. In a participating state, the Even Exchange Program also removes the knowledge test.

If you never drove heavy equipment in uniform, the GI Bill pays for school, VR&E covers training for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and the new grants are aimed at expanding training programs for veterans. Pick a school approved by your State Approving Agency, and compare it against an employer apprenticeship that pays you while you train. If you are still in uniform and close to your discharge date, SkillBridge lets you start training before you leave. The same discipline carriers cite also shapes the move from military professionalism to civilian work outside trucking.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A hiring pledge without a company name is not a job offer. The waiver form, your driving record and a school your benefits will pay for are things you can act on this week.

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People Also Asked

Q: Which trucking companies pledged to hire veterans through Freedom Haulers?

A: Twelve trucking companies committed to hiring more than 13,000 veterans, but the companies were not named, and the pledges are hiring plans rather than open postings.

Q: How long after leaving the military can I use the CDL skills test waiver?

A: The window was extended from one to two years post-service in July, though the FMCSA waiver page still lists the past year (12 months).

Q: Does the GI Bill pay for CDL training?

A: It can. The Freedom Haulers campaign site says the VA tuition cap typically covers 100% of your CDL training costs at public colleges and technical schools if you served on active duty for at least 36 months, at programs approved by a State Approving Agency.

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