Indiana CDL practice tests

Indiana issues commercial licenses through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the BMV — a different name from the DMVs and DDSs used across the border, though the function is the same. Indiana sits at the crossing point of several of the country's busiest interstate freight corridors, part of why the state calls itself the Crossroads of America, and it means a larger share of the people walking into a BMV branch for a CDL are headed straight into long-haul or regional trucking work rather than a one-off local job.

What Indiana 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the current cost.

Indiana 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 Indiana does differently

The syllabus is federal, not something the BMV writes itself. 49 CFR Part 383 sets the knowledge tests, the endorsements and the 80 percent pass mark, and Indiana runs the same computer-based multiple-choice exam any other state does. Where Indiana differs is naming and structure — the BMV is a stand-alone agency rather than a division of a larger department, and it runs both car and commercial licensing through the same branch network, so the office nearest you for a regular license is very likely the same one that handles the CDL knowledge test.

Which tests you actually need

Everyone sits general knowledge first. After that it depends on the vehicle. Air brakes require their own exam, and failing it doesn't stop you getting a license — it restricts it, barring anything fitted with air brakes until you pass. Trailers over 10,000 pounds bring the combination vehicles test into play too. Beyond that come the endorsements: tank, doubles and triples, passenger, school bus, hazardous materials.

Hazmat is worth planning for separately, because it adds a Transportation Security Administration background check on top of the written exam, and that check runs to its own federal timeline rather than the BMV's. Given how much of the state's CDL traffic is headed into freight work where hazmat matters, it's common to need this endorsement — so start the check early rather than waiting until the rest of the paperwork is done.

Before you book

A commercial learner permit must be issued before the skills test, and federal rule sets a minimum holding period before that test can happen. Get the knowledge exams done early in that window, not late, so a failed attempt still leaves time for a retake before the permit runs out.

This page leaves fees out on purpose. Indiana sets and changes them, and a stale figure printed on this page would be worse than none at all — check the BMV site before you go. What we give you instead is exactly what the exams ask, with each answer cited to where it comes from. With so much freight passing through the state, a good grasp of this material carries more weight here than it might somewhere with less trucking on the roads.

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