It is mandated by federal guidelines that all commercial drivers pass the DOT health exam. The goal of this exam is to check whether an applicant is physically capable of driving safely at the present time as well as in the foreseeable future.

Passing the exam usually means you have 24 months before you need to do it again, unless you have some health problem which could become worse in the in the near term, in which case you’ll have to take the exam sooner.

Department of Transportation CDL Physical Requirements

Passing the DOT physical will require:

• With or without vision corrections, each eye, as well as both eyes combined, need to have 20/40 vision.
• Must be able to distinguish colors found on traffic signals.
• Hearing needs to be good enough to notice a forced whisper at a minimum distance of 5 feet.
• Maximum allowable blood pressure is 160/100. Use of prescription medication to achieve this threshold is allowed.
• An applicant can have diabetes which is controlled through diet or medication. Diabetes which is controlled through insulin injections is not permitted.
• The maximum level of blood sugar an applicant is allowed to have is 200.
• No use of a Schedule 1 drug, amphetamine, narcotic or any habit forming drug is permitted.
• If you are currently diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease such as collapse, congestive cardiac failure or cardiac insufficiency, then you will need to provide the Medical Examiner with a stress test as well as with a note from your physician stating that you are capable of driving a commercial motor vehicle without restrictions.

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