Hawaii CDL practice tests

Hawaii's commercial licensing rules sit with the state Department of Transportation, but the counter you actually queue at is run locally — Hawaii's counties each operate their own licensing division, and it's the county office, not a single statewide DMV, that issues the license once you've passed. That two-layer structure is unusual on its own, and it's compounded by geography: Hawaii is the only state in this group made up of separate islands, so unlike a mainland state, you can't simply drive to a different county's office if your local one is booked out — that would mean a flight.

What Hawaii requires

Every figure below names the document it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Passing score
80% 49 CFR Part 383, Commercial Driver's License Standards, 383.135
Minimum age (in-state driving)
18 years old 49 CFR Part 383, Commercial Driver's License Standards, 383.71
Minimum age (across state lines)
21 years old 49 CFR Part 391, Qualifications of Drivers, 391.11
Permit holding period
14 days 49 CFR Part 383, Commercial Driver's License Standards, 383.25

Fees change without notice, so we do not repeat them here. Check Hawaii Department of Transportation for the current cost.

Hawaii practice tests

The knowledge tests are set by federal rule, so the questions are the same wherever you sit them. What changes is the paperwork above.

What Hawaii does differently

The exam syllabus itself is federal and identical to every other state's. 49 CFR Part 383 sets the knowledge tests, the endorsements and the 80 percent pass mark, and Hawaii runs the same computer-based multiple-choice format everyone else does. What's genuinely different here is logistics rather than content: because testing is organized by island, the number of locations offering CDL knowledge tests on any one island is small, and rescheduling across islands isn't the quick fix it would be crossing a county line on the mainland.

Which tests you actually need

General knowledge comes first for everyone. From there it depends on what you're driving. Air brakes need a dedicated exam, and failing it doesn't cost you the license — it adds a restriction against driving anything fitted with them. Trailers over 10,000 pounds bring in the combination vehicles test. Then the endorsements: tank, doubles and triples, passenger, school bus, hazardous materials.

Hazmat adds a Transportation Security Administration background check on top of the written test, run on federal timescales rather than the state's. Given how few testing windows a smaller island can offer, it's worth starting that check as soon as you know you'll need the endorsement, not after you've booked the exam.

Before you book

A commercial learner permit must be issued before the skills test, and federal rule sets how long you have to hold it first. Book the knowledge exams early in that period — on an island with limited testing slots, giving yourself room to retake a failed exam matters more than it would somewhere with an office every few miles.

Fees aren't listed here. They change, and a number that's out of date is worse than none at all, so confirm the current fee with your county's licensing division before you go. What we give you instead is exam content, cited to where each answer comes from. Because a missed booking on a smaller island can mean waiting weeks for the next opening, it's worth double-checking the appointment details rather than assuming you can simply walk in another day.

Jump to a test

Every question on every one of these is free, and each answer names the handbook page it came from.

Other states

Cited to the page, every time.

Every question names the handbook, section and page it was read from, so you can check the answer instead of taking our word for it.

How we write these