(CALIFORNIA) — California’s Department of Motor Vehicles delayed revoking about 17,000 nondomiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses by 60 days, pushing the cancellation date to March 6, 2026, after immigrants sued and federal officials raised concerns about how the state verifies applicants’ immigration status.
The extension, announced on December 30, 2025, gives the DMV more time to work with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to address issues in California’s commercial licensing process before the new deadline.
“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” said Steve Gordon, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “We are hopeful that our collaboration with the federal government will give FMCSA confidence in our updated processes to allow California to promptly resume issuance of nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses.”
Steve Gordon is the director attribution left outside the blockquote above.
Drivers affected by the change will receive letters confirming the extension, and the DMV said it is prepared to resume issuing CDLs, including corrected ones, to eligible individuals.
California’s move followed a series of federal and state steps that put the status of nondomiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses at the center of a dispute involving immigration rules and trucking jobs.
On September 29, 2025, California paused issuing or renewing nondomiciled CDLs and Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs) after U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) emergency rules required states to meet new federal standards for verifying applicants’ immigration status.
State officials had previously announced plans on November 13, 2025, to revoke certain licenses because they were set to expire after drivers’ legal U.S. presence ended, as required by state law, even when drivers held valid federal work authorizations.
“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked,” Duffy said, while threatening to withhold $160 million in federal funding if issues persist.
The attribution for that quote is Sean Duffy; the quoted criticism was aimed at Gavin Newsom.
California followed earlier U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance, and audits found problems including licenses that remained valid years after work permits expired.
The federal standards at issue narrow eligibility for nondomiciled CDLs to certain visa holders, limiting licenses to applicants with H-2A (temporary agricultural), H-2B (temporary nonagricultural), or E-2 (investor) visas that can be verified through federal databases.
Under the rules, licenses can be valid for up to one year or until a visa expires. The policy is not retroactively enforced against existing licenses until renewal.
The immigrants’ lawsuits were a key factor behind the 60-day delay, allowing affected drivers to continue working while the legal challenges are resolved.
The extension also gives California time to seek federal confidence in what the DMV described as updated processes so it can promptly resume issuing nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
For updates, the DMV directed inquiries to DMV Public Affairs at (916) 657-6437 or [email protected].
California has extended the deadline to revoke 17,000 commercial licenses for nondomiciled immigrants to March 2026. The move comes after federal audits and legal challenges highlighted issues with how the state verifies immigration status. While federal officials criticized California’s previous processes, the state is now working to implement stricter verification standards for specific temporary visas to maintain federal funding and supply chain stability.
