Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
Maine CDL practice tests
How Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine
Maine in particular
Maine runs its whole commercial licensing intake through a single mail-in channel to one Augusta office, so instead of walking into a local branch an applicant waits for a mailed appointment slip for the knowledge exam and then another one, timed to the 14 day wait, for the skills test.
The written exams themselves are federal
Maine 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
Maine law bars a commercial learner permit holder from attempting the CDL skills test in the first 14 days after the permit issues, and caps the permit's validity at one year from that issue date.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Section 1304, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
Applying for a Class A, B or C credential costs $70, and each additional endorsement adds $20 to that total.
Maine BMV, Commercial Driver License Application (MVE-64T), checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
There is no walk-in testing: an applicant mails the signed application and fees to the BMV's CDL Section in Augusta, which then mails back an appointment for the knowledge exam and, once that is passed, a separate appointment for the skills test.
Maine BMV, Commercial Driver License Application (MVE-64T), checked Aug 28, 2026Maine CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Maine's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.