California Moves to Reissue 17,000 CDLs Despite Federal Noncompliance Warnings
By Robert Walsh / December 21, 2025
California is preparing to reissue roughly 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that the state had previously moved to revoke under federal pressure, a decision that comes despite unresolved compliance violations identified by federal regulators and the continued threat of severe enforcement action.
State transportation officials confirmed that the California Department of Motor Vehicles will begin restoring the licenses to immigrant drivers who received 60-day cancellation notices on November 6.
While the state has not detailed the specific reissuance process, officials have pointed to a November 13 emergency stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit blocking enforcement of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s interim final rule limiting eligibility for non-domiciled CDLs.
The court’s action, however, addressed only the interim rule issued on September 29. It did not resolve or suspend a separate set of violations documented by FMCSA during its 2025 Annual Program Review, which found that approximately one-quarter of California’s non-domiciled CDLs were improperly issued under regulations that predated the emergency rule.
https://wokespy.com/california-moves-to-reissue-17000-cdls-despite-federal-noncompliance-warnings-watch/
