Forum Discussion

frankgibbons194's avatar
Nov 24, 2019

Do you need a special license to drive an RV?

I was searching in the forums related to a topic regarding the special license required to drive an RV.

Unfortunately, nothing shows up. So, I've decided to create a topic about it.

If you’re looking at an especially large RV, it is important to note that there are a few states that will require a special license. Read more.
  • That is a provincial regulation so varies. I looked after a fleet of light and medium duty trucks for a helicopter company, it drove me nuts trying trying to keep up with different regulations as they tried to out duel each other.
    I don't need a special license to drive a moho but must have a special endorsement or class 1 cdl for a trailer over 10,000#. Air brakes also require an endorsement but I don't know if it is a different course than commercial which is not really relevant for our purposes. Check with your dmv for the final word.
  • In Canada if you have a rig with air brakes, you need an air brake endorsment on your license. Not sure about different US states
  • :) Hi, I can't drive my RV because it's a TRAILER. Are you asking about a MOTORHOME?
  • That web page has some erroneous information on it (as do many others I've seen). No state should require a genuine CDL to drive any RV for personal noncommercial use, as what constitutes a commercial vehicle for CDL purposes, as well as the various classes of CDLs and similar base requirements, are all defined at the federal level. Recreational vehicles are specifically exempted as not being commercial vehicles when driven for personal, noncommercial use.

    This is a good thing, as a CDL carries with it a considerable amount of administrative overhead and additional regulations: mandatory rest periods and logging of the same, periodic random drug tests, annual pysical exams, and so forth. That's in addition to the training and testing of actual driving skills.

    Several states do require non-commercial licenses different than those for standard passenger cars, at least for large RVs, and often but not always the classes of these non-commercial licenses parallel those of CDLs (i.e. they take effect at the same vehicle weights). The best guide is to check with the DMV or equivalent for your state. If your license covers the vehicle in the state it's issued in, you can use it in any other state legally; though that doesn't guarantee that the vehicle setup itself would be legal in all other states. One example of this is double towing: in some states it's simply not permitted at all.