Virginia Hazardous Materials Endorsement

The exam and the training order

To receive or renew the endorsement, DMV says you pass the hazardous materials knowledge exam, show proof of U.S. citizenship or immigration status, and complete a fingerprint-based background check at a customer service center equipped to process it. The fingerprint fee is a non-refundable $83. The application page says the endorsement is valid for five years. The hazmat page says the fingerprint-based background check is valid for up to five years.

First-time applicants must complete entry-level driver training before the hazmat knowledge exam. The training page is more specific: the theory portion comes before the hazmat exam at DMV. Applicants are not required to finish entry-level training before a commercial learner’s permit. DMV will not accept a paper training certificate. The provider has to record completion in the Training Provider Registry. Providers must record it within 48 hours.

The hazmat knowledge exam is given only in English. It cannot be taken with a translator, and it cannot be given orally. CDL knowledge exams are on a computer. The general CDL knowledge exam requires at least 80 percent correct. That passing line is not the passenger-vehicle exam of 10 signs and 30 general questions.

TWIC, approval, and a suspended privilege

A valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential that DMV can verify exempts you from the fingerprint check. The reduced fee is a non-refundable $41. The hazmat page says the endorsement expires no later than the credential’s current expiration. You may use any customer service center for that reduced-fee application.

DMV sends the application to TSA. A first-time security assessment may take more than 45 days. If approved, DMV mails a letter of approval. You then return to be photographed and apply, after you have passed the hazmat knowledge exam. If denied, DMV sends TSA’s denial notice. A suspended, canceled, or revoked privilege does not stop the background check, and it does stop you from holding a CDL until the privilege is restored.

Renewal, removal, and a transfer

DMV mails a renewal notice about 90 days before the endorsement expires. Start then so TSA can finish before the date. To drop the endorsement, visit a customer service center before it expires. If it expires first, the CDL is canceled until you remove the endorsement.

An out-of-state CDL with the endorsement transfers only if you currently hold it, DMV can verify eligibility with that state, and you pass the Virginia hazmat knowledge test. If the prior fingerprint check cannot be verified, Virginia requires its own fingerprint check and the knowledge test.