The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday announced the removal of nearly 3,000 commercial driver’s license (CDL) training providers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry (TPR).
A press release from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the training providers were removed "for failing to equip trainees with the Trump Administration’s standards of readiness."
Another 4,500 training providers were placed on notice due to potential noncompliance, DOT added.
FMCSA's TPR as of December 1 listed 39,554 total training locations registered with the agency. The online database currently shows 36,660 registered locations.
“This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain," Duffy said. "Under Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways. Their negligence endangered every family on America’s roadways, and it ends today. Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”
The Training Provider Registry lists all providers authorized to offer federally required Entry-Level Driver Training for CDL students. DOT said Monday's action is the first step in FMCSA’s review of the 16,000 providers in all those locations listed on the TPR to identify and remove noncompliant providers.
According to DOT, CDL training providers are being removed from the TPR due to:
- Falsifying or manipulating training data.
- Neglecting to meet required curriculum standards, facility conditions, or instructor qualifications.
- Failing to maintain accurate, complete documentation or refusing to provide records during federal audits or investigations.
“If you are unwilling to follow the rules, you have no place training America’s commercial drivers," said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs. "We will not tolerate negligence."
Training providers that receive a notice of proposed removal have 30 days to respond to FMCSA and provide evidence of compliance to avoid removal from the registry, DOT noted. During the 30-day period, the provider’s name will be included on the TPR Proposed Removal List, and the provider must notify all current and scheduled driver-trainees of its proposed removal status.
The news followed another FMCSA announcement Monday that the agency is overhauling the electronic logging device vetting process to ensure "non-compliant devices are blocked before they ever reach FMCSA’s Registered ELD list."
The American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association and many state associations' new Trucking Association Executives Council also on Monday joined CDL school trade associations in calling for a cleanup of the registry.
