Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV)
Louisiana CDL practice tests
How Louisiana handles the commercial learner permit, the fees and the skills test.
- General Knowledge24 questions, required of every applicant
- Air Brakes20 questions, skip it and an L restriction applies
- Combination Vehicles18 questions, needed for Class A
- Hazardous Materials20 questions, endorsement H
- Tank Vehicles16 questions, endorsement N
Every knowledge area
The 145 questions are the same in every state. Start with general knowledge, then sit the areas Louisiana will write onto the permit.
General Knowledge
Required of every applicant: inspection, control, space and speed management, hazard perception, emergencies and hours of service.
Air Brakes
Air brake knowledge and vehicle checks for applicants who may drive vehicles with air brakes.
Combination Vehicles
Coupling, the fifth wheel, off tracking and trailer swing. Needed for Class A.
Hazardous Materials
Placards, shipping papers, segregation and the security threat assessment.
Tank Vehicles
Liquid surge, baffles, outage and why a tanker rolls over so readily.
Doubles and Triples
Rearward amplification, converter dollies and coupling a second or third trailer.
Passenger Transport
Bus inspection, standee lines, passenger supervision and railroad crossings.
School Bus
Danger zones, loading and unloading, student crossing and evacuation.
What is different in Louisiana
Louisiana in particular
Louisiana lets a permit holder stretch a single CLP across a full year through one no cost extension, yet the state never puts its own examiner in the truck for the skills portion, that step is booked directly with a third party tester picked from OMV's published list.
The written exams themselves are federal
Louisiana decides the permit rules, the fees and who runs the skills test, but the knowledge you are tested on comes from 49 CFR Part 383 and is the same in every state, which is why the 145 questions here work wherever you apply.
What changes in this state
Commercial learner permit
Louisiana will not let a commercial learner permit holder attempt the CDL skills test until 14 days have passed since the permit was first issued, and the permit itself is good for up to 180 days with one optional 180 day extension, capping its total term at one year.
Louisiana OMV Policy 1.01, Commercial Learner's Permit, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
OMV collects a flat $15 CDL application fee before an applicant sits the knowledge exam, separate from any later license issuance fee.
Louisiana OMV Policy 1.01, Commercial Learner's Permit, checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
Knowledge exams are taken at an OMV office, but the skills test is handed off entirely to an approved third party tester chosen from OMV's own provider directory.
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, New CDL, checked Aug 28, 2026Louisiana CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Louisiana's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.