New York is the latest state to have its process for issuing non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses criticized, and its federal highway funds threatened by the federal government.
In a press conference today Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called New York state the "worst offender" and said its Department of Motor Vehicles has routinely issued CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. He said a federal audit of the state's CDL process found it suffered a "total collapse" for having 53% of its records that were examined fail.
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs
“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, it isn't just a mistake, it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership," Duffy said. "Gov. (Kathy) Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses. If they refuse to follow the law, we will withhold federal highway funding.”
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In response, the state's DMV reportedly said Duffy was lying about the state "in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents."
According to a statem,ent from Duffy's office, FMCSA’s audit of New York’s non-domiciled CDL practices found:
- Out of 200 sampled records, 107 were issued in violation of federal law — a failure rate of over 53%
- The DMV’s systems defaulted to issuing eight-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired
- New York issued commercial licenses to foreign drivers without providing any evidence that it had verified their current lawful presence in the United States
Duffy said the FMCSA's audit also uncovered numerous cases in which the New York DMV relied upon expired lawful presence documents to issue commercial licenses. This allowed foreign drivers whose lawful status in the United States had expired to obtain a CDL, according to Duffy.
He also said New York DMV officials confirmed that their licensing system is programmed to default to an automatic eight-year expiration for non-REAL ID CDLs disregarding the expiration of a foreign driver’s lawful presence in the U.S. This systemic failure allows the state to grant long-term commercial driving privileges to foreigners that expire long after the expiration of their lawful presence in the country, he said.
As a result of the audit's findings, the DOT is demanding New York:
- Immediately pause the issuance of all new, renewed, transferred, or upgraded non-domiciled CDLs or commercial learner’s permits
- Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify every non-domiciled license that was issued in violation of federal regulations and the policies, practices, and procedures that allowed for the issuance of non-compliant licenses
- Immediately revoke all unexpired, noncompliant licenses and remove unqualified drivers from the road
Failure to revoke every illegally issued license held by these foreign drivers and come into compliance could lead to the state losing $73 million in federal highway funds.
“The 2025 CDL audit uncovered that New York DMV’s license issuing practices are a grossly unacceptable deviation from federal regulations that have compromised the integrity of the state’s CDL program,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs, who joined Duffy at the press conference. “New York must act immediately to comprehensively audit its CDL program and revoke every single illegally issued licenses.
"New York has 30 days to respond to FMCSA’s enforcement action. Failure to take immediate corrective action will trigger the withholding of federal funds and could result in the total decertification of New York’s CDL program.”
In response to Duffy, New York DMV spokesperson Walter McClure told Spectrum and the Associated Press, "Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents. Here is the truth: commercial drivers licenses are regulated by the federal government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant's lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT's letter and respond accordingly."
At least one trucking organization applauded Duffy's announcement.
“The days of exploiting cheap labor on the basis of false ‘driver shortage’ claims are over. OOIDA and truckers across America support the Trump Administration’s actions to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs," said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. "For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk. Secretary Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Barrs are embracing policies that prioritize the needs of professional truckers and roadway safety.”
New York is not alone in incurring the wrath of federal regulators. To date, the DOT has issued similar critiques and warnings to:
- California
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- Pennsylvania
- Colorado
- New Mexico
All but Pennsylvania are considered Blue states, but its Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Democrat.
The DOT has also called into question the non-domiciled CDL practices of Texas and South Dakota, but Red states.
