Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver and Vehicle Services
Pennsylvania CDL practice tests
How Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania in particular
Pennsylvania sets its CLP holding period at 15 days rather than the 14-day floor most states use, and that 15-day clock resets from scratch whenever a new endorsement or restriction removal is added to a permit that itself requires a skills test.
The written exams themselves are federal
Pennsylvania 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
A commercial learner's permit must be held for a minimum of 15 days before the scheduled date of the CDL skills test, and an applicant has one year from permit issuance to pass both the knowledge and skills tests.
PennDOT, CDL Learner's Permit FAQs, checked Aug 28, 2026Fees
Renewing a four-year Pennsylvania CDL costs $127.50, or $151.50 with a Class M motorcycle endorsement added, under PennDOT's July 2025 fee chart.
PennDOT, Driver Licensing Fee Chart Fact Sheet, checked Aug 28, 2026Where you test
PennDOT's Modernized CDL Skills Test is given both at PennDOT branch offices statewide and through approved third-party testing programs.
PennDOT, CDL Skills Test, checked Aug 28, 2026Pennsylvania CDL written exams, in the federal format.
145 cited questions, free, with nothing to sign up for. The permit rules above are Pennsylvania's. The knowledge is 49 CFR Part 383.